Eating fish reduces risk of dying from a stroke: Celia Hall reports from the 14th Congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Barcelona

PEOPLE WHO eat fish once or twice a week can reduce their risk of dying from a stroke, according to Dutch doctors.

Researchers monitored the diet of 878 men, from the small town of Zutphen in the Netherlands, between 1960 and 1970 and then looked at the incidence of strokes and deaths over the following 15 years. The results of the study, presented to the congress, confirmed the beneficial effects of a diet rich in fish.

Even men who ate fish once a week were less likely to have a stroke than those who rarely or never ate it. The group at least risk were those who ate 20 grams (7oz) of fish a week.

Dr Tom Sanders, a nutritionist from King's College, London, said: 'People must be encouraged to eat fish. You don't have to eat a lot of it to gain significant health benefits.' He said that fish contained oil, vitamin D and selenium, which could contribute to the way in which fish protected against heart disease.