SeeFood Facts - What Fish is Best for Your Vision?

Fish is an important part of a healthy diet. They contain the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA that are important in maintaining eye health as well as cardiovascular health, cognitive health and decreasing inflammation in the body. Eating fish also supports growth and development, making it especially important for children and pregnant women. Most North Americans are not getting enough omega-3 fatty acids in their current diet. A great way to increase the amount of omega-3s in the body is to consume more cold-water fish. In fact, to help the prevent the onset of chronic eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and dry eye syndrome, the Eyefoods Plan recommends eating cold-water fish 4 times per week.

If only it were as simple as that… 

As important as it is to eat more fish, there are concerns of contamination of the fish available to us. We’ve created these guidelines to help you choose the cleanest and safest fish for yourself and your family. 

How clean is your fish?

Two contaminants of concern in fish are mercury and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls).

One of the reasons that mercury is hazardous to health is that is enters into our cells effortlessly and interferes with the body’s normal functioning. It also crosses the placenta of mammals and can interfere with normal fetal development.

Small fish are lower on the food chain than large fish. So, small fish have lower amounts of mercury than large fish. The bigger the fish, the more mercury in the fish. 

Although dangerous, mercury can be eliminated from our bodies over time, however, in cases of long-term mercury exposure, it can take up to a year to fully eliminate methyl mercury from the body. 

PCBs (polychlorinated byphenyls) are man made chemicals that were used in industry before being banned in the 1970s. PCBs are slow to break down and may still be a concern in certain fish such as farmed salmon. 

Eyefoods Fish Recommendations:

The Eyefoods fish recommendations are high in omega-3 fatty acids, low in contaminants and sustainable.

Eat 2 servings of wild Alaskan salmon and 2 serving of other Eyefoods recommended fish per week.

• Wild Alaskan Salmon (both fillets and canned)

• Sardines

• Atlantic Mackerel

• Rainbow Trout (Farmed)

• Oysters (high in zinc)

http://blueocean.org/issues/fish-as-food/mercury/advice-mercury-in-seafood/

http://intraspec.ca/fish.php