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Eating salmon is more likely to boost a person's health than taking fish oil pills, researchers have found.
While Massey's Institute of Food, Health and Human Nutrition researchers found fish oil capsules and salmon were equally beneficial for increasing omega-3 levels.
But eating salmon also significantly increased concentrations in the blood of the cancer-fighting anti-oxidant selenium.
The finding was particularly important for New Zealanders, who generally had lower selenium levels than people in other parts of the world, said one of the researchers, Associate Professor Welma Stonehouse.
"Because soils in New Zealand are low in selenium, the selenium content in our food is low, making New Zealand one of the countries with the lowest selenium status in the world," she said.
As well as being associated with a reduced risk of cancer, selenium is also believed to reduce the risk of contracting heart disease.
- NZPA
