SConclusion
Fish that contain low levels of mercury are anchovies, catfish, clam, crab, haddock, hake, herring, salmon, sardines, shrimp, trout (freshwater), tuna and whitefish. The following have higher content of mercury: swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tilefish. “Avoid eating them, as possible,” experts warn.
If you are concerned about mercury, or if you just don’t want to eat fish, you need to get omega-3 fatty acids from other sources. There are many plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids, such as canola oil, flax seeds, walnuts and pumpkin seeds. The type of omega-3 fatty acids found in plants, called alpha linolenic acid (ALA), is not exactly the same as the fats found in fish, but experts say your body has the capability to transform ALA to both EPA and DHA.
Our very own tilapia has very low levels of mercury because it is a fast-growing and short-lived fish that mostly eats a vegetarian diet. However, a study done in the United States has shown that eating tilapia is not good for those with heart problems.
“Cardiologists are telling their patients to go home and eat fish, and if the patients are poor, they’re eating tilapia. And that could translate into a dangerous situation,” said the researchers from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
“For individuals who are eating fish as a method to control inflammatory diseases such as heart disease, it is clear from these numbers that tilapia is not a good choice,” said an article, which appeared in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. “All other nutritional content aside, the inflammatory potential of hamburger and pork bacon is lower than the average serving of farmed tilapia.”
The American study found farm-raised tilapia has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acid and, perhaps worse, very high levels of omega-6 fatty acids. “In a fish-farming situation, the fish that you get depends on what they are fed,” explained Dr. Floyd Chilton, a professor of physiology and pharmacology and the director of the Wake Forest Center for Botanical Lipids.
“Now if these fish are fed, as in the wild, omega-3 fatty acids and algae, then they’re going to have long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, which are going to be incredibly beneficial. However, if these fish are fed short-chain omega-6 products that come from corn products, which is happening so often now then what one sees is the long-chain detrimental omega-6 fatty acids. So really, the fish really are what they eat and we really are what we eat, as well,” said Chilton, who headed the study.
That may be true of the tilapia raised in the United States, pointed out Dr. Rafael Guerrero III, former executive director of the Laguna-based Philippine Council for Aquaculture and Marine Research and Development “It is true that farmed tilapia has lower omega-3 fatty acids than marine fish that feed on natural food [algae] in the ocean compared to tilapia fed in ponds and cages using feeds containing corn,” he explained. “But this applies more in the US. In the Philippines, we feed our tilapia with rice bran and soybean meal that contain less omega-6 fatty acids.”
On the controversy, which tilapia has created a stir among health buffs, Guerrero said, “There is still a controversy or disagreement among nutritionists with regard to the right balance of omega-6 and omega-3, which we both need in our diet. More studies are needed.”
However, he believes that eating tilapia raised in the Philippines “is healthier than eating bacon and red meat because of its other attributes other than fatty acids, such as proteins, minerals and vitamins, among others.”
как оформить рефинансирование кредитаImage credits: Henrylito D. Tacio