Questions on Seafood

[Isthmus]

Hey,

I have quite a few questions about seafood. When I am down by the coast I will try and get some really fresh fish from the local fishermen if I can. Being in the middle of the country (UK) getting really fresh fish isn't an option. Any raw fish meat is okay to eat raw? Being new to raw meat I have the same concerns about health. Pretty much any fish meat I can pick up will be okay?

What about heavy metals in fish. My understanding is that our seas have become pretty polluted, and it raises health issues about fish, especially the larger ones that eat other fish. What is your take on this issue?

I would also like to know if there's anything particular to look out for. Organic? Some fish is farmed. Fish wild caught? What kind of questions do I need to be asking the seller when I'm looking to purchase fish for raw consumptions?

It feels like there is such a VAST amount to learn as a newbie RAF person; I will really appreciate any patience and advice you can spare me.

Peace,
Sam

[MoonStalkeR]

Generally, raw tuna is considered the safest with lowest parasite risk and it's widely eaten. The heavy metal myth should raise no concern.

You might also run into other seafood such as oysters, clams, etc. I recommend eating these as they're very nutrient dense. There will likely be farmed and wild-caught fish. Fish such as tuna and swordfish is always wild-caught, while more domesticated ones like salmon are likely to be farmed (it's easy to tell by color - wild salmon has a vivid red-orange color). You can ask the seller whether or not it's wild, freshness, pre-frozen or not, etc.

Enjoy your trip to the coast, you will find a huge variety of delicious meals

[TylerDurden]

The fishscam.com website comprehensively debunks the nonsense claims about mercury-in-fish/pollution. Read all the links given on the top right of this page:-

http://fishscam.com/mercuryMyths.cfm

Only buy wild fish as farmed fish contains nasty chemicals like canthanxanthin to make farmed salmon pinker like wild salmon etc.

[Isthmus]

Alright, thanks for the info. That was an interesting read on the mercury side of things.

So: clams, oysters, what about mussels? Are all these safe to eat raw? Anything to look out for in particular? It's just another one of those things that people often say, something along the lines of shellfish can be really dangerous etc.

Peace,
Sam

[Techydude]

Alright, thanks for the info. That was an interesting read on the mercury side of things.

So: clams, osyters, what about mussels? Are all these safe to eat raw? Anything to look out for in particular? It's just another one of those things that people often say, something along the lines of shellfish can be really dangerous etc.

Peace,
Sam

Buy mussels, clams, oysters etc from a trusty fisherman or store to avoid red tide google red tide in seafood. But otherwise you'll be safe.

[Isthmus]

Are shellfish farmed at all?

Thanks a lot for all your advice!

[TylerDurden]

Are shellfish farmed at all?

Thanks a lot for all your advice!

Yes some are(sometimes prawns,oysters and mussels). Some RVAFers consider farmed shellfish to be less worse than farmed fish and that may be true, but I still find that wildcaught shellfish taste way better.

[MaximilianKohler]

http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&=&q=site%3Amercola.com+fish&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=

there are a lot of articles on mercola.com saying how polluted fish have become, this seems to be a very controversial subject

[TylerDurden]

http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&=&q=site%3Amercola.com+fish&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=

there are a lot of articles on mercola.com saying how polluted fish have become, this seems to be a very controversial subject

Mercola just wants to create a scare so he can sell his "purified" fish oil supplements, that's all.

[MaximilianKohler]

he also sells alaskan salmon on his site
there's another thread about this http://www.rawpaleoforum.com/hot-topics/dr-mercola-says-to-eat-no-fish/

you could follow simple guides on fish with lowest contamination http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&=&q=safe+fish&btnG=Google+Search

here's more info re negatives of fish:
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/mercury-negates-fish-oil-benefits-on-brain-development/
http://www.ewg.org/node/8147
you can find even more here http://www.ewg.org/search
http://www.economyincrisis.org/content/toxic-fish-expose-greater-concern-imported-foods-us


oh, also there was a video posted on this site where a town hunts whales for their food - the bigger the fish, the more contamination it builds up, so since that's their main food it would seem like they would be the best people to learn about negatives/positives of seafood from.

[CitrusHigh]

I have quite a few questions about seafood. When I am down by the coast I will try and get some really fresh fish from the local fishermen if I can. Being in the middle of the country (UK) getting really fresh fish isn't an option. Any raw fish meat is okay to eat raw? Being new to raw meat I have the same concerns about health. Pretty much any fish meat I can pick up will be okay?
>> If you're new to the diet I would ease in to seafoods. There are some pretty nasty parasites out there and if your body is still working on detoxing you may not wish to give them a playground to have sex in. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with these parasites, only that under your circumstances, slow and steady progression might be wise.<<<<<<<<

I would also like to know if there's anything particular to look out for. Organic? Some fish is farmed. Fish wild caught? What kind of questions do I need to be asking the seller when I'm looking to purchase fish for raw consumptions?
>>>wild caught only, try to go with species that have healthy populations (this is becoming more and more difficult). You can ask how the fish are caught, methods that tear the ocean floor to shreds or kill non target species are not nice things to support<<<<



In summary, ease in to seafood, especially where shellfish are concerned. Do your best to buy wild caught fish that were obtained in a sustainable manner, for more info on that search those keywords. The farmed stuff might have a cheaper price tag but has nowhere near the nutrient density, so avoid no matter how tempting

[Löwenherz]

The fishscam.com website comprehensively debunks the nonsense claims about mercury-in-fish/pollution. Read all the links given on the top right of this page:-
http://fishscam.com/mercuryMyths.cfm

Hi Tyler,

a few years ago I read an article about tuna and mercury. Scientists took an very old (preserved) tuna fish from an fisheries museum in Spain and measured the mercury content. The result showed the expected values which are normal at the present day. BUT, as mentioned, this tuna was very old! It was caught BEFORE industrial revolution set in. The mercury in this fish originated from natural sources in the ocean.

Unfortunately I didn't make a copy of this interesting article. Do you know this article? Is it somewhere available in the internet? (I guess you read everything on this planet regarding raw paleo.  )

Nevertheless I'm skeptical about toxins in our food. Industrial pollution is a fact. Some fish species are highly contaminated with other toxins beside mercury. Dioxin, PCB etc...

Löwenherz

[MaximilianKohler]

Yes, PCB's are even more worrying then mercury since from what I've read they accumulate in your body and are not flushed out...

http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/factsheets/polychlorinatedbiphenyls.htm
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=Ltv&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=pcb+accumulate+in+the+body&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=

Still, I plan to occasionally eat clams and possibly other small fish. When I get rich of course I will eat alaskan salmon xD

[TylerDurden]

I'm afraid that notion re pollution is foolish. People seem to think that because the ocean, being water, has every sort of dissolved substance in it, that that means it's polluted. This is a dead wrong notion as none of those substances/pollutants are anywhere near high enough to cause a problem for humans in  any way. Take uranium, for example - despite the fact that uranium exists in microscopic amounts in the world's oceans just like mercury, people choose to only condemn mercury as toxic despite the fact that uranium is a more dangerous element.

[Löwenherz]

I'm afraid that notion re pollution is foolish.

This could be very naive.

Many papers and studies show indeed elevated levels of toxins in animal foods in certain industrial regions that are far beyond natural levels. PCB is one example. Furthermore some of these toxins accumulate in your body during lifetime.

Löwenherz

[TylerDurden]

This could be very naive.

Many papers and studies show indeed elevated levels of toxins in animal foods in certain industrial regions that are far beyond natural levels. PCB is one example. Furthermore some of these toxins accumulate in your body during lifetime.

Löwenherz

   Pollution may well be a serious problem in some cities such as Mexico city. However, in most cases, government authorities greatly exaggerate the dangers. The mercury-in-fish scam is a classic example thereof, with health authorities routinely suggesting toxicity thresholds for mercury-levels which are way too low.

[donrad]

The further away you get from human population centers the better. For ocean fish this means deep ocean cold water species.

For fresh water fish I will only eat fish from a mountain stream or lake.

Better to be safe than sorry.

They are finding high levels of radiation 18 miles out in the ocean from Japan after the tsunami. Ouch. If your fish glows in the dark, feed it to your girfriend's cat.

[MaximilianKohler]

If your fish glows in the dark, feed it to your girfriend's cat.

xDD