Topic: seafood

Bad Fish Alert: Seafood Is Not Always What You Think It Is

Bad Fish Alert: Seafood Is Not Always What You Think It Is

Think you know what kind of fish you’re getting when you shop, dine out, or eat sushi? You don’t, according to a new study that says something’s fishy in New York City. According to the report, a majority of grocery stores and restaurants were caught for mislabeling their seafood and sushi and selling customers a cheaper fish substitute–an act which could have major health implications. More »

Gulf Seafood Unsafe For Pregnant Women and Children—Should You Avoid It, Too?

Gulf Seafood Unsafe For Pregnant Women and Children—Should You Avoid It, Too?

After the BP oil spill, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it was safe to continue eating Gulf seafood. But a new study says that pregnant women and children should avoid it, thanks to heightened levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), compounds found in oil, gasoline and coal that have been linked to cancer. But I can’t help but wonder: if it’s not safe for them, shouldn’t we avoid it, too? More »

Buy The Right Fish: Avoiding Mercury

Buy The Right Fish: Avoiding Mercury

Fish is one of the healthiest foods you can eat—if you’re eating the right kind. So far, we’ve explored the wild caught vs. farm-raised debate, and ways to tell if your fish was harvested sustainably. Now let’s tackle the mercury question, shall we? There’s been so much hype surrounding fish and mercury that I think a lot of us aren’t sure whether our seafood dinner is tantamount to sucking down an old thermometer, but the good news is that mercury in fish might pose less of a problem than you believe. Some of the fish we eat most often, like shrimp, salmon and tilapia, show consistently low levels of mercury contamination. As long as you avoid (or don’t eat too much of) certain types of fish—most of which are fish we consume less of in America anyway—you should be just fine on the mercury front. More »

Buy The Right Fish: Wild-Caught Vs. Farm-Raised

Buy The Right Fish: Wild-Caught Vs. Farm-Raised

I know I should eat more fish—it’s one of the consistent links between most healthy diets—but I’m often deterred by both cost and confusion over what’s the ‘good’ or ‘bad’ kind of fish to buy. Farm-raised or wild-caught? Is frozen okay? What about canned tuna or smoked salmon? Which kinds have too much mercury? And is cheap fish necessarily bad (because that $2.50-per-pound perch is calling my name …)? Between my health, the environment and animal rights concerns, I’m lost. More »

Smarter People Drink More and American Women Are Getting Sicker: Smarter People Morning News Roundup

Smarter People Drink More and American Women Are Getting Sicker: Smarter People Morning News Roundup

Urbanites Just Think They’re Smarter – Harvard researchers find that city living changes the brain (and not for the better, mostly). (Yoga Journal)

American Women Are Becoming Less Healthy – Recent study points to setbacks in women’s health, including worsening obesity, more drinking, and higher STD rates. (New York Times)

Does Alcohol Make You Smarter, Happier? – The correlation between binge drinking and intelligence is more complicated than you’d think. (CNN Health) More »

A New Dirty Dozen: 12 Toxic Fish to Avoid Like the Plague

A New Dirty Dozen: 12 Toxic Fish to Avoid Like the Plague

Food & Water Watch just released the 2010 Smart Seafood Guide, which names its own Dirty Dozen – just like the 12 fruits and vegetables you should always buy organic. It’s made up of seafood that doesn’t meet at least two of the criteria created by Food & Water Watch, which focused on health issues, socioeconomic impact, and sustainability:

1. King crab: Despite being fished domestically, the bulk of king crab in the U.S. is imported from Russia, and isn’t well-regulated.

2. Caviar from beluga: This coveted species is often overfished and poached.

3. Atlantic bluefin tuna: These fish could be contaminated with mercury and PCB — plus, they’re overfished. More »

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