Applying to a healthy lifestyle for the maintenance of good health, involves indulging in an equally healthy and balanced diet. Among the foods rich in nutritional qualities beneficial to health, we find fish, excellent source of vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, omega 3 and trace elements essential for the proper functioning of the human body.
However, some fish species contain toxic substances that can be harmful to your health.
With various nutritional virtues beneficial to the proper functioning of the human body, fish is a food to be regularly included in its diet in order to benefit from the benefits of its compounds in vitamins, minerals, omega 3 and proteins.
However, some species of fish, may by the risk of contamination by environmental pollutants, be harmful to our health. Dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), GMOs and other pollutants such as methylmercury contaminate or are likely to significantly contaminate fish.
We list 8 fish, whose consumption is to be limited or avoided.
Catfish
Some catfish production methods involve the injection of hormones to accelerate growth. Hence the importance of favoring the consumption of small catfish to ensure the absence of any toxicity.
Mackerel
Mackerel is one of the fish most likely to contain mercury. Moreover, its absorption and accumulation by the tissues of the human body can have serious consequences on health. It is best to eat blue mackerel with less risk of mercury contamination.
Tilapia (exception of European tilapia)
Tilapia is more and more controversial because of its breeding methods. In fact, farmed tilapia is fed a denatured diet based on corn granules and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This fish also contains high amounts of pesticides. Its consumption is therefore to be avoided and may even increase the risk of asthma, arthritic diseases, or cardiovascular diseases.
The eel
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are environmental pollutants that tend to clump together in the mud, whose eel can be fed. PCBs accumulate in the flesh of fish by being stored in fats and are thus even preserved during growth.
The Panga
The Panga is a fish that comes from the Mekong Delta at Vitenam, one of the most contaminated rivers on the planet. This fish also knows, very controversial farming methods involving their pollution by hazardous and toxic industrial residues, contaminated metals without forgetting PCBs and other dioxins.
The fish tile
The fish tile is one of the fish whose consumption is to limit or even avoid. Indeed it is one of the most contaminated fish by mercury, considered by the WHO as one of the ten chemicals of extreme concern for public health.
Silver Dollar
The Silver Dollar has gempylotoxin which is not toxic to the human body, but the fact that it is not digestible allied with its purgative effect, can cause non-dangerous but very uncomfortable gastrointestinal reactions.
Tuna (exception of tuna germinate from line)
Tuna, a popular fish for consumers around the world, also contains mercury, especially canned fish, and is also the subject of growth hormone injections (in breeding) as for catfish.
The recommendations of ANSES
The National Agency for Food Safety, Environment and Labor (ANSES) recommends that, in order to ensure all the benefits of fish consumption and meet the nutritional needs, while reducing the risk of overexposure to certain contaminants, to consume fish twice a week by combining a fish with a high omega 3 content and a lean fish.
Not all listed fish are unsuitable for consumption, but the best way to go in terms of consumption is to vary the fish species as much as possible in their diet in order to avoid the accumulation of contaminants because the danger is essentially related to their accumulation in the body.
Focus on wild or organic fish such as herring, sardines, mackerel, Pacific salmon, turbulence, herring, Alaska cod, trout or anchovy.