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By Lynne Cobiac
The aged care segment in Australia is significantly growing. During ageing, a number of changes occur including a reduction in lean body mass, often a reduction in body weight, a decrease in food intake, an increase in the number of diseases, and an increase in inflammation; an underlying cause for the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Diet may play a key role in ameliorating inflammation and reducing the burden of a number of diseases. Fish, seafood and fish products can be a good dietary source of many nutrients including zinc, iodine, calcium, vitamin D, and antioxidants: selenium and vitamin E. Fish also contain essential fatty acids, eicosapentanoic acid (EPA, 20:5 n-3), docosahexanoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3) and some docosapentanoic acid (DPA, 22:5 n-3), most notable for their anti-inflammatory effects.
The purpose of this review was to identify and examine relevant publications assessing the consumption of fish or fish oil supplementation on markers of inflammation, depression, AMD, and cancer (colorectal and breast) in those over 50 years.
There is a clear mechanistic link between the role of n-3 PUFA and inflammation. There also appears to be potential links between n-3 PUFA and diseases such as depression, age-related macular degeneration, Type 2 diabetes mellitus and cancer. What’s most striking however is that inflammation seems to underpin all of these pathologies.
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Final Reports 
