Seafood and Healthy Aging

People are living longer, and that means finding new ways to live healthier. Doctors, patients and public health officials continue to learn more about how we age and how our later years can be more healthy and more fulfilling. As Public Health Nutrition has observed, “Longevity does not always equate with extended health span, with poor health in later years affecting quality of life and increasing healthcare costs.” (Sassine AJ et al)

What we eat can play a major role in both longevity and quality of life. The same Public Health Nutrition study found that “six of the top fifteen risk factors for early deaths in the USA were related to diet.” (Sassine AJ et al) Older people can help lower their risk by adopting healthier eating habits, including adding seafood protein sources to their diet. Public Health Nutrition found that those adults in the “Seafood and Vegetables” cluster of the study enjoyed the second-highest mean scores on the Healthy Eating Index 2020. (Sassine AJ et al)

How to Reduce Inflammation through Diet

Seafood shines as part of an anti-inflammatory diet (Mediterranean, DASH, etc.) thanks to Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish like tuna and salmon. Lowering the body’s level of inflammation has a number of benefits, many of which are just beginning to be studied and understood.

Some of that leading-edge research has uncovered a link between eating a seafood-rich anti-inflammatory diet and slowing the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Scientists publishing in JAMA Neurology performed a 15-year cohort study on nearly 2000 older adults to determine what, if any, effect their diet might have on their susceptibility to dementia. (Mrhar A et al) 

Researchers chose three known biological markers of dementia: 

• Tau protein
• Neurofilament light chain (NFL)
• Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)

Over the course of their study, they discovered that a diet geared toward lowering inflammation led to a reduced risk of dementia for people who showed elevated levels of those markers. In fact, it was the high-risk group that benefitted most from an anti-inflammatory diet. “In this higher risk group, lower inflammatory potential of diet showed the most consistent inverse associations,” the team reported. (Mrhar et al)

This promising line of study comes as welcome news to health professionals. One registered dietician, commenting in HealthDay remarked that “There is strong evidence to support that an anti-inflammatory diet is great for prevention and slowing progression of Alzheimer’s disease.” (Thompson D)

Add More Seafood to Help Promote Bone Health

Osteoporosis, a condition of decreased bone density that raises the risk of fractures, becomes a greater threat for many people over fifty. While physical inactivity and smoking contribute to this risk, diet plays a large role as well.

French researchers looking into the prevalence of seafood in the diets of elderly people set out to determine the concentrations of certain vitamins and minerals, including DHA, vitamins D and B12, iodine and selenium. Their findings, published in The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging, came to some positive conclusions. “Vitamin D is a major regulator of bone formation and turnover because of its influence on calcium (and phosphorus) metabolism,” they wrote. “As most older people do not obtain the RDA (recommended daily allowance) in their usual food, they should eat more seafood,” the study continued, adding that “Seafood also contains other nutrients such as vitamin A, other B group vitamins and high quality proteins.” (Bourre JM & Paquotte P)

Meta-analysis published in Nutrition Research backs up this assertion, saying that  “Increased fish consumption is associated with a reduced risk of osteoporosis, supporting the potential role of fish as a dietary strategy for bone health maintenance.” (Zhang X et al)

Make Room for a New Omega

A diet with more seafood may contribute to healthier skin as well. Nofima researchers found that Omega-11 fatty acid, also known as cetoleic acid, can reduce early signs of psoriasis in lab-grown skin cells. 

Omega-11 is derived from fish like herring or mackerel. The Nofima study also noted that Omega-3 fatty acid had a positive effect on psoriasis later on in the inflammation process.

For more tips on how you can incorporate more seafood, browse our foodservice pages to learn how Chicken of the Sea can help with your foodservice planning. Also, don’t forget to check out our recipe collection for more delicious foodservice options.