Shattering a myth: fish and disease. Seafood may be responsible for many ailments which the medical profession has been unable to diagnose successfully
Shattering a Myth: Fish and Disease
Q: What is the basis of the belief that
eating fish can reduce heart disease?
A: Atherosclerosis is characterized by accumulation
of fat deposits in the arteries
leading to clogging of blood flow and
subsequent insufficient supply of oxygen
to the heart. Advocates of adding an
abundance of fish to the diet suppose that
the presence of omega-3 will provide an
antidote.
Fish and other forms of seafood are high
in cholesterol. Whatever benefits omega-3
can provide are diminished by the
addition of cholesterol into the bloodstream.
When the serum cholesterol level
is raised, the liber’s ability to modify or
eliminate the substance is diminished.
Q: Fish and seafood have always
enjoyed the reputation of being low
in cholesterol. How do they compare
to other foods?
A: All animal-based foods contain cholesterol.
Only vegetarian foods are cholesterol-free.
The cholesterol content of seafood varies.
Some varieties of fish and shrimp are
second only to raw egg yolk in cholesterol
content by weight. Somehow the myth
persists that fish is cholesterol-free.
Q: Not long ago, pharmaceutical companies
extolled the virtues of fish-oil
pills to be taken with each meal to
ensure against stroke and heart
attacks. What happened to that fad?
A: Medical reports, based on well-founded
studies, implicated fish oil as a serious
problem for diabetics. Also, the substance
proved to be dangerous for people who
suffered thinning of blood caused by fish-oil
ingestion.
Q: Many observers who favor fish consumption
acknowledge the problems
of pollution. They are optimistic,
however, about the prospects of “fish
farming” whose ability to control the
condition of the waters in a controlled
environment could eliminate
contamination concern. How true is
this assumption?
A: Mass breeding of fish can stimulate
infections among the colonies. Fish
farmers are attempting to protect their
investments by feeding the stock antibiotics.
Without doubt, these drugs will be
passed on to fish eaters in whom antibiotic-resistant
strains of bacteria will eventually
flourish.
Q: Many people are under the impression
that seafood is low in calories.
Is this enough to overcome other
problems it poses in weight reduction?
What about sodium content?
A: All forms of fish are high in sodium. Some
forms of processed fish are making their
appearance as “imitation” crab meat,
lobster, etc. They are known as Surimi
in the trade and made of white fish
(pollock), which is extensively processed
with infusions of salt. Imitation crab has
been known to contain 841 milligrams of
sodium in a 3 1/2-ounce serving – enough
sodium to exceed one day’s limit. Many
species of fish are actually high in calories
because of their fat content.
A: How do fish and shellfish become
contaminated?
A: The primary source of contamination is
the environment from which the creatures
are harvested. Many of the earth’s waters
are polluted with sewage that may contain
human waste and other organisms.
Although cooking sometimes destroys
germs, the likelihood of infection persists.
Shellfish, especially, can be high in such
organisms because their habitat is stationary
and the breeding ground is ideal for
proliferation of microorganisms.
Other sources, of course, are the processing
methods that include poor food handling
through the use of hand, utensils, and
equipment. Improper temperature maintenance
is another hazard in the production
of such foods.
Q: There are rumors that many purveyors
of fish and seafood are involved
in “cover-ups” to camouflage spoilage.
How prevalent is this practice?
A: Many cases of “freshening” seafood are
legal and unhealthful. The Food and Drug
Administration permits the use of sulfite
treatment within prescribed limits. The
agency also stipulates that the presence
of sulfites be revealed on the label of
packed shrimp, for example. Owners of
fish-processing plants have been indicted
for using nitrates to freshen rotting fish.
Ruth Winters in her recent book, Poisons
in Your Food, recounts such an incident
in which a fish-processing firm was
punished by a suspended sentence and a
fine. The child who consumed the posioned
fish died.
Q: Are the reports of poisoning by the
use of raw fish exaggerated?
A: The facts are that such illnesses are
underreported. Worm infections are often
missed by diagnosticians. A young man
admitted to a hospital for appendicitis
after complaining of violent abdominal
pains was dutifully opened surgically for
removal of the infected organ. Instead,
several worms were found in the neighboring
tissues. He had eaten raw fish the
previous day.
Q: Why are seafood products so much
more susceptible to contamination
than beef and chicken?
A: Perhaps the time lapse determines the
speed with which the dead creature
deteriorates. Beef and chicken are usually
processed at the source of slaughter. Fish
die soon after they are removed from
water, and the decaying process begins
almost immediately.
Q: How prevalent is paralytic poisoning
among seafood users?
A: Microscopic algae known as dinoflagellates,
present in shellfish, produce a toxin that
causes shellfish poisoning. The results are
often fatal. The nerve poison is resistant
to cooking. Sea creatures, such as mussels,
clams, oysters, and scallops, are most
vulnerable to the ingestion of the poison-producing
dinoflagellates.
Q: Can cholera be contracted from seafood?
We know someone who returned
from the Gulf Coast of the
United States and soon afterward
showed signs of the disease.
A: Cholera derived from the use of seafood
is rare in the United States, although it
has been reported to the Centers for
Disease Control in Atlanta. Usually, such
cases are more prevalent in Asia and
Africa, although imported fish and shellfish
harbor such dangers.
Q: Many cases of hepatitis have bewildered
the medical community
because patients have previously
shown no signs of liver problems or
have not been exposed to the usual
contaminants. Can fish in the diet be
the cause?
A: Victims of hepatitis A may have been part
of that mystery. Not being subjected to
the drinking of polluted water, they did
not realize that another source of infection
could be fecal contamination from seafood
that contained the virus.
Q: Has seafood ingestion been linked
with “intestinal flu?”
A: Until recently, outbreaks of diarrhea in
children and adults could not be clearly
traced to food or environment. Health
authorities in New York State are credited
with linking the epidemic to contaminated
shellfish. Cooking of seafood does not
guarantee the elimination of the virus, now
known as the Norwalk virus.
Q: How extensive is chemical pollution
in the fish and shellfish supply?
A: At least one infamous chemical, dioxin,
has been traced to industrial waste
violations. Paper mills, for example, are
chief offenders. They discharge dioxin into
rivers which eventually contaminate fish
downstream. Other polluters have been
identified among some of the nation’s
largest manufacturers. Striped bass and
trout coming from the Hudson River, for
example, are no longer considered safe for
food consumption by the health authorities
in New York State.
COPYRIGHT 1991 Vegetus Publications
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group