Eating fish is good for us, right? Well, that depends on who you ask – or your source.
Fish are low in saturated fat and provide a rich source of omega 3s. This fatty acid is vital for brain health, controlling inflammation, giving us healthy skin, and a long list of other benefits and necessities for the proper functioning of our bodies. However, the pollution of our oceans and its effects on fish is a growing concern.
Does that mean we should stop eating fish and seafood? There are countless arguments and debates on this issue. It’s difficult to know who to trust on the topic because many of those sources seem to be credible. Until we know more, you can choose to stop eating fish, or you can choose to benefit from the health properties in fish by applying common sense practices:
- Eat fish less frequently. You can still reap the benefits of the omega-3 fatty acid and other health-benefiting properties, by consuming fish just two to three times weekly.
- Have smaller amounts if you eat fish more than three times weekly (perhaps 2 oz servings instead of the standard 3 or 4 ounces).
- More often, choose smaller fish like sardines and anchovies, not the larger fish like tuna or sturgeon. Smaller fish will offer less contaminants.
- Choose sources with less mercury, like salmon, cod, pollock, sole, shrimp, mussels, scallops, and canned flaked tuna. The darker-coloured (and much cheaper) cans of light tuna made from skipjack, yellowfin and tongol tuna are smaller-sized, therefore have low levels of mercury. Canned albacore tuna (the whiter, more expensive tuna, which comes from large tuna) have higher mercury levels.
- Eat fish higher in mercury less often. These include shark, swordfish, escolar, marlin, orange roughy, and albacore tuna. These options should be limited to once-a-week consumption. However, these high-mercury fish should be eaten only once a month by children and pregnant or nursing women.
- Practice variety: Avoid always eating the same type of fish. Switch it up. This can help reduce the mercury and other heavy metals you might consume.
- And, most importantly, eat lots of fibre-rich foods, like vegetables, root vegetables, legumes, seeds, and whole grains. Fibre may help keep mercury and other pollutants regularly moving out of your body.
Another concern is wild fish versus farmed fish: Which is best? Unfortunately, wild vs. farmed is a lengthy, complex topic that deserves a separate article. The sensible way to make an educated decision on any controversy is to research it yourself while keeping an open, unbiased mind. Consider both sides of the issue, putting aside your own opinions and strong beliefs – whether it’s about eating fish (or not) or the ‘wild vs. farmed’ controversy.
TIP: Regarding the latter, online sources seem to mostly support eating wild fish. However, to be fair, include an internet search for “farmed fish myths.”
Fish can provide many vital properties for humans – like all other food sources nature has provided us. And while anything can be harmful in large amounts, it is possible there can also be benefits with moderation and common sense.
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Eve Lees has been active in the health & fitness industry since 1979. Currently, she is a Freelance Health Writer for several publication and speaks to business and private groups on various health topics.