The Blind Side
Health (1-year auto-renewal)
The Seven Pillars of Health
PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILYFish are nutritious and should be a part of a healthy and balanced diet.however, it is prudent to consume fish in moderation.However, some fish contain chemicals at levels that may be harmful to health.The primary contaminants of concern are mercury and PCBs. Other contaminants such as cadmium, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, dioxin and mirex.These chemicals build up in your body over time. Health problems that may result from these contaminants range from small changes in health that are hard to detect to birth defects and cancer. Women who eat highly contaminated fish and become pregnant may have increased risk of having children who are slower to develop and learn. Chemicals may have a greater effect on developing organs in young children or in the unborn child. Some chemicals may be passed on in mother's milk.Women beyond their childbearing years and men face fewer health risks from contaminants than do children.
Commonest and most hydrogenous chemical is HG(Mercury)
Mercury evaporates from rock, soil, and water into the air, and then falls back to the earth in rain. Human activities redistribute mercury and can increase its concentration in the aquatic environment.Mercury can also be released into the environment from industrial sources, including the burning of fossil fuels and solid wastes, and disposal of mercury-containing products.
MERCURY free fishes(less than 0.09 parts per million)
Anchovies,Butterfish,Catfish Clam Crab (Domestic),Crawfish/Crayfish Croaker (Atlantic),Flounder,Haddock (Atlantic),Hake Herring Mackerel(N. Atlantic, Chub) Mullet,Oyster Perch (Ocean)Pollock Salmon (Canned),Salmon (Fresh)Sardine Scallop,Shad (American)Shrimp,Sole (Pacific),Squid(Calamari),Tilapia,Trout (Freshwater),Whitefish,Whiting
Fishes containg highest MERCURY(More than .5 ppm) Methylmercury in Sport Fish
Avoid eating:Food and Health
Mackerel (King)
Marlin,Orange
Roughy
Shark
Swordfish
Tilefish
Tuna(Bigeye, Ahi)
Methylmercury is a form of mercury that is found in most freshwater and saltwater fish.Methylmercury in fish comes from mercury in the aquatic environment.
In California, methylmercury advisories have been issued for San Francisco Bay and the Delta; Tomales Bay in Marin County; and at the following inland lakes: Lake Nacimiento in San Luis Obispo County; Lake PillsburWomen's Health (1-year auto-renewal)
y and Clear Lake in Lake County; Lake Berryessa in Napa County; Guadalupe Reservoir and associated reservoirs in Santa Clara County; Lake Herman in Solano County; San Pablo Reservoir in Contra Costa County; Black Butte Reservoir in Glenn and Tehama Counties; Trinity Lake in Trinity County.How does methylmercury affect health?
Main target of methylmercury toxicity is the central nervous system. At the highest exposure levels experienced in these poisonings, methylmercury toxicity symptoms included such nervous system effects as loss of coordination, blurred vision or blindness, and hearing and speech impairment.The most subtle symptoms in adults known to be clearly associated with methylmercury toxicity are numbness or tingling in the hands and feet or around the mouth.
In recent studies children whose mothers frequently ate seafood containing low to moderate mercury concentrations during their pregnancy. Slight decreases in learning ability, language skills, attention and/or memory in some of these children.These effects were not obvious without using very specialized and sensitive tests.Methylmercury builds up in the body if exposure continues to occur over time. Exposure to relatively high doses of methylmercury for a long period of time may also cause problems in other organs such as the kidneys and heart.
What if I Eat Fish From Other Sources Such as Restaurants, Stores, or Other Water Bodies That May Not Have an Advisory?
Most commercial fish have relatively low amounts of methylmercury and can be eaten safely in moderate amounts.However large,predatory, long-lived fish have high levels of methylmercury,Women who are pregnant or could become pregnant, nursing mothers, and young children not eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish.They should not eat an average of 12 ounces of fish purchased in stores and restaurants each week.
How can PCBs affect health?
In the past, some people were exposed to very high levels of PCBs at work or from accidental poisoning.These people showed harmful health effects to their skin, eyes, and nerves.Some studies suggest that even low levels of PCBs, like those found in some fish, might cause small decreases in children’s I.Q. or affect their memory, especially if exposures occur during pregnancy.
* It is very unlikely that you will have any obvious signs of harm from PCBs.
* Fish advisories can help you prevent PCBs from building up in your body to levels that could cause health problems or increase your chance of getting cancer.
Farmed Salmon may contain PCB's,
Is there a way to make fish safer to eat?
Please cook and clean them in certain ways.
* Clean and gut the fish you catch before cooking it. Some chemicals, including PCBs, build up in the organs, especially in the liver.
* PCBs are stored mainly in the fat.So you can lower the amount of PCBs in fish by getting rid of the fat. You should trim the fat, remove the skin, and fillet the fish before cooking.
* It is better not to use the fat, skin, organs, juices,(or whole fish) in soups or stews(Fat is in the back and the belly and in the dark meat along the side of the fish.When you remove the skin, you also remove a thin layer of fat under the skin).
* You should bake or grill fish in a way that lets the juices drain away. Then you should throw away the cooking juices.
* If you eat crabs or lobsters, you should not eat the soft green parts because PCBs can build up there.
Smaller fish of a species will usually have lower chemical levels than larger fish in the same location because some of the chemicals may become more concentrated in larger, older fish. It is advisable to eat smaller fish more often than larger fish.
In developing nations some Greedy fishermen, in order to boost their catch, throw some poisonous chemical in the water that immediately kills the fish, along with other marine life.The dead fish etc immediately start floating on the surface of water. The dead/poisoned fish is then sold for our kitchens. This deadly business has been going on in Sukkur for years.It appears that either local officials are involved in this dirty business or they do not care about the marine life, as well as about the health of the people who consume the poisoned fish.
In recent years we have encountered something interesting & puzzeling,"intersex fish".The first discovery of the "intersex" fish was in 2003, and since then they have been found in waters hundreds of miles away from the original find in a West Virginia stream.Result from a mix of drugs that mimic natural hormones,The chemicals could include birth control pills and other drugs, toiletries especially those with fragrances, products such as tissues treated with antibacterial agents, or goods treated with flame retardants that find their way into waste water. However, Blazer also pointed to runoff from fertilizers and pesticides from agricultural areas.
Male smallmouth and largemouth bass in the Potomac have recently started developing distinctly female characteristics, such as development of eggs inside their sex organs,although researchers also discovered the occasional female fish with male characteristics.Well if the people are currently drinking from the same waters that make fish have two sets of sex organs,than there is a strong probablity of health surprises to come in humans.
On a concluding note I would like to say that we should Clean and cook fish in a manner that removes fat and organs is an effective way to reduce other contaminants that may be present in fish.We need to get these toxins out of our river water,safe disposal of drugs, and to invest in technology that can filter out endocrine disrupting compounds.
sources
http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://oehha.ca.gov/fish
http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercuryDecision Points
surroundings are moving towards twilight ,
I can see an unseen painting of nature
with a rainbow on the ridge
blessed with your Monalisa smile ;...
I can see
the gleeful equanimity in pacific eyes
the natural artificiality of parlor eyebrows
the utter jest from ridge of the nose
the blunt shadow on the precious face
and therefore the stupid sun
who's also her gracious playmate
is trying to color her hairs in red
& I'm just watching her grin
in the hope of a genuine friendship