2 replies to this topic

[ta5]

I've been wondering...

 

How healthy are non-fish seafoods, like:

• Shrimp
• Scallops
• Clams
• Squid
• Octopus
• Oysters

For any one, what exactly in it is bad? PCBs? Heavy metals? Arachidonic acid?

 

I think I have a good idea of which fish are better or worse. For example, I try to avoid farmed fish and especially Tilapia from Asia. I have a list of fish and their tested Mercury content and I try to avoid most of them most of the time. The only fish I eat regularly is wild Alaskan Salmon. 

 

I occasionally eat Shrimp, Scallops, and Squid, but I don't really know how healthy those are. I've been assuming they are at least as healthy as fish. But are they?

 

I get some wild-caught Shrimp, but I guess everything else I get is probably farmed. Are these just as bad as farmed fish?

 

These tend to be shorted lived animals compared to larger fish, so I would guess they would not be too high in heavy metals. True?

 

I understand there are particular risks from raw, uncooked seafood. But, I'm not asking about that because I cook all my seafood.

 

I've read that shrimp from Asia can be high in bacteria and may have trace amounts of antibiotics. But, I'm not sure those are so bad. Since I cook everything, the bacteria will get cooked. The antibiotics are bad for the human population as a whole since it will encourage bacterial resistance. But, I can let government agencies worry about that.

 

[aconita]

Those sea foods are very healthy.

 

Only shrimps, prawns and lobsters are farmed in a concerning way like using antibiotics and such, shellfish are not artificially fed, only kept in a confined space in the sea, therefore perfectly safe from that point of view.

 

The only concern with shellfish is that they work as water filters and can be easily contaminated by bacteria (sewage polluted water) and chemical contaminants (like pesticides, for example), in other words water quality makes shellfish quality.

 

Mercury content in fish is overrated in my view and anyway possible contamination is directly linked to fish size since big fishes feed on small fish and the bigger the more small fishes have been eaten leading to possible accumulation of heavy metals and other contaminants.

 

Since shellfishes are mostly not predators the issue doesn't exist.

 

Raw shellfish is fine as long as is super fresh and from unpolluted waters, I have eaten tons of it enjoying every single bite.

[misterE]

I would avoid seafood due to the PCB and dioxins issues... these are very very VERY nasty chemicals and accumulate in the body for a lifetime. But if you decide to eat seafood, it is always best to eat wild-caught and low on the food chain.