Fat, Forties, and Fish (Oil)

Ah, it's a terrible thing to grow old. There once was a time I could nimbly hop from one slippery, seaweed covered tidepool to the next with what could only be described as oafish grace. Now spinal stenosis makes walking across the street occasionally a challenge––and usually painful. So it was with a certain resignation that I was instructed by my doctor last week to have a fasting cholesterol test. You see, I'm solidly in the Double-F's of life: Fat and Forties. After some painless bloodletting over the weekend, I called for the lab results this morning. Basically, things aren't as bad as I feared. Good cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein-HDL) was close to ideal and bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein-LDL) was 144, a little higher than the doctor wanted to see. According to him, 130 to 159 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter) is considered borderline high and increases my risk factor.

When too much LDL cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and brain. Together with other substances, it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can narrow the arteries and make them less flexible, a condition known as atherosclerosis. If a clot forms and blocks a narrowed artery, heart attack or stroke can result. High levels of HDL "good" cholesterol seems to protect against heart attack. So my prescription? Increase cardiovascular exercise which gets the good/bad levels more in tune. And, begin taking daily dietary supplements of fish oil to increase my HDL cholesterol.

Fish oil dietary supplement pills, specifically the Omega-3 fatty acids they contain, have been found to decrease blood fats called triglycerides, raise HDL "good" cholesterol, and thin the blood a bit. You can also increase your Omega-3 uptake through a diet rich in cold-water marine fish known to be high in this particular fatty acid (salmon, tuna, swordfish, cod). But hey, a pill seems a lot cheaper and more convenient.

So off to the local drugstore I go. As I pondered whether the walk to Walgreens counts as cardio, I became curious as to whether the fish used to produce fish oil dietary supplements are sustainable. Considering the list of Omega-3-rich fish above, how could the fish oil supplement biz possibly operate sustainably. Then again, there are more fish in the ocean than are dreamt of in my little mind. And sure enough, a quick peek at the fish listed on the label of Nature's Bounty Fish Oil (1200 mg) indicates the oil is sourced from herring, anchovy, mackerel, sardine, and salmon.

Herring, anchovy, mackerel, and sardine? Forgive my limited western palate, but "Eww!" I don't see too many all-you-can-eat anchovy or herring eateries driving these fish to extinction (pickeled herring, anchovy pizzas, and saba sushi notwithstanding). In fact, the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Guide lists herring and sardines as Best Choices. But what's up with the salmon? What sort of salmon is it? Farmed? Wild? Atlantic? And even if it's wild caught salmon, is it really wild? I'm sure it's salmon byproduct that's used to produce the oil, but was the fish originally harvested sustainably?

All this got me so puzzled I had no choice but to foist my puzzlement upon a colleague. I waddled back to the office and gave my conservation pal Sheila Bowman a call. Sheila is the Seafood Watch Outreach Manager for Monterey Bay Aquarium and an encyclopedia of sustainable seafood information. Plus she is always fun to chat with. Sheila initially directed me to a cool website that ranks fish oil supplements on a contaminant and purity scale using data collected by Environmental Defense. While informative from a safety perspective, the ranking was silent as to fisheries sustainability. Sheila and I both agreed to keep our eyes open and share any info we may uncover. If anyone knows more about sustainable fisheries and dietary supplements feel free to share.

I suppose if I wanted to be absolutely certain of sustainability, I could still increase my "good" cholesterol by eating fresh, sustainable fish high in Omega-3. Alternatively, I could go the flax seed route. Flax seed oil contains Omega-6 and Omega-9 essential fatty acids and some reports indicate it provides more Omega-3 than fish oil. While all of this fish oil or flax oil trivia is very interesting, it unfortunately doesn't sound as good as a Reuben Sandwich. But that's what got me into this mess in the first place.