Seafood choices for your health and a healthy world
Guest contributor: Karen Collins, M.S., R.D., C.D.N.Karen Collins holds a B.S. degree from Purdue and an M.S. degree from Cornell, both in nutrition. When she’s not writing or speaking, she conducts a private nutrition practice in Jamestown, New York.
Americans need to eat more seafood and less red meat, but are there affordable choices good for both our health and the environment? We consumed six times more red meat than seafood in 2007, a pattern that increases risk of colon cancer and adds to environment-damaging greenhouse gases.
Fish is naturally low in saturated fat, and some is also high in omega-3 fat, which lowers risk of stroke and heart attack and reduces inflammation throughout the body. Unfortunately, some fish come with toxins accumulated in polluted waters and certain fishing methods are environmentally destructive. Knowing how to choose fish that is both eco-friendly and health promoting creates a win-win situation.
Seafood that’s win-win
One example of a win-win fish is wild salmon, which is high in omega-3 fat, low in contaminants and comes from well managed fisheries. However, world supply would be decimated if everybody chose this for our recommended two servings a week.
For other win-win options, try Atlantic mackerel, sablefish (also called “black cod”), Arctic char, sardines and farmed rainbow trout. Barramundi, farmed striped bass and mussels are great options with slightly less, but still substantial, omega-3s. Canned wild salmon also offers health benefits in a convenient, affordable form.
Pacific halibut, Alaskan pollock and U.S. farmed catfish and tilapia aren’t high in omega-3 fat, but offer low saturated fat and contaminants, high nutrients and eco-friendly impact. Look for U.S. farmed or wild shrimp, which are more eco-friendly than shrimp from less-regulated countries. Clams, oysters and bay scallops are eco-safe and low-contaminant shellfish.
Choices that are healthy for you
Skipping the breaded, battered and fried seafood options, laden with trans and saturated fats and extra calories, is the first step in making a healthy choice. Don’t select only those high in omega-3 fat, but know that including them regularly adds an extra benefit. Making health-wise choices also means limiting exposure to toxins such as methylmercury, PCBs and dioxins that can accumulate in fish from polluted waters.
- Women of childbearing age and children up to age 12 should avoid swordfish, shark, tile fish and king mackerel due to greatest mercury contamination. These groups should choose up to 12 ounces per week (somewhat less for those under 6) of a variety of other seafood.
- Before cooking, remove the skin and fat where PCBs concentrate. Serve less fried fish because frying seals in pollutants that might be in the fat, while cooking on a rack or grill allows fat to drain.
- Try smaller fish like sardines and seafood such as U.S. farmed mussels.
For most of us, as long as appropriate amounts of a variety of seafood are selected to minimize risk from exposure to a single source, the health benefits of eating seafood several times a week seem to outweigh the possible risks.
Eco-friendly choices
When purchasing fish, ask the grocer how the fish was harvested. Wild fish caught by hook and line or trap are environmentally best. Environmentalists say that fish caught by trawl net, dragging or longline can damage coral or the ocean floor. These methods also lead to “by-catch” of small fish, dolphins and sea turtles, which are then tossed back dead or dying.
Farmed fish can be a smart option when they’re raised in closed systems where wastes are controlled and there is little chance of the fish escaping. Farmed seafood and fish produced outside of the United States is often not closely regulated, so fish can escape and threaten native species with disease or competition for food.
Also, water and waste may not be treated before being discharged to the surrounding habitat. With the exception of farmed salmon, U.S. farmed fish is generally a good choice.
(This article was provided by the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. A registered dietician is available to respond to questions about diet, nutrition, and cancer at the free AICR Hotline at 1 (800) 843-8114 during business hours.)
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Seafood choices for your health and a healthy world
