What’s a person to do nowadays? First they say that fish is good for you. Those heart friendly omega 3 fatty acids can lower your risk for heart disease and may also alleviate inflammatory conditions like arthritis and reduce cardiac arrhythmias or irregular heart beats.
Then several years ago, the Cochrane Review (the gold standard for critical evaluation of scientific data) concluded that there was not enough evidence that omega 3 fatty acids made you live longer or protected you from cardiovascular disease. Huh?
On top of that, a joint recommendation by the FDA and EPA stated that at-risk populations (pregnant, nursing, future pregnancy and young children) limit fish consumption.
Then there’s this controversy whether to eat wild or farmed raised seafood. I thought that farmed seafood would help to conserve the wild stock but certain groups now advise against farmed raised seafood.
Though the pristine waters of the Atlantic and Pacific are very clear, consuming seafood seems to be getting cloudier every year. Do I simply go back to Big Macs?
Is Fish Actually a Healthier Alternative?
For starters, whenever scientific data is analyzed, the gold standard is known as the randomized controlled trial. In other words, each subject is randomized to either the placebo (no active treatment) or active treatment group so that the deck is not stacked against either group. Ideally, you would also want each subject to be in-the-dark regarding whichever treatment group they’re assigned to. When comparing drugs, that’s easily accomplished because each subject either takes a tablet with active drug or tablet made of sugar (placebo). However, with nutrition studies, each subject knows whether they’re eating fish or beef or tofu. That’s why nutrition studies aren’t the easiest trials to conduct and results should be evaluated as part of the “larger picture”. Sometimes the trees do get in the way of the forest.
Therefore even the Cochrane Review concluded that people who regularly consume foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids continue to do so until further trials produce a definitive answer whether they reduce cardiovascular disease and mortality.
Who Should Limit Fish Consumption
The current recommendations are for populations at-risk defined as pregnancy, nursing, those who may become pregnant (so I guess all newlyweds) and young children. The main reason behind this joint FDA and EPA recommendation is due to environmental contaminants that are found in certain seafood. The main culprits are mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs. By now, we’re all aware of the health implications of mercury toxicity starting with Minamata Disease some 50 years ago. Though Minamata Disease portrays mercury toxicity at its most extreme, chronic exposure can damage the central nervous system, organs and hormonal systems.
Though PCBs are no longer produced in the United States, their persistence in the environment contributes to their toxicity. They have been associated with certain cancers, developmental disorders in children and liver, thyroid and immune system disorders.
Well, I’m a guy… or a woman who stopped having children. Don’t I count or should I also limit my fish consumption too? Since the toxicities of these compounds affect developing organisms to a greater extent, the advisories are targeted for these special groups. Just having a waist that’s still growing doesn’t count as much.
Recommendations for at-risk populations:
No shark, swordfish, tilefish or king mackerel
No more than 12 ounces per week of other fishes (up to 6 ounces per week of albacore)
Wild Versus Farmed
This is a separate contentious issue that pits fisherman against “farmer”man. I originally embraced the notion of preserving wild stock of seafood by farm raising the same animal in sea farms like the way we raise most terrestrial protein sources. This was personally motivating for me to seek out farmed raised salmon since we seem to be destroying the natural breeding habitat of Kings, Cohos and Sockeyes. I couldn’t imagine waking up one day without sake sashimi that left little orbs of abura floating over the surface of a ponzu dipping sauce. Or velvety slices of salt, sugar and herb cured gravlax under a perfectly poached egg and lemony hollandaise.
Then I slowly realized that the farmed raised variety wasn’t simply wild salmon raised in pens. They were fed beta carotene fortified feed for that characteristic orange color that never develops in the pen. Or that they may also be munching on feed fortified with hormones or antibiotics. Or that they occasionally get infested with parasites or may escape from their pens to eventually breed with wild salmon. Hmm, somehow the notion of environmental conservation doesn’t translate as easily.
Of course, I’m not stating that all farmed raised seafood has the same issues as salmon. For a
better grasp of the concerns and recommendations, visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch website: http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp. They have a simple chart that you can download with recommendations whether wild or farmed is better for the environment and the species concerned. They also go as far as recommending specific geographic areas where seafood choices are better than others.
The Gochiso Gourmet’s Recommendation
I still enjoy seafood and fish as a regular part of my diet. The key is to vary the types of fish and their sources. Canned tuna one week, fresh wild salmon another week. Canned salmon one week, fresh tuna another week. Throw in some fresh or frozen mahimahi some days, fresh opah on other days. And this gets mixed in with the usual lean poultry, occasional lean beef and weekly legumes and soy protein.
When selecting seafood, I try to follow the recommendations of Seafood Watch instead of simply choosing the cheapest selection at my local supermarket. And I do try to include farmed fish that I never would have considered before… like tilapia. Farmed tilapia are leagues apart from the wild schools swimming in the Ala Wai Canal.And if I were in the at-risk category, I would follow the recommendations of the FDA and EPA and limit my fish consumption, I wouldn’t necessarily eliminate fish from my diet but I would limit my weekly serving. The key is moderation (as all things in life) and getting a varied diet – especially fish – to limit potential pollutants that concentrate in certain species of fish. To illustrate why dietary diversity is important, there’s a cuddly looking black and white bear in Asia that eats only one type of food - bamboo… and we can see where that species potentially is headed.
Then several years ago, the Cochrane Review (the gold standard for critical evaluation of scientific data) concluded that there was not enough evidence that omega 3 fatty acids made you live longer or protected you from cardiovascular disease. Huh?
On top of that, a joint recommendation by the FDA and EPA stated that at-risk populations (pregnant, nursing, future pregnancy and young children) limit fish consumption.
Then there’s this controversy whether to eat wild or farmed raised seafood. I thought that farmed seafood would help to conserve the wild stock but certain groups now advise against farmed raised seafood.
Though the pristine waters of the Atlantic and Pacific are very clear, consuming seafood seems to be getting cloudier every year. Do I simply go back to Big Macs?
Is Fish Actually a Healthier Alternative?
For starters, whenever scientific data is analyzed, the gold standard is known as the randomized controlled trial. In other words, each subject is randomized to either the placebo (no active treatment) or active treatment group so that the deck is not stacked against either group. Ideally, you would also want each subject to be in-the-dark regarding whichever treatment group they’re assigned to. When comparing drugs, that’s easily accomplished because each subject either takes a tablet with active drug or tablet made of sugar (placebo). However, with nutrition studies, each subject knows whether they’re eating fish or beef or tofu. That’s why nutrition studies aren’t the easiest trials to conduct and results should be evaluated as part of the “larger picture”. Sometimes the trees do get in the way of the forest.
Therefore even the Cochrane Review concluded that people who regularly consume foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids continue to do so until further trials produce a definitive answer whether they reduce cardiovascular disease and mortality.
Who Should Limit Fish Consumption
The current recommendations are for populations at-risk defined as pregnancy, nursing, those who may become pregnant (so I guess all newlyweds) and young children. The main reason behind this joint FDA and EPA recommendation is due to environmental contaminants that are found in certain seafood. The main culprits are mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs. By now, we’re all aware of the health implications of mercury toxicity starting with Minamata Disease some 50 years ago. Though Minamata Disease portrays mercury toxicity at its most extreme, chronic exposure can damage the central nervous system, organs and hormonal systems.
Though PCBs are no longer produced in the United States, their persistence in the environment contributes to their toxicity. They have been associated with certain cancers, developmental disorders in children and liver, thyroid and immune system disorders.
Well, I’m a guy… or a woman who stopped having children. Don’t I count or should I also limit my fish consumption too? Since the toxicities of these compounds affect developing organisms to a greater extent, the advisories are targeted for these special groups. Just having a waist that’s still growing doesn’t count as much.
Recommendations for at-risk populations:
No shark, swordfish, tilefish or king mackerel
No more than 12 ounces per week of other fishes (up to 6 ounces per week of albacore)
Wild Versus Farmed
This is a separate contentious issue that pits fisherman against “farmer”man. I originally embraced the notion of preserving wild stock of seafood by farm raising the same animal in sea farms like the way we raise most terrestrial protein sources. This was personally motivating for me to seek out farmed raised salmon since we seem to be destroying the natural breeding habitat of Kings, Cohos and Sockeyes. I couldn’t imagine waking up one day without sake sashimi that left little orbs of abura floating over the surface of a ponzu dipping sauce. Or velvety slices of salt, sugar and herb cured gravlax under a perfectly poached egg and lemony hollandaise.
Then I slowly realized that the farmed raised variety wasn’t simply wild salmon raised in pens. They were fed beta carotene fortified feed for that characteristic orange color that never develops in the pen. Or that they may also be munching on feed fortified with hormones or antibiotics. Or that they occasionally get infested with parasites or may escape from their pens to eventually breed with wild salmon. Hmm, somehow the notion of environmental conservation doesn’t translate as easily.
Of course, I’m not stating that all farmed raised seafood has the same issues as salmon. For a
better grasp of the concerns and recommendations, visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch website: http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp. They have a simple chart that you can download with recommendations whether wild or farmed is better for the environment and the species concerned. They also go as far as recommending specific geographic areas where seafood choices are better than others.The Gochiso Gourmet’s Recommendation
I still enjoy seafood and fish as a regular part of my diet. The key is to vary the types of fish and their sources. Canned tuna one week, fresh wild salmon another week. Canned salmon one week, fresh tuna another week. Throw in some fresh or frozen mahimahi some days, fresh opah on other days. And this gets mixed in with the usual lean poultry, occasional lean beef and weekly legumes and soy protein.
When selecting seafood, I try to follow the recommendations of Seafood Watch instead of simply choosing the cheapest selection at my local supermarket. And I do try to include farmed fish that I never would have considered before… like tilapia. Farmed tilapia are leagues apart from the wild schools swimming in the Ala Wai Canal.And if I were in the at-risk category, I would follow the recommendations of the FDA and EPA and limit my fish consumption, I wouldn’t necessarily eliminate fish from my diet but I would limit my weekly serving. The key is moderation (as all things in life) and getting a varied diet – especially fish – to limit potential pollutants that concentrate in certain species of fish. To illustrate why dietary diversity is important, there’s a cuddly looking black and white bear in Asia that eats only one type of food - bamboo… and we can see where that species potentially is headed.
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