One Fish, Two Fish, Good Fish, Bad Fish

Have you ever had that debate when eating fish, trying to decide whether you're being healthy, or harmful to your body?

It all depends on your choices, actually.

Fish is an excellent source of not only protein, but also omega-3 fatty acids that are wonderful for a myriad of important bodily functions. So, what is the catch? Some seafood varieties contain high levels of mercury, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), dioxins and other environmental contaminants.

What to do then?
It's easy!

Just make sure your seafood choices are based on a
higher ratio of good vs the bad.

Higher levels of these environmental contaminants are usually present in larger, older, predatory fish, and significantly lower in their smaller, younger prey. For example, shark and swordfish are very high, and anchovies and sardines are very low. That represents two extremes, though, so don't worry I'm sure your favorite fish is on the list, at least in moderation!
To check out your own mercury calculator (using your weight to judge the exposure to a serving of your favorite fish), go to the website www.gotmercury.org.

Now, what about the good side of fish?

Omega-3 fatty acids are important for the formation of healthy cell membranes and proper functioning of your brain and nervous system. They are involved in pretty much everything that you and your body needs to think and do.
In addition to those minor details, a healthy balance of fatty acids in the diet are protective against heart disease, depression and other mental disorders, cardiac sudden death, stroke, hormone imbalance, unhealthy cholesterol ratio, and possibly hypertension and inflammatory diseases.

If you want to reap all these benefits,
but don't want to worry about which fish to eat or not?

I would recommend taking an omega-3,6,9 supplement, up to 3g daily. Fatty acid supplements made from fish are purified to remove any heavy metals, and it's possible to get a supplement that provides for you a balance of the variety of omega fats your body needs. If you prefer to have fatty acid sources that are vegetarian, you can also choose supplements such as the oils of: flax seed, borage, evening primrose or food sources such as walnuts, hemp seeds, soybeans (I recommend edamame or tempeh), and dark leafy greens.

So, back to the fish topic:
who are the fish winners in the omega-3 content category?

Wild Salmon, Herring, Rainbow Trout, Anchovies, Pacific Oysters and Sardines, where 4 ounces or less of these varieties will give you roughly 1 gram of disease fighting and brain boosting omega 3's. If you want an easy way to boost your fish intake, but don't want to buy and cook fresh, remember that canned is inexpensive, easy to find and prepare. Remember however the importance of choosing the correct fish variety. Wild salmon is an excellent choice, "light or chunk" tuna is also good, but I would choose albacore and yellowfin tuna last due to their higher mercury levels.

Just to throw out one more hook while we're on the subject...
have you considered where your fish come from?

Sustainable fishing is not only important for our environment, but also important for the health of our bodies through the health of the fish we eat. The Monterey Bay Aquarium provides an easy to use website for interesting information and seafood variety search capabilities to see if your favorite fish is on the "good" list.

Here is their website for reference: www.mbayaq.org
To look up specific fish, look under Save The Oceans, then Seafood Watch, or go to http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp

Thankfully, the fish on the "health winner" list can also be winners on the sustainability list!

Enjoy low mercury, high omega-3 fish several times a week (in 4oz portions), stay educated about your food choices, and not only will your body thank you, but so will the environment!

Conventional vs. Organic...is it worth the cost?

Do you buy organic?
Do you know where your food comes from?
Do you know if it's grown or produced sustainably?

I hear from people the organic just isn't worth the extra cost, but are you sure?

In this short article, I will touch on the importance of organic and sustainable farming practices for the environment and our health.

Conventional vs. Organic

Industrial: post WWII vs. Traditional: 10,000 years
Nutrition: chemically made fertilizers vs. animal manure
Growth: hormones vs. natural growth cycle
Disease management: fungicides, antibiotics vs. space and minerals
Predator management: pesticides vs. rotation, bacteria and botanicals
Competition management: herbicides vs. mulching and tiling
large output vs. less output
soil depletion vs. soil maintenance
food, worker and environment contamination vs. low contamination
energy intensive vs. lower energy input

This list isn't 100% true of all conventional farms, nor of organic farms. We are seeing organic farms that have cropped up and are looking more and more conventional, but are able to stay within the boundaries of the word (and laws of) "organic".

What is more important than the definition of words are the practices of the farmer. Know where your food is coming from, and make sure you are supporting sustainable farming practices.

Now, let's cover some of the basics of farming practices.

First, fertilizers.

Fertilizers provide plants with nitrogen to grow big. Both chemical fertilizer and manure are used for this same reason, however the concentration of nitrogen is the difference.

Chemical fertilizers provide WAY more nitrogen than the plant needs, so there is a surplus. The plants leaves serve as a storage unit for this excess nitrogen, but when that storage is full, the nitrogen is left in the ground, which then allows for run off to our lakes, rivers and eventually oceans, causing havoc along the way.

The nitrogen in the leaves is stored not as nitrogen, but as nitrate. Nitrates are normal in small amounts in vegetables, but too much isn't good for the plant, nor the animals eating those leaves, whether it be you, the human consumer, or domestic animals that then get eaten eventually by the human consumer.

Why are nitrates bad again?

Nitrates turn into nitrites. Nitrites can react with hemoglobin (oxygen carrying part of the red blood cells) by oxidizing Fe2 to Fe3, which is then unable to transport oxygen. This oxygen transportation is VERY important!!!

Oh, and don't forget that nitrites can also decompose to n-nitrosamines, which can be carcinogenic. Organic produce grown with more natural forms of fertilizer that are lower in nitrogen have lower amounts of nitrites!

Secondly, proper soil management.

Proper soil management allows for good "bugs" to remain in the soil.
Microorganisms in the soil produce enzymes that help minerals become more available to plant roots. This is one reason produce grown with proper soil management techniques have higher mineral content!

Thirdly, antioxidants.

Plants that aren't given chemicals to fight for them, have to fight for themselves. How do they do that? With their own defense system called antioxidants. Yes, the antioxidants that have been talked about for years being good for you to promote heart health, prevent some cancers, slow the aging process and just fight those nasty free radicals. Plants that are stressed by their predators may not look perfect as they get part of a leaf bit here and a hole there, but they are stronger because of it! Remember perfect looking produce isn't always the healthiest!!

Bottom Line?

I recommend choosing organic, or better yet, visiting your local farmer's market, or becoming part of a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Here is a website that can help you find a local farmer to work with: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ Also, just talking to the farmers, asking them about their farming practices is important. If they have sustainable farming practices, then you can trust their produce is healthier for you and for the environment, with or without the organic symbol (which can be too expensive for some small farmers to be certified). Many farms allow people to visit and sometimes even take part in the growing and harvesting process. This isn't only great fun, but a wonderful learning experience for children.

Remember to wash your produce with soap and water and enjoy full flavored and highly nutritious organic food!!


Interesting articles about organic vs. conventional:

Modulation of Antioxidant Compounds in Organic vs. Conventional Fruit Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2002, 50, 5458-5462

Phytochemical Phenolics in Organically Grown Vegetables, Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2005, 49, 1136-1142

Nutritional Quality of Organic vs. Conventional Fruits, Vegetables and Grains, Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2001, 2, 161-173

Soil Fertility and Biodiversity in Organic Farming, Science 2002, 296, 5573, pp. 1694-1697

Effect of Diet Based on Foods from Conventional vs. Organic Production on Intake and Excretion of Flavonoids and markers of Antioxidative Defense in Humans, J. Agric. Food Chem. 2003, 51, 5671-5675