Omega-3 fatty acids may help reduce risk of type 2 diabetes, says a Finnish study.
Earlier findings on how fish consumption or long-chain omega-3 fatty acids affect the risk of diabetes have been contradictory.
"Our study has found that high concentrations of serum long-chain omega-3 fatty acids is useful in reducing type 2 diabetes," said researchers from University of Eastern Finland.
The researchers went through the serum omega-3 fatty acid concentrations of 2,212 men between 42 and 60 years of age at the onset of the study.
During a follow-up of nearly 20 years, 422 men were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
The risk of men in the highest serum omega-3 fatty acid concentration group to develop type 2 diabetes was 33 percent lower than the risk of men in the lowest concentration group, said the study published in the journal Diabetes Care.
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The study sheds new light on the association between fish consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes.
A well-balanced diet should include at least two fish meals per week, preferably fatty fish.
Fish rich in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids include salmon, rainbow trout, bream, herring, anchovy, sardine and mackerel, it added.