The thrive diet

Fish can push low-fat returns even higher getting more benefits from a low-fat diet might be easier than you think. Simply swap tonight’s chick­en for a grilled tuna steak, or any other kind of fish, and you may raise your “good” (HDL) cho­lesterol levels. That’s something a stan­dard low-fat (30 percent fat) diet doesn’t do. The only difference be­tween two low-fat diets in a recent Australian study was that half of the participants (17 men) ate a range of lean proteins. And 18 other men ate one serving of fish a day. (Both got 30 percent of calories from fat.) Total cholesterol and “bad” (LDL) cholesterol fell for everyone. But the fish eaters got a bonus: They docked hard-to-deter blood triglyceride a levels and pushed up an  important type of the m helpful HDL, too. Even at higher fat intakes (40 percent), fish-eating men t saw triglyceride benefits, compared with non-fish-eaters with compa­rable diets.

The oil in the turbot, sardines, tuna and salmon they ate is be­lieved to be the truth in this fish story. Re­searchers suspect that these omega-3 fatty acids decrease the pro­duction of triglycerides as well as boost the sys­tems that carry them out of the blood.

When blood triglyc­erides go down, HDL often goes up. And that’s where the real heart-sparing effects are. So putting something with fins on your plate might significantly re­duce your risk of heart disease. “Of course, the most important thing is to first reduce your total fat intake and then, among your choices of food, include fish as a very good one,” says Pe­ter Wilson, M.D., direc­tor of laboratories at the Framingham Heart Study, in Massachusetts.

You don’t have to worry you’ll be eating too much fat because you’re eating oil-rich fish. The amount of total fat in four to five ounces of fatty fish like salmon would be about 30 per­cent. If you see dollar signs when you hear “salmon,” remember that sardines packed in sardine oil, as well as canned, water-packed tuna, oysters, scallops and clams are smart, frugal options.