Fish

While fish is a great source of protein, with some containing healthy omega-3 fats, some fish are healthier choices over others. The best sources are wild, cold-water fish; farm-raised fish should be strictly avoided.

In general, avoid seafood that includes the so-called bottom feeders, those fish and other sea species that eat from the ocean’s floor, where the potential for consuming toxic material is highest. This is especially true for those species that feed close to shore. Flounder, sole, catfish, and crab are some examples of foods to avoid eating regularly. Oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops are also sources of potential pollutants. Clams are perhaps the worst seafood to eat, especially when raw, since they normally filter out and concentrate viruses and bacteria, heavy metals, and other chemical pollutants from the waters in which they live. If you enjoy eating seafood, here are some tips for doing so more safely and more nutritiously:

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Choose fish caught in waters farther away from polluted, industrial areas. Some examples are Canadian salmon, sardines, and herring.

Look for cold-water fish like salmon, dark tuna, sardines, and other small fish that contain higher amounts of omega-3 fat.

Eat smaller fish and crustaceans: trout, bass, and shrimp, and avoid marlin, great white tuna, and swordfish. Smaller and younger fish have not accumulated the toxins found in larger and older species.

Limit your intake of shellfish, and choose smaller species such as the smallest shrimp.

Avoid precooked fish and prepared or processed seafood such as breaded fish or seafood, fish cakes, ground fish, and imitation crabmeat (common at sushi bars).

If you catch your own fish, ask local authorities about the limits of safety. Some regions recommend limiting how much of certain species you should eat in a year.

Unfortunately, the oceans, rivers, and lakes are becoming so contaminated that wild fish are containing levels of toxins that are dangerous. I recommend limiting fish to once or twice a month or less, and even less than that for children and pregnant women.

The picture is worse for farm-raised seafood—this should always be avoided. These foods often include antibiotics, pesticides, steroids, hormones, and artificial pigments. Unfortunately, they are becoming popular due to availability and cost. For example, farm-raised salmon makes up 95 percent of the American salmon on the market today. Since these fish are raised in confined, crowded, and unsanitary conditions, the threat of disease and parasites is great. To combat this, some fish farmers use antibiotics, pesticides, and even steroids to make the fish sterile and growth hormones to speed them to market size. In addition, since farm-raised salmon do not normally eat crustaceans that naturally make the flesh pink or orange, salmon growers often feed the fish color additives to pigment the flesh.