Fish Oil Reading Answer

Much has been made of the benefits of oil derived from fish. It is claimed that people with a diet rich in fish oil have a greatly reduced chance of heart disease and arteriosclerosis. In addition, it has been shown conclusively that people suffering from elevated blood lipids react positively to treatment using fish oils.

The advantages of fish oil became apparent after studies some two decades ago of the diet of the Inuit, Eskimos or populations of Greenland. It was found that the Inuit, with their traditional diet of seal, whale and arctic fish- a diet very high in fat-suffered practically no heart disease, had near zero incidence of diabetes and enjoyed a comparatively low rate of rheumatoid arthritis. Interestingly, incidence of cancer, equal to that found in most other parts of the world, appeared unaffected by the traditional Inuit diet.

Until the work of Dyberg and Bang in the 1970s, little attention was paid to the implications of a fish-rich diet, despite a centuries-old knowledge of Inuit customs. The two researchers noted that in one community of 1800 people there were only three heart attack deaths between 1950 and 1974. To understand why, they examined the Inuit’s blood lipids and diet. Omega-3 fatty acids featured strongly in the bloodstream of the research subjects, directly attributed to diet.

In order to rule out generic or racial factors from their findings, Dyberg and Bang went on to compare the Greenland Inuit communities with those Inuit residing in Denmark who consumed a diet almost identical to that of the Danes. The Inuit in Denmark, particularly those who had been there for longer periods were shown to have higher blood cholesterol levels and significantly higher serum triglyceride levels than their Greenland Inuit counterparts. In fact, the consumption levels of the Westernized Intuits matched those of the Danes themselves, who consume mainly meat, milk products and eggs. As would be expected, levels of heart disease and arteriosclerosis of the Inuit well-established in Denmark were far closer to those of the Danes than those of the Greenland Inuit. The findings, according to the researchers, indicated an omega-3 deficiency in the Danish diet compared to the Greenland diet.

Similar findings come from Japan. A comparison of the diets of farmers and fishermen, together with an examination of health records and deaths rates of the two groups, has shown a link between the health of the human heart and fish oil. Whereas the average Japanese farmers have 90 grams of fish a day, the average fisherman has 250 grams. In all other respects, their diets are similar. Correspondingly, fishermen have lower blood pressure and smaller rates of heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

This compares to the 20 grams eaten daily by the average person in the USA where rates of heart disease and arteriosclerosis are five to seven times higher than in Japan. Its high omega-3 content and easy digestibility make fish oil particularly useful in the treatment of

hyperlipidaemic patients. Studies have shown an inverse relation between dosage of salmon oil and plasma triglyceride concentrations. Specifically, it has been found that the consumption of three grams of salmon fish oil per day by such patients reduces their plasma triglyceride levels by some 32 percent. For patients given six grams, the levels fall by 41 percent, and for those taking nine grams, concentrations dropped an average of 52 percent.

Table 1, below, gives the Omega — 3 contents of several fish varieties as compared to a

selection of vegetable-based oils and butterfat.

Table 1: Omega-3 fatty acid content of selected fish and vegetable oils and butterfat

Questions 11-15

Example:

Questions 16-22

16 Diabetes is rare among the Greenland Inuit.

17 The Greenland Inuits’ rheumatoid arthritis levels are the lowest in the world.

18 Little was known about Inuit life in Greenland before the work of Dyberg and Bang.

19 Blood cholesterol levels of the Denmark Inuit were lower than those of the Danes.

20 Research in Japan generally supports the findings of Dyberg and Bang with regard to the effects of fish oil.

21 Greenland Inuit and Japanese fishermen consume similar amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids.

22 Anchovy oil contains about ten times the proportion of Omega-3 fatty acids contained in an equal measure of soybean oil.

Reading Answers

11 Answer: L/N

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph 2, line 5 – line 6

Answer explanation: The selected lines says that “Interestingly, incidence of cancer, equal to that found in most other parts of the world, appeared unaffected by the traditional Inuit diet.” This tells us that the incidence of cancer is not correlated to the proportion of traditional foods in diet as it remains unaffected. Hence the answer is L/N.

12 Answer: PC

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph 4, line 3 – line 5

Answer explanation: In the mentioned lines of the fourth paragraph, it is said that “The Inuit in Denmark, particularly those who had been there for longer periods were shown to have higher blood cholesterol levels and significantly higher serum triglyceride levels than their Greenland Inuit counterparts.” This proves that there is a positive correlation between Inuits’ length of stay in Denmark and serum triglyceride levels as the longer they stayed, the higher the serum triglyceride levels. Hence the answer is PC.

13 Answer: NC

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph 4, line 5 – line 10

Answer explanation: The lines in this paragraph says that “In fact, the consumption levels of the Westernized Intuits matched those of the Danes themselves, who consume mainly meat, milk products and eggs…The findings, according to the researchers, indicated an omega-3 deficiency in the Danish diet compared to the Greenland diet.” These sentences point out that as the Danes and Inuits settled in Denmark ate meat, milk products and eggs, research points out that there is an omega-3 deficiency. Hence the answer is NC.

14 Answer: NC

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph 4, line 5 – line 10

Answer explanation: In the specified line, it is stated that “In fact, the consumption levels of the Westernized Intuits matched those of the Danes themselves, who consume mainly meat, milk products and eggs…The findings, according to the researchers, indicated an omega-3 deficiency in the Danish diet compared to the Greenland diet.” These sentences point out that as the Westernized Intuits ate meat, milk products and eggs, research points out that there is an omega-3 deficiency. Hence the answer is NC.

15 Answer: NC

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph 6, line 4- line 5

Answer explanation: The mentioned lines from Paragraph 6 says that “Studies have shown an inverse relation between dosage of salmon oil and plasma triglyceride concentrations.” These lines make it clear that there is a negative correlation (inverse relation) between daily dosage of salmon oil and plasma triglyceride levels. Hence the answer is NC.

16 Answer: Yes

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 2, line 2- line 4

Answer explanation: The mentioned line of Paragraph 2 says that “It was found that the Inuit, with their traditional diet of seal, whale and arctic fish- … had near zero incidence of diabetes and enjoyed a comparatively low rate of rheumatoid arthritis.” As it is clear that diabetes is rare (near zero incidence) among the Greenland Inuit, the answer is Yes.

17 Answer: Yes

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 2, line 2- line 4

Answer explanation: The specified lines state that “It was found that the Inuit, with their traditional diet of seal, whale and arctic fish- … enjoyed a comparatively low rate of rheumatoid arthritis.” So, it is clear that the Greenland Inuits’ rheumatoid arthritis levels are the lowest in the world (comparatively low rate). Hence the answer is Yes.

18 Answer: No

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph C, line 1 – line 2

Answer explanation: The introductory lines from Paragraph C says that “Until the work of Dyberg and Bang in the 1970s, little attention was paid to the implications of a fish-rich diet, despite a centuries-old knowledge of Inuit customs.” It states that before the work of Dyberg and Bang, little was known about the diet of the Inuits which contradicts the statement that mentions the Inuits’ life. Hence the answer is No.

19 Answer: Not Given

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: N.A.

Answer explanation: Although there is a comparison between the cholesterol level of the Inuit in Denmark and the Greenland Inuit counterparts, no information is given on the comparison between Denmark Inuit and the Danes. Hence the answer is Not Given.

20 Answer: Yes

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 4, line 9 – line 10 & Paragraph 5, line 1.

Answer explanation: While the first set of provided lines says that “The findings, according to the researchers, indicated an omega-3 deficiency in the Danish diet compared to the Greenland diet.”, the second set states “Similar findings come from Japan.” These two sets of lines prove that research in Japan generally supports the findings of Dyberg and Bang with regard to the effects of fish oil. Hence, the answer is Yes.

21 Answer: Not Given

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: N.A.

Answer explanation: Since there is no information regarding the amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids consumed by Greenland Inuit and Japanese fishermen, the answer is Not Given.

22 Answer: No

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Table 1

Answer explanation: According to the table given at the end of the passage, the proportion of Omega-3 fatty acids contained in Anchovy oil and in an equal measure of soybean oil is the same which is 7%. Hence the answer is No.