Food for Thought…Fish (March 2012)

Fish can be a confusing topic; there is Dover Sole and Grey Sole then there is Atlantic salmon and Alaskan Salmon another example is Wild-caught striped bass and Striped bass. The main difference between two similar fish is the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean or somewhere else tropic and exotic from around the world. We then think about wild and farm raised and become even more confused. Many of us are concerned for nutritional reasons as others are interested in the potential contaminants. It is difficult to know what we are actually getting from our fish.

Clients often ask me: “What is better farmed raised fish or wild fish?” I will explain the difference. Farmed raised fish are raised in controlled environments in “pens” with other fish and are fed with pellets of food. Wild fish live freely in an open body of water and feed on plants, fish and insects. Farmed raised fish are colored with PCB’s which is the red/orange color dye that gives the fish the color (salmon) which we are used to seeing them as. Farmed raised fish costs less and has a stronger flavor and is often times fattier.

Both kinds of fish have pollutants. Ocean fish do not contain the PCS’s or other antibiotics just like the farm raised fish do and may have fewer pesticides but farmed fish is better regulated from the stand point in pollution. Wild caught fish typically have higher levels of mercury as they are not in the controlled environment that farmed raised fish are in. The benefits outweigh the negatives about fish and the majority of fish do contain mercury. Typically larger fish have higher mercury levels. I like to recommend the mercury fish card from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program. It is wallet size and lists the fish which are more endangered but also lists the fish which are lowest and highest in mercury.

There is no right or wrong way to have fish as it is a matter of taste and your health concerns. To make your fish journey less complicated when you are at the grocery store of fish market here are a few simple questions to ask:

• Where does this fish come from?
• Has it been previously frozen?
• Is the coloring natural or does it have PCB’s?
• Is the fish wild or farmed raised?
• What does the “organic” label mean?

Overall fish is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids with having a variety is the key.