Saving Seafood

Two New Members of Seafood Nutrition Partnership’s Renowned Scientific Nutrition Advisory Council Bring Unique Expertise in Key Research Areas

March 28, 2022 —The following was released by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership:

The Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP) welcomes Martin-Paul Agbaga, PhD and Maya Maroto, EdD, MPH, RDN as the newest members of its Scientific Nutrition Advisory Council (SNAC). The 16-member Science Council, formed in 2013, is composed of the world’s leading researchers united passionately around seafood as critical for the health of all Americans. Agbaga is a leading researcher in the role of omega-3 fatty acids in maintaining retinal structure and function. Maroto brings a strong nutrition education and public policy background with dedication to providing equitable access to nutritious food.

“We’re excited to have Dr. Agbaga and Dr. Maroto join the Science Council, bringing thought leadership and experience in eye health, food equity and nutrition policy to the team,” said Tom Brenna, PhD, chair of the SNP SNAC and a leading omega-3 researcher. “The strong seafood science produced by the SNAC is a foundation on which the uniquely healthy aspects of the seafood story can be built.”

Seafood will get more attention in development of new U.S. dietary guidelines

September 10, 2019 — Federal agencies are meeting through next March to define U.S. dietary guidelines for 2020-25, and a high-powered group of doctors and nutritionists is making sure the health benefits of seafood are front and center.

For the first time in the 40-year history of the program, the dietary guidelines committee has posted the questions it is going to consider. They include the role of seafood in the neurocognitive development in pregnant moms for their babies, and in the diet of kids from birth to 24 months directly, said Dr. Tom Brenna, professor of pediatrics and nutrition at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas.

“We really got jazzed when we saw that because we wanted to figure out what the committee would find when it does its literature search on what medical evidence is out there and boy, did we find a lot,” Brenna said.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Studies: Omega-3s temper premature births, heart attacks

November 21, 2018 — New research linking omega-3 fatty acids with a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases as well as the reduction of dangerous premature births is expected to have benefits for the seafood industry.

In a study of people who took Lovaza, a prescription omega-3 fish oil, researchers found that subjects were 28 percent less likely to suffer heart attacks than those taking a placebo. Additionally, people who ate fewer than 1.5 servings of fish weekly reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease by 19 percent when taking Lovaza.

The research was presented at the recent American Heart Association 2018 Scientific Sessions in Chicago, Illinois, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“The use of fish oil did not significantly reduce risk for those eating more seafood, but the average overall showed a reduced risk,” Dr. Tom Brenna, a professor of pediatrics, chemistry, and nutrition at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, and chair of Seafood Nutrition Partnership’s Scientific and Nutrition Advisory Council, told SeafoodSource. “The message here is, ‘If you don’t eat fish, take supplements.'”

Alongside the Lovaza study, a new Cochrane Review of 70 studies worldwide found that omega-3 fatty acids reduced dangerous preterm births by 42 percent.

The extensive review of published studies, which included 20,000 pregnant women, also revealed an 11 percent reduction in preterm births, and a 10 percent reduction in risk of having a low-birthweight baby. The researchers reviewed studies involving fish oil supplements as well as seafood.

“This study is further evidence that health professionals should be actively promoting fish and omega-3s among pregnant women as they have possibly the most to gain from eating more fish,” Jennifer McGuire, a registered dietitian for the National Fisheries Institute, told SeafoodSource.

Read the full story at Seafood Source