Researchers at the University of Illinois found that fish-eaters with high levels of PCBs in their blood have difficulty recalling information they have learned just 30 minutes earlier. Fish’s bodies absorb toxic chemicals in the water around them, and the chemicals become more concentrated as they move up the food chain. Big fish eat little fish, with the bigger fish (such as tuna and salmon) absorbing chemicals from all the other fish they eat. Fish flesh stores contaminants, such as PCBs, which cause liver damage, nervous system disorders, and fetal damage; dioxins, also linked to cancer; radioactive substances like strontium 90; and other dangerous contaminants like cadmium, mercury, lead, chromium, and arsenic, which can cause health problems ranging from kidney damage and impaired mental development to cancer. These toxins are stored in the body fat of humans who eat fish and remain in their bodies for decades.
Seafood is the number one cause of food poisoning today. Seafood poisoning can result in extreme discomfort, kidney damage, nervous system damage, and even death. Many of our waterways are polluted with human and animal feces, and this waste carries dangerous bacteria like E. coli. So when we eat fish, we are exposing ourselves to the unnecessary risk of contracting a nasty bacterial illness that can lead to mild to extreme discomfort, nervous system damage, and even death. I can imagine what will be going through your mind right now, “so what do they want us to eat now ?” Well all hope is not lost yet because there are still some good fish around, take for instance:
1.Tuna
Many tuna are high in mercury but albacore tuna—the kind of white tuna that’s commonly canned. The reason: smaller (usually less than 10 kg), younger fish are typically caught this way (as opposed to the larger fish caught on longlines). These fish have much lower mercury and contaminant ratings and those caught in colder northern waters often have higher omega-3 counts.
2.Salmon(wild-caught)
Consider this: biologists are posted at river mouths to count how many wild fish return to spawn. If the numbers begin to dwindle, the fishery is closed before it reaches its limits. This close monitoring, along with strict quotas and careful management of water quality, means wild-caught salmon are both healthier (they pack 1,210 mg of omega-3s and carry few contaminants) and more sustainable than just about any other salmon fishery.
3.Oysters(farmed)
Farmed oysters are good for you ( contains over 300 mg of omega-3s and about a third of the recommended daily values of iron). Better yet, they are actually good for the environment. Oysters feed off the natural nutrients and algae in the water, which improves water quality. They can also act as natural reefs, attracting and providing food for other fish. One health caveat: Raw shellfish, especially those from warm waters, may contain bacteria that can cause illnesses.
4.Sardines(wild-caught)
The tiny, inexpensive sardine is making it onto many lists of superfoods and for good reason. It packs more mega-3s (1,950 mg!) than salmon, tuna or just about any other food; it’s also one of the very, very few foods that’s naturally high in vitamin D. Many fish in the herring family are commonly called sardines. Quick to reproduce, Pacific sardines have rebounded from both overfishing and a natural collapse in the 1940s.
Go gently on:
Catfish(farmed)
Most farmed cat fish are raised in tightly packed, open-net pens often rife with parasites and diseases that threaten the wild cat fish trying to swim by to their ancestral spawning waters. Farmed catfish are fed fishmeal, given antibiotics to combat diseases and have levels of PCBs .
Let’s connect @ www.facebook.com/BodyConfidenceFitnessClub
No comments:
Post a Comment