Closeup view of cholesterol plaque in blood vesselA population-based, cross-sectional study that was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2008; 52(6): 417-24) looked at the cardiovascular health of 281 Japanese men (born and living in Japan), 281 men of Japanese ancestry living in the U.S., and 306 Caucasian men living in the U.S. The subjects were all between the ages of 40 and 49 years. The native-born Japanese men had the lowest incidence of atherosclerosis. The Caucasian Americans and the Japanese Americans had about the same level of atherosclerosis–ruling out genetics. The native born Japanese men consumed twice the amount of omega-3 fatty acids from fish.