Archive for the ‘Health’ Category

When Can You Feed Fish to a Baby?

Monday, September 7th, 2009
Serve up some tilapia with that first birthday cake!

Serve up some tilapia with that first birthday cake!

Many parents are eager to start giving fish to young children, but when is it safe? According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, fish is one of the most common food allergens. But most experts agree that you can safely introduce fish into your child’s diet after his or her first birthday.

Why Wait Until After Baby’s First Birthday?

After the first year of life, the immune and digestive systems are more developed than before that milestone. If you have allergies such as hay fever, asthma, or food allergies in your family medical history, experts recommend holding off on introducing fish until after age three. Just in case.

Signs of food allergy include the following:

  • swelling of the tongue, lips, and face
  • skin rash
  • wheezing
  • abdominal cramping
  • vomiting
  • diarrhea

If your child shows any symptoms after eating fish (or any other food), consult the doctor immediately.

Even though food allergies can be serious, only 4 to 6 percent of babies and young children will develop one. In many countries where fish makes up a larger portion of the average diet, babies eat may fish earlier than other proteins. However, in the United States, we usually don’t give fish until after a baby is already eating pureed fruits and vegetables, along with strained meats and poultry.

First Fish: How to Present It

Here are a few tips to ensure your child’s first fish experiences are good ones:

  • make sure the fish is properly deboned and minced or pureed
  • offer small amounts at first
  • introduce only one type of fish at a time

The American Academy of Pediatrics also warns against feeding children raw or undercooked fish. That means no ceviche or sushi.

The Worry Over Mercury

Some fish contain high levels of methylmercury, a metal that may be harmful (in high doses) to a child’s developing brain and nervous system. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends avoiding large predatory fish. These include:

  • shark
  • swordfish
  • king mackerel
  • tilefish
  • tuna

For more specific guidelines as to portion size and frequency, check out the Healthy Fish Guide, provided by the Washington State Department of Health

 Further Reading:

American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Background Article on Food Allergies

American Academy of Pediatrics Advice on Starting Solid Foods

Image Credit: stuart~, Flickr

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Fish For Trees: Sustainability Is About People

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

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According to the world’s largest tilapia producer, more than 50 percent of the fish consumed in the U.S. is produced in fish farms. But as we eat our delicious seafood, we’re unaware of the wide gaps in social and environmental principles practiced by the world’s aquafarmers. As the world’s largest aquafarmer, Regal Springs makes a difference in Honduras, Indonesia, and Mexico by helping villagers save the environment and save themselves.

What is Fish For Trees? 

Regal Springs’ Fish for Trees program is about people. Through it they have returned $500,000 to local communities for re-investment in schools and community-owned fish farms. The program aims to transition villagers from tree cutters to fish growers. It’s not only good for business, it’s also saving the forests in Indonesia, a country that has lost 72 percent of its original forest, and Honduras, which has lost 37 percent of its forest.

“This business is not about the fish,” said Israel Snir, a 40 year veteran of the aquaculture industry who is now Regal Springs’ senior vice president. “It is about the people. Without the people, we have nothing. And without Regal Springs, the people have less.”

Regal Springs Leads Environmental Standards

Regal Springs is a trendsetter for environmental standards. It practices quality control by analyzing its crop in on-site labs, feeds the tilapia organic grain and uses reprocessed fish oils for bio-diesel fuels to run company vehicles.

‘It’s gratifying to be part of a company that takes its environmental and social responsibilities seriously,’ says Freek Huskens, who heads Regal Springs Indonesian operations. ‘We’re in these communities for the long term. Their successes - whether educationally, environmentally or socially - become our successes.’

Unfortunately, not every aquafarmer takes such care. The result is often fish farmed in waterways contaminated by industrial waste, sewage and agricultural runoff that includes pesticides. Fish absorb chemicals from these uninhabitable waters, which in turn can cause serious health risks.

Partnering with the World Wildlife Fund 

Regal Springs is partnering with the World Wildlife Fund to set standards for tilapia farming. In January 2009, the World Wildlife Fund unveiled plans for the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, a third-party group that will audit and certify fish farms that meet stringent requirements. Until these standards are enacted worldwide, which is expected this year, consumers need to be wise and purchase tilapia and other seafood produced only by fisheries committed to the industry’s best practices.

That is why Regal Springs is leading the charge within the Tilapia Aquaculture Dialogue to create standards that will minimize tilapia farming’s impact on local communities (a.k.a. social impacts). They will be combined with standards that address the key environmental impacts and, ultimately, help ensure tilapia farming is economically viable.

“People in the Dialogue, including me, have different opinions but we all work together to find common ground. Because tilapia is produced by the poorest people in the poorest countries, we have a responsibility to be very careful in considering the social impacts on our environmental decisions,” said Snir. “This is a responsibility I welcome and embrace.”    

Image Credit: moriza, Flickr

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Mislabeled Seafood: What Are You Eating?

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

box_fish

Earlier this year the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that formally acknowledges that companies illegally mislabeling seafood products in order to avoid paying anti-dumping duties are also evading U.S. food safety laws. While the report did not specifically identify tilapia as a mislabeled fish, it’s important for all of us to understand the lengths that certain companies will go to in order to avoid duties or taxes.

What is Seafood Fraud?

The Seafood Fraud report identifies seafood fraud as a variety of illegal activities done that occur at various points in the seafood supply chain, and result in economic gain to the seller. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in fiscal year 2007, over 80 percent of the seafood consumed in the US was imported, most frequently from Canada, China, and Thailand. These products enter the country through an importer and before moving on to a distributor, who sells them to grocery stores and restaurants.

Seafood fraud typically involves mislabeling seafood products. The following are examples of specific techniques: 

Transshipment
This involves shipping seafood to another country before sending it on to the US so that the product is labeled with a different country of origin, therefore avoiding regulatory controls such as FDA import alerts.

Over-treating
Using excess breading, water-retaining chemicals, or over-glaze with ice can artificially increase the weight of seafood products.

Species Substitution
Seafood products are often labeled as a lower market value species to increase the seller’s profit.

Short-weighting
This refers to the practice of labeling packages of seafood as weighing more than they actually do.

The report gives a specific example of a Vietnamese exporter shipping thousands of pounds of catfish into the United States labeled as grouper. His intention was to avoid paying antidumping duties that the Department of Commerce had imposed on Vietnamese catfish.

“Incidents like these and others have led FDA officials, including a senior official in FDA’s Office of Food Safety, to reconsider the agency’s limited level of effort regarding economic fraud because they now believe that, if left unregulated, over time, seafood fraud may create food safety problems.”

According to the report, FDA has not previously been very responsive to consumer or industry complaints about mislabeling. One consumer complained about frozen shrimp labeled as a product of Mexico that had a second label underneath indicating it was a product of Thailand, a country subject to antidumping duties. FDA took no action according to the GAO.

The FDA is now working with Customs and Border Protection, the Department of Homeland Security, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to target commodities that pose health and safety risks through Operation Guardian, which is an enforcement initiative to deal with imported substandard, tainted, and counterfeit products. Operation Guardian’s efforts have led to seizures of such commodities as pharmaceuticals, steel components, honey, shrimp, and toys. SSA will continue to work with these agencies to identify unlawful evasion of U.S. laws.

Food safety: it’s a big deal. Do you know where your seafood comes from?

Image Credit: Sidelong, Flickr

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Note to Baby Boomers: Eat Fish For Peace of Mind

Saturday, June 13th, 2009
peace_bitziflickr

Preserve your memories of the sixties. Eat fish!

There are plenty of great reasons to eat fish, especially as we get *ahem* up in years. Baby boomers are all about healthy living. Embracing good nutrition - including eating fish - is part of any healthy lifestyle. Here are some great reasons to feed fish to your favorite baby boomer.

Experts Agree on Fish

You’d be hard pressed to find a health or nutrition related source that did not advocate adding fish to your diet. Most fish is a good protein source with lower calories than beef or chicken. (Tilapia comes with the added double bonuses of being easy on the environment and the wallet!) But your waistline isn’t the only reason to up the fish content of your diet.

Fish Fights Memory Loss, Demetia, and Alzheimer’s

Today’s Dietitian detailed the brain related health benefits of eating fish in their March 2008 issue:

Omega-3 fatty acids may also help reduce the risk of memory loss, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease by stimulating the growth of neuron connections, which improves the brain’s ability to process and retrieve information.14 Approximately 40% of fatty acid phospholipids in the brain are DHA, and people with dementia have lower plasma phospholipid DHA levels in the brain compared with controls. Some research shows that 2.7 or more servings of fish per week or 180 milligrams or more of DHA per day is associated with 50% decreased risk of dementia.

Add to that a study in the medical journal Neurology found that eating fish can help lower the risk of cognitive decline and stroke.  Study participants who ate broiled or baked fish high in omega-3 fatty acids three or more times per week reduced their risk of having brain lesions that cause dementia and stroke by 26% compared to those who did not consume fish on a regular basis. Even adding just one serving of fish a week led to a significant decrease in risk - 13%. Click here to read more about the study.

Fish Fights Coronary Disease

The American Medical Association has long recommended increasing the amount of fish in the American diet. Several studies have identified that fatty acids found in fish can lower rates of coronary heart disease.

While it may be confusing, given recent concern over potential harm from mercury, dioxins, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) present in some fish species, it’s important not to dismiss fish out of fear. Senior Journal reported on a 2006 study that addressed these fish fears head on.

“Avoidance of modest fish consumption due to confusion regarding risks and benefits could result in thousands of excess coronary heart disease deaths annually and suboptimal neurodevelopment in children.”

Researchers Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Dr.P.H., and Eric B. Rimm, Sc.D., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, compared the scientific evidence for adverse and beneficial health effects of eating fish consumption and determined that for the general population, the good outweighs the bad. They found that modest consumption (defined as 1 -2 servings per week) reduces risk of coronary death by 36% and the rate of death by 17%.

“A variety of seafood should be consumed; individuals with very high consumption (5 servings or more per week) should limit intake of species highest in mercury levels. Levels of dioxins and PCBs in fish are low, and potential carcinogenic and other effects are outweighed by potential benefits of fish intake and should have little impact on choices or consumption of seafood.”

Fish twice a week helps us stay healthy and smart? What’s not to like?

Try these recipes:

Cheesey Broiled Tilapia
The best thing about this cheesy tilapia recipe is that it’s very rich, but at the same time, very nutritious and low in calories. It was passed along to me through the mommy grapevine. I heard it originated with a nutritionist so you know it has to be good for you. And I can testify (and my husband and kids will agree) that it’s also quite tasty! Read more.

Indian Tilapia
I adapted this fish recipe from one I found a few years ago for spiced shrimp. I love the flavor of Indian spices, and surprisingly - the kids enjoy it too. The turmeric gives this fish dish a wonderful yellow color. It’s great served over rice or couscous. Read more.

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Health Experts Weigh in on Unwarranted Tilapia Scares

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

hamburger_darwinbellflickr

Said the tilapia to the hamburger: I’m healthier than you are!

Sometimes it’s confusing to sort out all the health information we’re bombarded with on a daily basis. Last year tilapia was taking a beating because of slightly higher levels of Omega 6 fatty acids. One creative writer went so far as to suggest that if you were going to eat this fish, you may as well load up on “bacon, hamburgers or donuts”. So let’s take a look at what the experts have to say, shall we?

Omega 3 Fatty Acids in Farm Raised Fish

When asked about the differences in omega-3 fatty acid levels in farm raised vs. wild fish, The American Heart Association stated that some fish have higher omega-3 fatty acid content, regardless of whether they are farmed or wild. They also explained that this can be affected by a number of environmental factors including temperature and food source. From their website:

Regardless of the difference, the American Heart Association recommends eating fish at least twice a week, especially species high in omega-3 fatty acid such as salmon, mackerel, herring and trout, regardless of whether they are wild or farmed.

What About Omega-6 Fatty Acids?

Again, trusted source American Heart Association counsels us not to worry about eating too much omega-6 fatty acids. They do warn against eating too much of any one kind of fat, even the good stuff, because of the caloric content.

The Open Letter in Defense of Tilapia

In July of 2008 the attack on tilapia became so vicious that Sanford Research, USD put William S. Harris, PhD, FAHA and Sr. Scientist and Director of their Metabolism and Nutrition Research Center on the case.

In his defense of tilapia and other low-fat fish, he noted the following:

  • Our omega-3 needs can also be met by eating less-oily (lower-fat) fish more often.
  • Tilapia and catfish are examples of lower-fat fish that have fewer omega-3s than the oily fish listed above, but still provide more of these heart-healthy nutrients than hamburger, steak, chicken, pork or turkey.
  • Since they are also relatively low in total and saturated fats and high in protein, they clearly can be part of a healthy diet. 
  • US Department of Agriculture statistics indicate that farmed tilapia and catfish contain somewhat more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3.
  • Most health experts (including organizations such as the American Heart Association and the American Dietetic Association) agree that omega-6 fatty acids are, like omega-3s, heart-healthy nutrients, which should be a part of everyone’s diet.

So why the bad press? It’s hard to say, but the scientists seem to be at odds on this topic. A story on About Seafood from the same month last summer delves into the motives and circumstances surrounding the media feeding frenzy on tilapia.

Bottom Line: Tilapia is Good Fish!

If it’s good enough for the American Heart Association, it’s good enough for me. Besides, have you eaten tilapia? And have you also eaten a big greasy burger? No offense to beef - I love it - but you can feel the difference in your body when you eat something lean vs. fat.

If you don’t trust the experts, put it to the common sense test. Tilapia passes mine!

Image Credit: Darwin Bell, Flickr

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7 Tilapia Sensations with Weight Watchers Points

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

tilapia_thebittenwordflickrMy freezer is always stocked with a supply of tilapia. We eat it about once a week and I have a habit - as I’m sure some of you do too - of falling back on old standbys. I needed some inspiration so I thought I’d search for some. And because bathing suit season is lurking around the corner of the calendar, I needed something super “skinny”. Here’s what I discovered:

  1. Baked Tilapia, 3 points - Boring name, great recipe. This one is from the Weight Watchers site. My favorite thing about it is the simplicity. It is literally just a piece of fish with a few spices on it. And that’s the beauty of tilapia - like a mushroom it will take on the flavor of whatever you cook it with. Unlike a mushroom, your kids will actually eat it. (Just don’t serve it with mushrooms!)
  2. Sauteed Tilapia with Almonds and Cherries, 3 points - Here’s another one from the big WW. I have to say I’m shocked they fit the fat of almonds and the sugar of cherries in for 3 points, but I’m not complaining! This is a great example of something you can serve to company without feeling like you’re putting your friends on a diet!
  3. Baked Garlic Lemon Tilapia, 5 points - When you click over and see the amazing photograph of Gina’s skinny tilapia recipe, you are going to know those extra points pay off. This is the kind of recipe I like to see on the plate - gorgeous, rich looking, with a splash of fresh green!
  4. Cajun Tilapia, 5 points - I like this one for the use of corn and black beans. To me that is just a winning combination. The recipe also calls for an artificial butter spray to cut calories.
  5. Broiled Tilapia Oreganata, 5 points - I have to admit I chose this one in part for its name. Oreganata? I’d never heard that before, but I think it’s fancy talk for ‘pizza style’. If your kids are picky you could probably go easy on the oregano and they’ll be won over by the tangy tomato and garlic!
  6. Weight Watchers Lemon Tilapia, 4 points - Don’t let the name fool you - this one incorporates the sophisticated flavors of wine and Dijon mustard. (Don’t worry about the kids because the alcohol content burns off when you cook it.) If your family doesn’t like it, then just enjoy yourself and tell them to dip theirs in ketchup!
  7. Pan Fried Tilapia, 4 points - This one is so basic and you simply must have it in your tilapia repertoire! It’s a fish stick, a fish and chip, and fish for all seasons! Olive oil, flour, salt, pepper, and garlic. Oh yeah - and fish!

Fried, broiled, baked, sauteed - there are a million different ways to cook this fish. Need more inspiration? Check out all the tilapia recipes on Regal Springs’ site. While you’re at it, why not get creative? Make up your own recipe and and enter it in Regal’s chef contest!

What’s your favorite way to dress up tilapia? 

Image Credit: thebittenword.com, Flickr

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What Exactly Is Farm-Raised Fish?

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

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When you hear the term farm-raised fish do you picture a cowboy in waders swinging a big fish net instead of a lasso? Or have you never given the source of your fish fillet a second thought? What’s the difference between wild fish and farm raised fish anyway? A fish is a fish, right? Because aquafarming is a huge industry, it probably has an impact on your family’s health. But what exactly is farmed-raised fish?

Why Farm Fish?
We’re eating more fish! According to all the health experts, that’s a good thing. But it’s not like we’re all going out to the lake and sticking in a pole. Sure, in your perfect world you might want to catch fish fresh from the sea and fry it up before sundown. You might want to kill your own chickens that you raised in the backyard too, but that’s not the world most of us live in. We need to feed our families quickly and conveniently, while still putting a healthy meal on the table. That’s where farm-raised fish comes in.

Cultivating fish in natural or controlled marine or freshwater environments is simply the most efficient way to get high quality seafood to the market for the lowest possible price. Plus, it reduces the harmful effects of over fishing and allows for control over exposure to toxins such as mercury.

To meet consumer demand for seafood, the aquaculture industry, or fish farming, has exploded in recent years and it continues to do so. Farm-raised fish is expected to make up over half of the world’s supply of seafood by 2013. Tilapia in particular has grown in popularity, with people buying and eating this tasty fish four times as much today as they did just six years ago. And unless you’re out there fishing for it yourself, most of the tilapia you’re going to find is farm-raised.

But is Farm-Raised Fish Safe?
There are a lot of scary stories out there about farmed fish not being as healthy, or even as safe to eat as wild fish. The truth is that the safety of farmed fish depends on who’s farming it. Highly reputable fish farmers, such as Regal Springs, adhere to strict standards to provide you with the freshest and healthiest fish you can buy. As the world’s top producer of tilapia, they have created standards to ensure the quality of fish and the sustainability of the industry. 

  • Aqua farms should be operated in fresh, clean, moving water, not in ponds. This guards against high levels of pollutants affecting the fish. 
  • Aqua farmers should control exactly what fish eat (and this must be the highest quality fish food) because this affects the taste of the fish.
  • Fish farmers should be HACCP certified by the Food and Drug Administration for seafood safety. 
  • Mercury levels are controlled through aquaculture.
  • The very best farmed fish is not subject to preservatives, antibiotics, or growth hormones.
  • For the highest quality fish, look for aqua farms that owns and manage the entire aquafarming process, which ensures accountability and traceability.

Not all aquafarms follow such stringent standards. Chinese fish farms have come under fire for feeding fish substandard ingredients. Remember the pet food scare where toxic Melamine was found in your pet’s favorite food? How would you like that ingredient showing up in your food? That’s exactly what can happen when farm-raised fish is not properly regulated. Check the back of the bag and make sure your fish comes from a quality supplier like Regal Springs.

Photo Credit: hellsgeriatric, Flickr

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