US Study: Fish Contain Toxic Substances, Eating Too Much May Increase Risk of Melanoma, Really?

"I will never eat raw food again in my life, it's really terrible..." Mr. Zeng sighed with emotion afterwards.

During the October holiday, Mr. Zeng made an appointment with some old friends to eat sashimi in Shunde, but just 6 hours after the meal, Mr. Zeng developed fever for no reason, accompanied by cough and sputum, and the temperature was as high as 39 ℃ .

However, Mr. Zeng had a cold and fever before, and the temperature was about 39°C. After taking antipyretics, his body temperature dropped. So this time, Mr. Zeng also planned to deal with it like this, but the fever was still repeated.

"Isn't he infected with COVID-19!" Mr. Zeng couldn't help worrying, so he immediately reported to the community and went to a designated hospital for treatment.

As a result of the examination, it was found that Mr. Zeng had a little chronic inflammation in his right lower lung, and there was also effusion in the right chest cavity. The doctor judged that it was not as simple as a respiratory infection.

Finally, after a series of inspections, it was found that Mr. Zeng actually suffered from liver fluke disease, which was related to his eating freshwater sashimi .

Mr. Zeng revealed that he likes to eat sashimi very much on weekdays, and he drives with his friends to have a meal basically every month. Sometimes he even goes to the market to buy raw fish, he thinks that this will ensure the deliciousness of the food.

As for the problem of parasites, he thought that a dip in mustard would stimulate the parasites and kill them . Unexpectedly, the parasite was not killed, but he got into liver fluke disease.

1. 490,000 people study: eating fish can cause cancer!

"In meat selection, the intake of fish should be increased, which is more beneficial to health." I believe everyone has often heard the phrase, but recently there is a new view that fish is carcinogenic.

Published online June 9, 2022 in the journal Cancer Causes and Control, from a study published by the Brown University School of Public Health on the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study with 491,367 participants.

The researchers analyzed the results and found that higher fish intake was positively associated with the risk of malignant melanoma and melanoma in situ .

Among them, the increased intake of tuna and non-fried fish was positively correlated with malignant melanoma and melanoma in situ; the intake of fried fish was negatively correlated with malignant melanoma, but not with melanoma in situ.

The researchers analyzed that the reason why fish is related to cancer is related to marine environmental pollution.

Human toxic chemical mixtures (including polychlorinated biphenyls, arsenic, mercury and other pollutants related to melanoma) enter rivers, lakes and seas, polluting the living environment of fish. These toxic substances accumulate in fish , and then pass through the food chain and circulate. into the human body, causing health problems.

However, the researchers also cautioned that this study is an observational study, and the statistical data cannot infer a causal relationship between fish intake and melanoma . From a healthy diet perspective, changes in fish consumption are not currently recommended.

Second, the real carcinogens are actually these 3 kinds of fish

The fish that are really not recommended for everyone to eat and may cause cancer are actually the following:

1. Chinese salted fish

No matter how fragrant Chinese-style salted fish is, it has also been clearly marked as a "category carcinogen". Why does Chinese-style salted fish cause cancer? This is related to its production process.

In order to prolong the storage of fish meat, salted fish needs to be cured with high concentration of salt. During this process, a large amount of nitrite will be produced, and after the nitrite enters the gastrointestinal tract, it will be converted into nitrosamines, a strong carcinogen , Regular consumption will increase the risk of esophageal cancer, stomach cancer and so on.

It is recommended to eat less salted fish. When eating, you can rinse it with water several times to reduce the salt content.

2. Smoked fish

Smoked fish is actually a kind of fish that is fried first and then marinated. There is also a kind of fish that is smoked by the smoking method, but no matter which kind it is, it needs to be cooked at high temperature.

And high temperature cooking is most likely to generate benzopyrene, a carcinogen , and the benzopyrene content is also different depending on the heat and time. Although benzopyrene requires a certain dose to cause cancer, and the impact on humans through dietary intake is not too great, it is recommended to eat less.

It is recommended to eat smoked fish, no more than twice a month, and try to mix with fresh vegetables and fruits, which can play a certain antioxidant role.

3. Sashimi

Sashimi is prone to parasite eggs. These eggs can survive in the human body for decades without obvious symptoms in the early stage of infection. However, if not treated for a long time, patients may develop liver cirrhosis and ascites, which may induce cholecystitis, cholangitis, and even liver cancer .

Parasites in freshwater fish can be killed by continuous heating at 60°C for at least 1 minute. Therefore, for safety reasons, it is not recommended to eat unprocessed fish .

3. How to eat fish to be nutritious? Send you a "fishing strategy"

According to the Chinese dietary guidelines, fish should be eaten twice a week or 300-500 grams of fish per week, which means 40-75 grams of fish per day . What are the health benefits of eating fish regularly?

First of all, fish meat is easier to digest. It contains short muscle fibers and less interstitial protein, so it will taste softer.

Secondly, the fat content in fish is relatively low, and most of them are unsaturated fatty acids, which have a certain effect on the prevention of dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease. Fish also contains a small amount of vitamins and minerals, and it is also the best source of trace elements for the human body.

Although it is recommended that everyone eat fish, not all fish are suitable for eating.

Especially deep-sea fish are involved in seawater pollution, and the toxin content will be higher, so it is best to avoid fish with high mercury content, including tuna, swordfish, swordfish, golden eye bream, etc.

Which part of the fish is most nutritious? Is it roe and gall bladder?

Many people regard fish roe as a nutritional product, thinking that it is the eggs of fish, which can complement the shape and promote development. Fish roe is indeed rich in protein, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, etc., but cholesterol is not low.

If you often eat a lot of it, it is easy to cause fat accumulation , the brain may not yet develop, but the meat on the body has "developed" a lot.

Some people think that eating fish gallbladder can reduce fire and improve eyesight. In fact, this is nonsense.

Fish gallbladder is toxic, most of which are toxic compounds such as cholic acid, histamine, hydrocyanic acid, and sodium carboxylate sulfate, which are very toxic. Even in small amounts, it may cause discomfort such as vomiting, nausea, and stomach pain . Therefore, when killing fish, the gallbladder is generally thrown away.

For most people, eating fish is good for health, but some people suffer from it, especially the following three types of people, it is recommended to control the intake of fish.

First, people with gout, sea fish contains high purines, and eating fish can easily cause gout attacks;

Second, in patients with bleeding disorders , fish meat contains substances that inhibit platelet aggregation, and eating fish can easily cause bleeding patients to bleed continuously;

Third, liver cirrhosis patients often have a tendency to bleed due to liver dysfunction. At this time, eating fish containing unsaturated fatty acids will easily aggravate the disease.

Fish is a very good meat, but good ingredients also need to be eaten in the right way to reduce food safety risks, otherwise there will also be health risks.

References:

[1] "Eating too much fish can induce melanoma? The latest research report is here". Medical Oncology Channel. 2022-06-24

[2] "Don't buy 3 kinds of fish no matter how cheap they are! Many heavy metals are also carcinogenic. The fish sellers never eat them, but you serve them all day long". Shenzhen Health Commission. 2019-10-30

[3] "Eating this amount of fish every week reduces the risk of stroke by 14%! The more you eat, the smarter you get! Attention, these kinds of fish are named...". Popular Science China. 2021-10-11

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