Enriching eggs and chicken with omega-3 nutrients could potentially have "substantial" health benefits, according to an academic from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
Professor Alice Stanton revealed results from a small six-month clinical trial.
Chicken meat and eggs used in the study came from birds offered a sustainable and algae-based source of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA).
Professor Stanton said greater consumption of oily fish has long been linked to a reduced incidence of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and cancer and improved brain health, vision, muscle and joint health.
She added: "International guidelines recommend eating oily fish at least once per week, however, many people do not eat fish at all and less than 20% of the world's population have optimal omega-3 PUFA levels.
"Therefore, in this project we studied the recently developed alternatives to oily fish or supplementation, namely chicken meat and eggs, naturally enriched with sustainable algae-based omega-3 PUFA.
"Omega-3 enriched chicken and eggs offer consumers an attractive alternative to eating oily fish or to the lifelong taking of supplements, with the potential for substantial health benefits."
The clinical trial was delivered on behalf of Belfast-headquartered farming and food company Devenish.
The 161 subjects consumed at least three portions of chicken and eggs per week which had been naturally enriched with omega-3.
