Talk:Oily fish

Anyone interested in taking the fish vs. plant debate further, these references are from an essay about monbiot (a vegan). The bellman 12:06, 23 June 2006 (UTC)
 * CM Williams and G Burdge, February 2006. Long-chain n-3 PUFA: plant v. marine sources. Proceedings of the Nutritional Society. Vol 65(1), pp42-50.
 * BC Davis and PM Kris-Etherton, September 2003. Achieving optimal essential fatty acid status in vegetarians: current knowledge and practical implications. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vol 78(3 Suppl), pp640S-646S.
 * H Gerster, 1998. Can adults adequately convert alpha-linolenic acid (18:3n-3) to eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3)? International Journal Vitamin and Nutrition Research. Vol 68(3), pp159-73.
 * Diane H. Morris Metabolism Of Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Flax Council of Canada. http://www.flaxcouncil.ca/english/pdf/FF_Metabolism_R2.pdf

I think there could be some clarification about the lactating women study that found no increased DHA levels after flax oil intake. It is now mentioned that the study found significant increase of ALA in the breast milk which is then processed into DHA.

distinction between linolenic and linoleic omega 3 fatty acids
regarding references to linolenic and linoleic omega 3 fatty acids throughout various wiki articles on essential fatty acids and omega 3 fatty acids:

1- seems to be a lack of rigor in the maintaining the distinction which is a very important tho subtle one a- linolenic is plant based and needs to be metabolized to linoleic for nutritional benefit as an essential omega 3 fatty acid b- linoleic is animal [fish] based and is the essential omega 3 fatty acid 66.191.165.36 03:27, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

No! linoleic acid (aka linolic acid) is an 18 carbon omega 6 fatty acid commonly found in plant oils. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 152.160.27.253 (talk) 20:14, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Sardines: less mercury
I read somewhere that sardines are better to eat because they have less mercury in them (per unit bodyweight) due to being younger and hence having less time to accumulate it. They also contain high amounts of calcium and very high amounts of vitamin B12.

Paragraph needs citation
I think the following paragraph is frankly, bullshit - it's a lot to say without citing a single source and I'm skeptical. Without a good source and citation, it looks like original research to me, and given the advertising-like nature of some of the other contributions to this page, I'd rather leave it out until someone comes up with a real citation. "However, some studies suggest that these plant sources may be less effective than oily fish. The most effective component of Omega-3 fatty acids is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and to a lesser extent eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). The fatty acids in flaxseed oil and other plant oils contain only the precursor to DHA and EPA, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), but they do not contain DHA and EPA themselves, so the body must convert the ALA into DHA and EPA. A healthy person's body converts only 19% of the ALA, and this figure falls when a person is elderly, unfit or ill. Since plant sources already contain smaller quantities of fatty acids than oily fish, this means that a much greater amount of the plant sources must be consumed in order to equal the effects of a smaller amount of oily fish." WLU 13:59, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

I also re-wrote the paragraph on breastmilk and plant sources of omega fatty acids. As is, it almost shouldn't be in the page as it's mention of fish oil is almost non-existent, bordering on original research to put them together. WLU

sorry that theres no sentence that tell if this food good for the neruon system — Preceding unsigned comment added by 120.28.209.174 (talk) 14:20, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

Which fish ARE oily?
Which fish are considered oily fish? --JHP 07:46, 11 October 2007 (UTC)


 * That was my first question as I read the article. It needs a list of "oily fish". Silverchemist (talk) 17:58, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I think salmon are allegedly among them, but we'd need a verifiable source. 69.224.182.55 (talk) 17:19, 16 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Is anybody working on this? 207.237.198.152 (talk) 17:58, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes, the article names ten fish, sardines, herring, anchovies, salmon, trout, tuna and mackerel (as oily) and cod, haddock and flatfish (as not). An appendix with all fish likely to be found for sale as food would be sensible for this article.Nick Barnett (talk) 13:18, 18 June 2017 (UTC)

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What fish are oily?
The article forgets to tell us this basic info :) 82.31.207.100 (talk) 09:55, 10 March 2009 (UTC)

Cold water fish?
The article defines oily fish as coming from cold waters, as opposed to whitefish that are warm water fish... errr, since when are cod, haddock, or most flatfish for that matter warm water fish?

Is that mention to be struck or should it just be made clearer? --Svartalf (talk) 19:07, 13 March 2010 (UTC)


 * Yes, it's a mess. I've rewritten the lead. --Epipelagic (talk) 01:26, 14 March 2010 (UTC)

Why do these fish have a higher abundance of oils?
It should be mentioned for what biological purpose the oil is used for in the metabolism/functioning of the fish. Why do certain fish need/have more oil than other fish, and how does the oil benefit them? Why do pelagic fish need more oil than bottom-dwelling fish? --105.225.182.187 (talk) 17:09, 10 June 2015 (UTC)
 * I was also curious about this; fish locomotion suggests regulating buoyancy plays a factor. Arlo James Barnes 03:04, 12 April 2020 (UTC)

MeHg
This article mentions MeHg, but not as a link to an article explaining what MeHg is, nor explaining it here. I think this is wrong. Nick Barnett (talk) 20:36, 13 July 2018 (UTC)
 * methylmercury, the usual compound by which macroscopic life becomes contaminated with mercury, fish especially so. Arlo James Barnes 02:59, 12 April 2020 (UTC)

Cardiovascular health
This section says that an acid in oily fish can protect consumers from cardiovascular disease. I am not a medic or a microbiologist, but I would like to add "etc." after "oily fish" so that strict vegetarians realise that these acids are available from non-fish sources. I know the article is on oily fish, not omega three fatty acids, so someone might object on those grounds, or I might be wrong and someone who knows better might explain why that would be a wrong addition, so I will hold off for a while, and then make the change. Nick Barnett (talk) 14:20, 31 March 2023 (UTC)