Seafood and Heart Health: Omega 3/6 Balance

1/26/2011 1:00:00 PM

The Fishmongers’ Company is one of the organisers of the annual City Food Lecture. This year’s Lecture was given on 18th January 2011 by Mr Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever. More information is at www.cityfoodlecture.com.  In the discussion period after the lecture, Sir Angus Stirling, Chairman of the Company’s Fish and Fisheries Committee,  raised the question of Unilever’s long-standing emphasis on the perceived benefits to heart health of lowering dietary cholesterol by increasing consumption of Omega 6 plant seed oils, such as sunflower oil. He noted that  the European Food Safety Authority had now recognised the direct benefits to heart health of eating seafood with its marine long-chain Omega 3 oils; and that there was increasing evidence that over-consumption of Omega 6 relative to Omega 3 in western diets is damaging to health. He asked about Unilever’s approach to the issue of Omega 6/3 imbalance. Mr Polman agreed to a dialogue between experts from Unilever and the Company.