None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
As we get older, it is difficult to eat the right amount of food and get the right nutrients every day. When we do not get enough nutrients in our diet, this can sometimes lead to various diseases or conditions. Fish and seafood provide some valuable nutrients including protein, zinc, iodine and vitamin D. In particular, fish and seafood also contain fatty acids (called EPA and DHA) which may reduce the amount of inflammation in your body. Meat products also contain protein, zinc, iron, some B vitamins and fatty acids. Most people eat more red meat compared to fish and we do not know much about how this affects inflammation. You can’t see inflammation, but higher levels have been associated with arthritis, diabetes, eye diseases, heart disease, depression and even obesity. We are interested in reducing these levels of inflammation in the body because this may reduce the risk for these diseases. Many people do not eat a lot of fish, and so we want to find out whether increasing the amount of fish/seafood in our diet (to approximately 4 meals per week) will help levels of inflammation compared to people who eat a usual amount of fish/seafood (0-1 meal of fish/seafood a week) and eat a diet that is higher in red meat.
Interventions
This is an 8 week study. For the duration of the study, one group will be randomized to a fish group in which they will receive 3-4 serves of fish per week that contains various amounts of long chain omega 3 fatty acids to reach a target level of ~800 mg/day EPA + DHA.
Sponsors
Jessica Grieger
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
64 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
- Men and women >64 years old - Fish/seafood intake <1 serving of fish/week - Willing to consume ~4 servings of provided fish/seafood per week OR red meat per week - Ability to provide written informed consent - Able to attend clinic visits at Flinders Medical Centre
Exclusion criteria
- Inability to comply with study protocol - Allergies to seafood - Vegetarian - Intake of vitamin and mineral supplements within the past 3 weeks of clinic screening - Intake of lipid-lowering supplements (eg. psyllium, fish oil capsules, soy lecithin, phytoestrogens) - Intake of anti-inflammatory medications on a regular basis or if an acute intake, within 1 week of clinic screening visit - On warfarin medication - Presence of diabetes, liver, kidney, thyroid (unless controlled and stable on replacement medication) - Presence of other endocrine disorders from self-reported medical history - Weight loss or gain of 10% body weight or more during a period of 6 months before screening visit - Clinically diagnosed depression or dementia.
Outcome results
None listed