A study published in Circulation found older adults who eat plenty of fish and vegetables may live longer than people who don’t (June 17, 2015). Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in serum cholesterol esters was measured in 2,193 Swedish women and 2,039 men, 60 years old. During a median follow-up period of 14.5 years, 265 men and 191 women died and 294 men and 190 women had cardiovascular events such as heart attacks.
What the researchers discovered was higher circulating levels of one of the fatty acids found in vegetable oils—linoleic acid (LA)—were linked to a 27-percent reduction in the likelihood of death during the study among the men, but not the women. For both men and women, two fatty acids found in fish—eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docohexaenoic acid (DHA)—were associated with roughly 20-percent lower odds of death.
The authors noted a limitation of the study: The blood test for fats was only done once. In addition, the limited number of deaths from cardiovascular disease make it difficult to draw conclusions on the impact of fats, particularly when examined in men and women separately.
Fish and vegetables oils are easily incorporated into several styles of meals—from frozen lunch/dinner entrees to salads topped with fish and a healthy salad dressing or even fried foods cooked with healthy vegetables oils.