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A 19-YEAR health study has shown men who eat fish regularly have a better chance of living longer despite fears of contamination with mercury or other toxins, a Japanese physician said.

Yasuyuki Nakamura, associate professor of internal medicine at Shiga University of Medical Science, said the study showed men could reduce the risk of death from conditions such as heart disease or stroke by some 30 per cent by eating fish once every two days.

The study found the risk of death for a group of men who eat fish once every two days came at 0.7, compared with 1.0 for men who have fish less than once in a week, he said.

"There may be negative effect if you take fish in an extremely large quantity" because of contamination with mercury and other toxins. But this study shows we do not have to worry if you are on a normal diet. We are not recommending you eat fish a lot, as the benefits from having fish seem to level off" beyond the once-in-two-days line," he said.

The study started in 1980, covering 4,070 men and 5,182 women aged between 30 and 64. Researchers analysed their diet and other habits until 1999.

Of the total, 995 men and 840 women died over the 19 years. The study found no effective differences in terms of health risks for women who eat more fish. We believe this is because of lower death rates among women" in those age groups, he said.