Fish, for the most part, is seen as that food that is healthy for your body and mind. It’s a low fat, high in protein food and has a wide variety of health benefits. However, all fish doesn’t fall in that category.
Fish can either be one of the best foods for you or detrimental to your health, depending on where it comes from. There is a world of difference between fish that is caught in the wild, farm-bred or farm-raised fish. The most common farm-raised fish are: salmon, tilapia, sea bass, catfish and cod.
Farm-raised tilapia has always been a popular source for fish, not only because it is widely available in the U.S., but it is also very inexpensive. However, before you stock up on tilapia, you may want to know about its correlation to inflammation. According to recent studies, eating farm-raised tilapia may worsen inflammation that can lead to heart disease, arthritis, asthma and a host of other serious health problems. People who resort to eating more fish as a way to get their dose of omega-3-fatty-acids and lessen their risk of heart attacks may want to hold off on the tilapia. In fact, some scientists have found that the inflammatory potential of tilapia is far greater than that of a hamburger or pork bacon!
Apparently, chicken feces is one of the main ingredients that go into farm fish feed. Not only that, the transfer of pig and duck waste to fish farms is also a very common practice.
Farm-bred fish have been found to have high concentrations of antibiotics and pesticides. To keep them alive, farm owners give antibiotics to the fish to keep away disease. Farm-bred fish are also treated with pesticides to combat sea lice.
READ: 5 Foods That Cause Inflammation
Farm-bred fish also have lower levels of healthy nutrients. Many of us consume fish, hoping to reap the omega-3 fatty acid benefits that come with it. However, did you know that the omega-3-acids that are found in farm-raised fish are less usable to our bodies compared to wild bred fish? Farm-raised fish also has a lower protein content. Not only that, because farm-raised fish are kept in cages, they have the tendency to be fattier, and can have a higher concentration of omega-6 acids. The problem with getting too much omega 3 and omega 6 acids is that they may cause inflammation to the body.
These are only some of the dangers that have been linked back to eating farm-raised fish. What does this tell us? The biggest lesson that we can get from this is that we should find out where our fish is coming from. Not all fish are created equal, and sad to say, farm-raised fish, instead of helping us, may even harm us.
Fish can be an incredible health-building food if you go with wild -caught fish, like sockeye salmon. It’s loaded with the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA and has incredible health benefits.
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