Seafood and Fresh fish
Seafood has been praised for its health benefits since reliable scientific tests have been conducted on it. Many cultures and areas with heavy reliance on seafood have known this fact for thousands of years, and have been proven to have longer, healthier lives because of it. Fish is low in fat, and has many essential oils that promote healthy heart and brain functions. The health benefits of seafood are widely known and regarded, but like any organism they are susceptible to contamination. Recently there have been many reports of high levels of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs in fish and seafood around the world, but this shouldn’t discourage people from eating more fish. A little bit of knowledge can allow for an educated decision.
Mercury can cause many problems in eco-systems. People who eat fish that has high levels of mercury, such as swordfish, shark, tilefish and mackerel, experience frequent headaches, increased hair loss, and loss of the ability to concentrate. This is just among adults, the effects on young and developing people is even more dramatic. In fetuses, mercury prevents normal brain development and can cause stillbirths as well as many mental deficiencies that are permanent and incurable. Limiting the amount of fish that contains high amounts of mercury is an easy way to prevent these maladies.
Fish that have notoriously low mercury levels are shrimp, salmon, catfish, tilapia, flounder, scallops, trout, herring, crawfish, mullet, oysters, perch, sardines, squid, white fish, halibut and anchovies. These fish can be found in almost any seafood restaurant or market. Typically wild caught fish and shellfish are less likely to have high levels mercury and PCBs, although interior rivers and streams used for sport fishing may be more susceptible to local pollution. These chemicals are the by products of many manufacturing processes, and are often merely dumped into water supplies by multinational corporations vying to save a buck.
The effects of PCBs on humans and the environment are less understood. PCBs are found in almost every fish on earth now, most with small levels of contamination that shouldn’t be harmful if occasionally ingested. High levels are incredibly toxic. A stream outside of the Monsanto factory in Anniston, Alabama has such high levels of PCBs that when healthy fish are put into the water they die within seconds, their skin falls off and bleeds within seconds as they sink to the bottom and rot.
Monsanto was the only manufacturer of PCBs in the world and is responsible for all PCBs in the environment. This is the company that is making genetically modified foods that are found (almost always unlabeled as GMO) in most grocery stores. They have known since 1966 that PCBs are toxic and cause cancer and tumors (among other things) when ingested, but kept that information secret and continued their practice of dumping PCBs into the environment until PCBs were banned from production in 1979. Susceptible seafood includes shrimp, oysters, river fish and especially bottom feeders such as lobster and crab which ingest the heavy PCBs in every bite.
Seafood is still incredibly good for sustenance, healthy bodies and minds but it should be approached with caution. Knowing where the fish comes from can help a consumer judge the safety of the food, but this information is often difficult to obtain in many restaurants. Luckily, the health benefits of seafood still greatly outweigh the risks, so enjoy that sushi and toast to your health.
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