By Jim Stoppani, PhD | Photo by Charles Imstepf Studios
Contrary to the media hype over a recent study on tilapia, this tasty seafood dish poses no danger to your heart health
Ahh, tilapia. It is, and has been for some time, a staple in the bodybuilding diet. Championed for its taste, tilapia is high in protein and very low in fat. Yet, there are some in the media that have chosen to demonize this seafood favorite, going so far as to claim that the consumption of farmed tilapia may result in heart attack. Huh?
Well, don't worry —you can rest assured that in this case, our sensationalistic brethren are sorely misinformed.
All the press is over a recent study by Wake Forest University (North Carolina) researchers. They reported that farm-raised tilapia has an unfavorable ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids. While both omega fatty acids are necessary for a healthy diet, your daily intake of both should be at a ratio of 1:1 or less. The researchers caution that farm-raised tilapia has ratio of between 2:1 and 3:1 and therefore should not be eaten.
What they failed to mention was that tilapia is a very low-fat fish. In fact, the USDA lists the fish as having less than 2 grams of total fat per 3.5 oz. (the amount of fish used in the Wake Forest study). Given that, even though 3.5 oz of tilapia may have an unfavorable omega fatty acid ratio, it still only provides about 600-900 mg of omega-6 fatty acids. Even if you had a 7 oz. piece of tilapia, a common serving size, you'd still only be getting about 1200-1800 mg of omega-6 g fatty acids. That's hardly enough to have a negative impact on your health.
So ignore the hype and feel free to enjoy tilapia any time you want a low-fat source of protein. What's more, if you supplement with fish oil (and you really should), you really have nothing to worry about regardless of how much farm-raised tilapia you consume.
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