Friday July 25th, 2008
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Eat More Fish: Your Brain and Body Will Thank You
Posted by Kerry Trueman on June 5, 2006 - 10:30am.
Make your next trip to the grocery store a fishing expedition. Resolve to eat less red meat this year and switch to seafood instead; excess meat consumption contributes to heart disease, while omega 3-rich fish can actually reduce the risk.
Think it's just an old fishwive's tale that fish is brain food? Recent studies have concluded that regular consumption of fish makes our brains function better. Except, of course, if you're eating too much mercury-laced tuna, which could impair your mental functioning.
Confused? It's not that complicated. Just remember that when it comes to canned tuna, buy chunk light, which has less mercury than albacore, and limit your tuna consumption to once a week or so.
Salmon's a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, but you're better off buying wild salmon instead of farm-raised. Yes, wild salmon's more expensive, but farm-raised salmon has far more contaminants, or PCBs, due to the way the fish farmers feed them. Wild salmon have a better diet, and that makes them better for you.
I could eat sushi every day (that is, if I were independently wealthy.) But there are plenty of other ways to work more fish into your diet. We New Yorkers are fond of our morning bagel with salmon, but you could also start your day with a poached egg and salmon on an English muffin-whole grain, of course.
Seafood based soups are a great way to begin a meal, from chowders to gumbos, bisques to bouillabaisse (or its California cousin, cioppino.) The heartier fish soups can be a meal in themselves, but you might want to save room for a salmon or tuna burger. Don't have time to make them from scratch? There are several brands available in the frozen section of your supermarket. Fish tacos and grilled catfish po'boys make a fast, healthy meal, too.
And don't overlook seafood salads. If you love salade nicoise but you've had your fill of tuna for the week, have a salmon salade nicoise instead. Or try a ceviche, the Latin American style seafood salad that “cooks” fish in a citrus based marinade.
No matter how you cook it-or don't cook it!-eating more fish is a no-brainer. Just remember to go easy on the tuna; too much mercury might make you forget how many cans you've already eaten this month.
Image credit: U.S. Department of the Interior | Bureau of Reclamation – Salmon
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I copied this from www.omega-3info.com VEGETARIANS & VEGANS For people who cannot contemplate eating fish, the omega-3s must come from alpha-linolenic acid (ALAThis can be achieved by increasing intake of omega-3 rich foodssuch as flaxseed (linseed) oil, rapeseed (canola) oil, chia seeds, walnuts and walnut oil, and dark green leafy vegetables; it is vital that the intake of omega-6 fatty acids is kept in balance by closely monitoring vegetable oils and yellow fats (vegetable margarines made from sunflower/safflower oils) in the diet.
thanks for sharing that link, your point is well-taken. One excellent but little know plant based source of omega-3’s is purslane, which is dismissed as a weed by most people, but it actually makes a delicious salad green and it’s got more omega-3’s than fish. You can find it at the farmer’s market, sometimes, and also growing in your yard! I’m going to devote a whole post to it soon because it’s such an amazing plant.
I challenge the advice in the article re: “Fish tacos and grilled catfish po'boys make a fast, healthy meal, too.” I worked at a $20Billion+ national food producer for a brief period and visited catfish processing plants in Arkansas. While there we toured some local catfish farming operations. I noticed that catfish farmers commonly placed their fish ponds adjacent to vegetable growing plots that were sprayed with chemicals by crop duster aircraft. Chances are the wind and runoff carried some of these chemicals into the ponds and end up in the catfish. Catfish consumption is absolutely off-limits for me.
...you’re right to raise concerns about farm-raised fish, there are a lot of environmental and health issues to consider, which is why I try to only buy wild fish. But some farm-raised fish is more eco-friendly and safer to eat, you have to do a bit of research. And wild catfish is sometimes available, too, though it can be hard to find.