The Power of Fish Oils
You have probably heard about the importance and the healthy aspects of fish oil. These, when consumed, help us fight depression, joint pains and heart problems. In fact, people who are suffering from diabetes are known to have two or three times greater chances of developing a heart condition or dying from it.
Namely, excessive sugar in one's blood damages the blood vessels and alters his/her cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Consuming fish oil can lead to lowering your triglyceride levels. Also, fish oil will clean up your arteries and make them more resistant to damage.
Fish is a great source of nutrients. It contains omega3 fatty acids, which are incredibly healthy, especially for the heart. Thus, you are recommended to consume fish at least two days a week. As for the menu, mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon are the best possible sources of healthy oil, containing two kinds of omega3 fatty acids, the EPA and the DHA.
Nevertheless, you need to be careful about mercury levels in some species of fish, especially those which are predators and marine mammals.
Why Choose Fish?
Two times a week should be a limit of fish intake for children and pregnant women. Moreover, they are advised to eat fish which has lower levels of mercury, such as light canned tuna, salmon and catfish.
Middle aged-people, older men as well as women who passed their menopause have more benefits than risks involved with eating fish regularly. Also, by eating fish from many different sources, you are bound to avoid exposing yourself to risks of getting poisoned by environmental toxins.
You are best to remove the skin and surface fat from the fish, prior to cooking it. Also, check if the source waters are contaminated or dangerous for your health in any way.
Omega3 and Mercury Levels
As it was mentioned above, canned light tuna is the safest choice since this type of fish has small concentration of mercury while being rich in omega3 fatty acids. Catfish, pollock, crabs, herring and scallops also have extremely low levels of mercury and are therefore recommended. Lobster, grouper, halibut and oysters, have higher mercury levels and should not be consumed that often. Yet, these are quite rich in omega3 fatty acids.
Finally, you should avoid shark, swordfish, tilefish and king mackerel, due to extremely high levels of mercury. While pregnant women and children should not eat these kinds of seafood, other people are recommended not to eat more than 7 ounces of this type of fish a week.
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