We’ve all heard the advice to eat more fish as part of a healthful diet. After all, it’s a source of lean protein and – in the case of salmon, sardines, anchovies, trout and tuna – heart-healthy fats. Also known as omega-3s, they have been shown to be protective against heart disease in women with diabetes.
Despite these important health benefits, purchasing seafood is more difficult today than ever before. Seafood shopping can easily feel overwhelming when you’re faced with choosing farmed or wild-caught fish while also trying to keep your mercury intake down. To help you navigate this process, here’s a quick snapshot of three important factors you should consider when it comes to decision time.
- Fish farming: Fish farming began in the 1970s as a way to meet the increasing demand for seafood year round. It reduces overfishing in the wild and makes seafood more affordable for consumers (farmed fish is usually less expensive than wild). However, because of the crowded living conditions on fish farms (typically netted pens in open water), they can increase the pollution in local waters. Fish raised on farms also typically require antibiotics to reduce the spread of infection in close living quarters, making it a potential health concern.
- Wild-caught fish: Wild-caught fish have less fat than farmed (because they swim freely in the wild), yet contain more heart-healthy fats because of their natural diet of sea plants and other fish. The downsides of choosing wild varieties are they are susceptible to being overfished and usually contain more mercury than their farmed counterparts.
- Mercury: Mercury is a metal that can cause serious health problems, like nerve damage. Many of you have probably heard that pregnant women and small children shouldn’t eat certain fish because of the mercury content so we’ve included a list of the high and low mercury fish out there to help you make the best choice for you.
Whether you base your choices on budget, environmental factors, health concerns or pregnancy, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to fish and health, and, at the end of the day, selecting your seafood is all about what matters to you.
So, throw us a line! Tell us how you make your choices at the fish counter.