Thought for the Day: The facts on fish

Filed under: All Cancers, Research, Diets, Thought for the Day

Ever wonder what fish to eat, what fish to avoid, what fish is healthy, what fish is cancer-causing? I do.

I'm looking into this whole fish thing. And while my search for information is in no way exhaustive and my findings are far from conclusive, I have found some interesting fishy facts and figures.

Think about this:

Fish definitely has health benefits. It's low in fat, high in protein, and rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Americans love this. How do I know? Because on average, each of us eats a record 16.6 pounds of fish every year. Our intake of shrimp and salmon has doubled, in fact, since 1994.

Fish definitely has its drawbacks too. Headlines repeatedly warn us of dangerous contaminants in lakes, rivers, and oceans. Don't forget about mercury, the biggest fish health hazard. It's been linked to neurological problems in developing fetuses and children, making consumption of shark, swordfish, tilefish (aka golden snapper or golden bass), king mackeral, canned albacore tuna, and tuna steaks a no-no for hoards of women and children.

For just about everyone else, the benefits of eating moderate amounts of seafood greatly outweigh the risks. Just watch out for those PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) -- possible carcinogenic chemical compounds that end up in some seafood.

To avoid PCBs, steer clear of farmed salmon which contains high levels of these compounds or limit your intake to less than one single eight-ounce meal per month. Opt for the wild variety of salmon to avoid this concern altogether. Or take the side of the FDA. Their reports say salmon is a powerhouse when it comes to protecting heart and developing cancer from this source is much lower than the risk of heart disease.

Source: Good Housekeeping, April 2007

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