Maurice Boscorelli
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Excerpted from by Dr. Jonny Bowden and Jeannette Bessinger, the Clean Food Coach™. Find out more at [url]www.thecleanfoodcoach.com[/URL]
The main concern most people have with fish is mercury, which is understandable because since it’s one of the most potent toxins on the planet. But you probably don’t have to fear it as much as you think.
First let’s be honest: Nearly all fish and shellfish contain slight traces of mercury. But for most people the risk from that trace amount is not a health concern. In fact a large study of more than 173,000 men and women found that mercury exposure from eating fish does not increase heart-related problems. In the study, researchers found that people who reported eating the most fish did indeed showed somewhat higher levels of mercury but they didn’t have any increase whatsoever in heart disease or stroke. In fact, those with the highest concentration of mercury actually had a 15 percent% lower risk of heart disease compared to those with the lowest concentrations.
The reason for that surprising finding has to do with cost-benefit analysis. Those in the study with the higher levels of mercury were also those who ate the most fish, and those who ate the most fish were also consuming the most omega-3 fats (which are found primarily in cold water fish like salmon). Apparently the enormous benefit of increased consumption of omega-3 fats outweighs the risk involved in ingesting a slight amount of mercury from fish.
“”I think this really shuts the door on the worry about heart risk or toxicity to the heart at these exposure levels,”” said the lead author of the study, Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., a heart expert at the Harvard School of Public Health. “”And that’s that’s an important message, because there may be a lot of adults who are at risk of heart disease who may be confused or concerned about eating fish, or are shying away from fish because of their concerns about mercury. Our study suggests they don’t need to worry about heart risks.”
Now I’m no mercury apologist. I think we should avoid it like the plague. But avoiding fish because of the possibility of ingesting a very small amount of mercury has some pretty steep costs. Nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, iodine, iron, and choline, present in fish like wild salmon, shrimp, Pollock, cod, canned light tuna, and even catfish, are vital to brain development. Researchers found that these nutrients may even lessen the effects of dyslexia, autism, hyperactivity, and attention deficit disorder.
Scientific findings presented at a conference sponsored by the governments of the United States, Norway, Canada, and Iceland and assisted by the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization, supported the notion that all Americans,- especially pregnant and nursing women and children,— should eat seafood twice a week despite the current concerns about pollution contamination. The American Heart Association recommends that we eat at least two fish meals a week. This recommendation is included in the USDA’s dietary guidelines as well. The nutrients found in seafood help reduce the risk of death by heart attack and prevent a host of chronic health problems.
And while we’re on the subject of fish, let’s talk specifically about salmon, one of our favorite fish and one that figures prominently in several many of the recipes in this book.
Salmon, as you may know, is one of the best sources in the world for omega-3 fatty acids. These fats – which have been called “wellness molecules” by Andrew Storr, M.D. of Harvard Medical School, —are helpful for heart health and brain health. They lower triglycerides and blood pressure and even improve mood.
So we love salmon
But the problem is that salmon has become so darn popular that it’s now a commodity. Salmon are now routinely raised on what are called “salmon farms,” , where thousands of them are crowded into small areas called “net pens,”, with very serious consequences for both the fish and the surrounding waters. Salmon farms pack the salmons in like sardines, which obviously makes the spreading of disease a virtual certainty. So the salmon farmers do exactly what the factory farmers do with their cattle—- they feed them massive amounts of antibiotics.
They also feed them grain. Now salmon in the wild are natural carnivores, dining happily on such fare as sardines, krill, mackerel, and other fish. They don’t thrive on grain any more than factory- farmed cows do. And because of their heavy grain diet, their fat has a higher proportion of pro-inflammatory fats like omega-6’s. What’s more, according to independent lab tests by the non-profit Environmental Working Group, seven out of ten farmed salmon purchased at grocery stores were contaminated with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) at levels that raise some serious concerns.
Wild salmon, on the other hand, are a whole different story. They get their natural red color not from artificial colorings (the way farmed salmon often do) but from a fantastic antioxidant called astaxanthin, which is naturally found in the krill they like to eat. They aren’t pumped full of antibiotics and they have low levels of omega-6 fats. All in all, wild salmon are the way to go and it’s the reason we feel so strongly that you should try to get wild whenever possible.
This is all getting pretty confusing.
The main concern most people have with fish is mercury, which is understandable because since it’s one of the most potent toxins on the planet. But you probably don’t have to fear it as much as you think.
First let’s be honest: Nearly all fish and shellfish contain slight traces of mercury. But for most people the risk from that trace amount is not a health concern. In fact a large study of more than 173,000 men and women found that mercury exposure from eating fish does not increase heart-related problems. In the study, researchers found that people who reported eating the most fish did indeed showed somewhat higher levels of mercury but they didn’t have any increase whatsoever in heart disease or stroke. In fact, those with the highest concentration of mercury actually had a 15 percent% lower risk of heart disease compared to those with the lowest concentrations.
The reason for that surprising finding has to do with cost-benefit analysis. Those in the study with the higher levels of mercury were also those who ate the most fish, and those who ate the most fish were also consuming the most omega-3 fats (which are found primarily in cold water fish like salmon). Apparently the enormous benefit of increased consumption of omega-3 fats outweighs the risk involved in ingesting a slight amount of mercury from fish.
“”I think this really shuts the door on the worry about heart risk or toxicity to the heart at these exposure levels,”” said the lead author of the study, Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., a heart expert at the Harvard School of Public Health. “”And that’s that’s an important message, because there may be a lot of adults who are at risk of heart disease who may be confused or concerned about eating fish, or are shying away from fish because of their concerns about mercury. Our study suggests they don’t need to worry about heart risks.”
Now I’m no mercury apologist. I think we should avoid it like the plague. But avoiding fish because of the possibility of ingesting a very small amount of mercury has some pretty steep costs. Nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, iodine, iron, and choline, present in fish like wild salmon, shrimp, Pollock, cod, canned light tuna, and even catfish, are vital to brain development. Researchers found that these nutrients may even lessen the effects of dyslexia, autism, hyperactivity, and attention deficit disorder.
Scientific findings presented at a conference sponsored by the governments of the United States, Norway, Canada, and Iceland and assisted by the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization, supported the notion that all Americans,- especially pregnant and nursing women and children,— should eat seafood twice a week despite the current concerns about pollution contamination. The American Heart Association recommends that we eat at least two fish meals a week. This recommendation is included in the USDA’s dietary guidelines as well. The nutrients found in seafood help reduce the risk of death by heart attack and prevent a host of chronic health problems.
And while we’re on the subject of fish, let’s talk specifically about salmon, one of our favorite fish and one that figures prominently in several many of the recipes in this book.
Salmon, as you may know, is one of the best sources in the world for omega-3 fatty acids. These fats – which have been called “wellness molecules” by Andrew Storr, M.D. of Harvard Medical School, —are helpful for heart health and brain health. They lower triglycerides and blood pressure and even improve mood.
So we love salmon
But the problem is that salmon has become so darn popular that it’s now a commodity. Salmon are now routinely raised on what are called “salmon farms,” , where thousands of them are crowded into small areas called “net pens,”, with very serious consequences for both the fish and the surrounding waters. Salmon farms pack the salmons in like sardines, which obviously makes the spreading of disease a virtual certainty. So the salmon farmers do exactly what the factory farmers do with their cattle—- they feed them massive amounts of antibiotics.
They also feed them grain. Now salmon in the wild are natural carnivores, dining happily on such fare as sardines, krill, mackerel, and other fish. They don’t thrive on grain any more than factory- farmed cows do. And because of their heavy grain diet, their fat has a higher proportion of pro-inflammatory fats like omega-6’s. What’s more, according to independent lab tests by the non-profit Environmental Working Group, seven out of ten farmed salmon purchased at grocery stores were contaminated with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) at levels that raise some serious concerns.
Wild salmon, on the other hand, are a whole different story. They get their natural red color not from artificial colorings (the way farmed salmon often do) but from a fantastic antioxidant called astaxanthin, which is naturally found in the krill they like to eat. They aren’t pumped full of antibiotics and they have low levels of omega-6 fats. All in all, wild salmon are the way to go and it’s the reason we feel so strongly that you should try to get wild whenever possible.
This is all getting pretty confusing.
