Smells Fishy to Me

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=100 BGCOLOR="#999980" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="7" COLOR="#FFFBF0" FACE="Book Antiqua" ><I><B>Harmony Earth</B></I></FONT><B> </B><B> </B><B> </B><B> </B><B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HARMONY EARTH"><U><B>Home Page</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id142.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LEARNING THE TRUTH"><U><B>LEARNING THE TRUTH</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id81.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HEALTH"><U><B>HEALTH</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id80.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ECOLOGY"><U><B>ECOLOGY</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id83.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BOOKS"><U><B>BOOKS</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id105.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SUCCESS"><U><B>SUCCESS</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id106.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FREE ADVICE"><U><B>FREE ADVICE</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id136.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="COACHING"><U><B>COACHING</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=310 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="6" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="256" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#999980" BORDERCOLORDARK="#999980" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 180 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="277dea70.jpg" border=0 width="222" height="167" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="3" VSPACE="3"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> TRANQUIL MOORING - CAMDEN MAINE</div> <bR> <div> <B>Health/Nutrition Articles</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id96.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="What About Protein?"><U>What About Protein?</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id90.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chicken Little"><U>Chicken Little</U></A></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b70118ccffff00.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Smells Fishy to Me</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id104.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cheese Anyone?"><U>Cheese Anyone?</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id97.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dairy Strong Bones?"><U>Dairy & Strong Bones?</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id99.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Heart Attack Proof"><U>Heart Attack Proof</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id103.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MostFeared Disease"><U>Most-Feared Disease</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id144.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Arthritis Reversal"><U>Arthritis Reversal</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id89.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Optimal Diet"><U>The Optimal Diet</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id87.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Health Promoting M.D."><U>Health Promoting M.D.</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id127.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SF Chronicle OpEd"><U>SF Chronicle Op-Ed</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id92.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Impotence in Men"><U>Impotence in Men</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I>************************** </I></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=380 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B><U>Smells Fishy to Me</U></B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="10" CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="5" WIDTH="682" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#999966" BORDERCOLORDARK="#999966" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF HEIGHT= 1811 WIDTH="634"><div> <B>Fish -- Not the Health Food You Think It Is</B></div> <bR> <div> <I>Many people who call themselves vegetarians continue to eat fish because of the "widely reported" health benefits.  It's safe to say that most Americans probably think that some fish is a necessity for good health.  That is simply not the case; in fact, fish is arguably more dangerous for you than beef, pork, or chicken.  You see, with fish, you not only get the same levels of fat and chlesterol found in other "meats," but you also get the many pollutants found in them.  So, where do you get your omega-3 oils?  I get mine from ground flaxseed in my oatmeal every day and from occasional handfuls of walnuts.  Here's what two of my favorite experts have to say about fish.  Regards, Jim Hicks.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>First, from Dr. John Mcdougall's February 2003 Newsletter...</I></div> <bR> <div> Many health professionals and scientists are recommending fish to improve your health and especially, to reduce your risk of suffering from heart disease.  Japanese are the most-recognized example of a fish-eating population enjoying a low incidence of diseases common to Americans (heart disease, breast cancer, diabetes, etc.), and a trim appearance.  Plus, people living in Japan have the longest life expectancy of any country in the world.  But, I believe these advantages are in spite of the fish, rather than because of the fish.  Japanese are healthy primarily because they eat a diet based on rice with lots of vegetables – fortunately for them; they eat fish only as a condiment.</div> <bR> <div> Fish is the muscle of a cold-blooded, animal with fins and gills.  The major components of fish are fat and protein.  There is no carbohydrate, no dietary fiber, or no vitamin C in fish.  Because many fish are high on the food chain they are highly contaminated with environmental chemicals – it is not unusual to read in the newspaper that certain kinds of fish, such as swordfish, tuna, or shark, contain sufficient levels to be considered a health hazard.  For example, because of their high content of mercury, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has advised women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant to not eat swordfish, king mackerel, tile fish, shark, or fish from mercury contaminated areas.  </div> <bR> <div> <I>Howard Lyman, author of </I><I><B>Mad Cowboy</B></I><I> offers this advice on the perils of eating fish from his newest book, </I><I><B>No More Bull</B></I><I>...</I></div> <bR> <div> With a single exception, the only medical reports that you will hear about animal foods concern their dangers.  That single exception naturally has been widely reported because it remains the only good news out there about any animal-based products.  Mainstream publications hype this lonely positive item concerning animal food because they wouldn't want to be advocating a vegetarian diet.  Surely you've heard that fish, particularly fatty fish, is good for your heart. In fact, you've probably heard it about a million times.</div> <bR> <div> Is it true?  Yes, and no.  It has been established beyond a shadow of a doubt that fish rich in omega oils provide protection against sudden cardiac death in those who eat the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.)  That is, you will have a lower chance of dying from a sudden, unexpected heart attack if you eat salmon and mackerel five times a week instead of eating steak and cheeseburgers five times a week.  No question about it. Study after study has confirmed the fact.  I do not dispute it, and know no one who does.</div> <bR> <div> But these studies merely demonstrate that fish may be the lesser of two evils, at least as far as the risk of sudden cardiac death is concerned.  No study has ever, or will ever, demonstrate that fish will protect you from sudden cardiac death or anything else better than a vegan diet rich in fruits and vegetables, especially not a vegan diet with a healthy complement of omega-3 fatty acids. <I>(there are many vegan sources of omega-3 acids, like flax seeds and walnuts). </I>Moreover, no study has ever clearly demonstrated that fish will prevent heart disease; it is merely the risk of sudden cardiac death that is mitigated by fatty fish, and only for those on the standard American diet.  A rhythmic disorder seems to be a factor in sudden cardiac death, and this is where the omega oils in fatty fish apparently confer a degree of protection.  But eating fish will not prevent--indeed, it will assist--the slow, steady buildup of heart-destroying plaque in your arteries.  Like meat, fish is a high cholesterol "food."  Like meat, fish will support the growth of cancer.  Like meat, fish has no fiber.  Like meat, fish offers no protective antioxidants, and little in the way of vitamins.</div> <bR> <div> Unfortunately, what fish does contain is enough mercury to help you take your temperature.   </div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" ><I>From his first book, </I><I><B>Mad Cowboy</B></I><I>, Howard Lyman offers more on the perils of eating fish.</I></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT>Fish are not generally inspected even to the paltry degree that beef and poultry are.  A thorough 1992 <I>Consumer Reports</I> study on the safety of the fish Americans eat found nearly half the fish tested were contaminated by bacteria from human or animal feces.  The Centers for Disease Control reports conservatively 325,000 cases of food poisoning annually in this country from contaminated seafood.  Fish are generally considered to begin to spoil when bacteria grow to between one and ten million colonies per gram.  Sampling fish from markets in the New York, Chicago, and San Jose metropolitan areas, <I>Consumer Reports</I> found almost 40 percent of the fish tested in the "beginning to spoil" range, and an additional 25% of the samples with bacterial counts that "exceeded the upper limits of our test method," meaning they had more tan 27 million colonies per gram.  Often, fish that reach your dinner table have been dead for two weeks or more, and the bacteria that live on them generally have no problem thriving in your refrigerator.  To add insult to injury, you often can't be sure what type of fish you're really eating as upwards of 30% of fish were found in the sample study to be mislabeled. Thawed fish are often mislabeled "fresh," and many fish magically change species on their journey from the sea to the kitchen. </div> <bR> <div> Fish is sometimes touted for possessing omega-3 fatty acid, but this nutrient can just as easily obtained by consuming soy products, pumpkin and flax seeds, canola and walnut oils, dark green vegetables and wheat germ.  What fish <I>does</I> have that those other foods don't have are high cholesterol content and a wide assortment of chemical toxins such as mercury, lead, pesticides, and PCB's.  The municipal wastes and agricultural chemicals that we flush into our water become absorbed in the tissues of fish and shellfish and thus into most of the items on the menu of your favorite seafood restaurant.  The <I>Consumer Reports</I> found PCB's in 43% of salmon and 25% of swordfish.  Catfish had significant levels of DDT, clams had high levels of lead, and 90% of swordfish contained mercury.  In summary, fish is not truly an alternative to red meat, it is best thought of as merely a different type of flesh food sharing the some of the same drawbacks as any meat (high fat, high cholesterol, no fiber) as well as presenting some dangers uniquely their own. </div> <bR> <div> <I>Judging from the writings of Dr. McDougall, Howard Lyman and many others, the bad news about fish seems to far outweigh the good news.</I></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>Eating for Health and Ecology on Planet Earth</B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>