Writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers led by Frank Hu and Manas Kaushik report that high intakes of the fatty acids may actually be linked to a modest increase in diabetes.

“Given the beneficial effects of LCFA intake on many cardiovascular disease risk factors, the clinical relevance of this relation and its possible mechanisms require further investigation,” they wrote.

The study involved 195,204 American adults free from diabetes at the start of the study, and followed them for up to 18 years. Over the course of the study 9,380 people developed the disease, and increased intakes of the fatty acids, and fish intake, were associated with a ‘modest’ 20 per cent increase in type-2 diabetes, said the researchers.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
September 2009, Volume 90, Pages 613-620
“Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, fish intake, and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus”
Authors: M. Kaushik, D. Mozaffarian, D. Spiegelman, J.E. Manson, W.C. Willett, F.B. Hu