ISLAMABAD: Eating baked or boiled fish instead of fried, dried or salted fish is more nutritious and keeps the heart healthy.

Studies in the past have suggested that eating omega-3 fatty acids reduces the risk of heart disease; however, little is known about which source is most beneficial, Health News reported.

The researchers studied the source, type, amount and frequency of dietary intake of omega-3 among 82,243 men and 103,884 women in Los Angeles County and Hawaii.

The participants included African-Americans, native Americans, Hispanics, Japanese and native Hawaiians.

They were 45 to 75 years old and had no history of heart disease.

During an average of 11.9 years of follow-up, there were 4,516 heart-related deaths among the participants.

It was found that men who consumed the most omega-3 fatty had a 23 per cent lower risk of cardiac death than those who ate only 0.8 grams per day.

It was also noted that the higher the dietary omega-3 intake, the lower the risk of dying from heart disease among men.

The association between omega-3 fatty acid intake and reduced risk of cardiac death wasn't as apparent among women.

However, the study found clear that heart health benefits for women who consumed greater amounts of soya and tofu.

The above findings could be attributed to the fact that for women eating omega-3s from soya and tofu that contain other active ingredients such as phytoestrogens might have a stronger protective effect on the heart than eating just omega-3s.