Power food or powerfully contaminated: Let's fish for facts

By: Mimi Gibbons

We've all read the good news about eating fish. Experts tout the benefits for the heart and brain. We've also read the new warnings about contaminants in fish that may pose potential health risks. Should we stop eating seafood? The answer is no. We can still get the benefits of fish while minimizing the risks.
Why should fish be part of our diet?

Fish is a good source of protein and of several minerals. The oils and fats obtained from fish are higher in polyunsaturated fats (the more desirable types for preventing atherosclerosis) than butter, other animal fats and coconut and palm oils. Ocean fish contain useful amounts of iodine and selenium. You can also obtain small amounts of calcium by eating the softened bones of canned fish like salmon and sardines.

What are the health benefits of eating fish?

A recent Harvard report stated that eating fish lowers the risk of dying from heart disease by 36 percent. This benefit may be due to the omega-3 fatty acids present in fish. These "good" fats may help prevent irregular heartbeats, blood clots and inflammation, and also help lower triglycerides. Fish, which is low in saturated fat, can replace less healthful foods such as red meat. The American Heart Association recommends at least two servings of fish a week for heart disease prevention.

What are the risks of eating fish?

A well-publicized risk is mercury. Nearly all fish contain some mercury. The levels can vary widely. When mercury is released into the air, some settles into ocean, lakes and rivers, where it moves up the food chain. Small fish will feed on plankton and larger fish will feed on the smaller fish. The larger, long-lived predator fish will then contain more mercury. Low levels of mercury have been implicated in the damage to developing nervous system in fetuses, infants and young children. Whether low levels are damaging to adults is still subject to debate.

Women who are or may become pregnant, nursing mothers and young children are advised by the government to avoid certain fish because of their high mercury levels. These fish are swordfish, king mackerel, shark and tilefish. Canned albacore tuna and tuna steak should be limited to no more than 6 ounces a week and no more than 12 ounces total intake a week (children should eat smaller amounts).

Other contaminants present in fish are PCBs and other organic pollutants (such as DDT and dioxin). PCBs can show up in fish from lakes and local rivers, as well as the ocean. Wild salmon contain far fewer PCBs than farmed salmon. Although the FDA says it is all right to eat farmed salmon, their recommendation is to not eat it every week.

When preparing fish for cooking, remove the skin and the fat beneath it. Broiling, baking and grilling fish is preferable to frying or sautéing, as this will allow the fat, where the chemicals are concentrated, to drain off. To eliminate the dangers of parasites and microorganisms, all fish and seafood should be thoroughly cooked. Don't eat raw seafood. Cooked fish should turn opaque and will flake when tested with a fork. Mussels and clams should be steamed past the point when their shell opens.

How about using fish oil supplements?

Because fish contain a variety of healthful components, most people should eat fish rather than take fish oil (omega-3) capsules. The American Heart Association, however, recommends one gram of omega-3 a day, preferably from fatty fish or supplements for people with heart disease. Consult your doctor if you decide to take the supplements.
To sum up, consider the following to get the benefits of fish while minimizing exposure to contaminants: Eat fish two to three times a week (a serving is 4 to 5 ounces) and vary your choices. When eating salmon, choose wild and canned. Sardines, herring and anchovies are good choices for fatty fish, providing lots of the omega-3s.

Some other good fish choices are: snow crab, bay scallops, blue mussels, Pacific oysters, Atlantic mackerel, farmed striped bass, U.S. farmed tilapia and crawfish and sablefish. You can check mercury levels in fish at www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html.

*Note: some material for this article was obtained from the University of California at Berkley Health Newsletter.

(Readers are encouraged to ask questions of Mimi Gibbons at Dietcorner@frontiernet.net.)

Naples Sun Times

January 10, 2007