Common Sense Health: What fish is worth eating?

By Dr. Gifford-Jones and Diana Gifford-Jones on November 22, 2024.

Have you enjoyed the pleasures of a camping trip deep in the wilderness? Among the memories, you may recall the sublime enjoyment of eating a yellow pickerel you caught yourself and cooked over a campfire. Today, is there anything close to that perfection? If choosing a final meal on this planet, that might be the one. But dining on the simplicity of that perfect fish in today’s urban food scene is a fading dream.

Eating fish isn’t like it used to be. The quality of the fish we now purchase in supermarkets is suspect. Like most things in life, when buying fish, you get what you pay for. The cheaper options are processed, frozen, and don’t resemble anything like a fish. Even if paying a lot more for fish at the counter where they are laid out in whole or fileted, most don’t realize that what you’re getting may not be as it appears.

What is it about today’s fish that consumers don’t know? Where it comes from is the first thing. A huge proportion of fish in North American stores is caught, processed, and imported from Asia. Often the fish are frozen during transport, unfrozen for processing, then re-frozen for shipment to markets. In the process, water may be added to make the fish heavier. In some fish, like salmon and trout, colour additives may be present. Some farmed fish are treated with antibiotics and growth hormones to increase the yield. Small wonder these fish lose taste.

North Americans, to stay healthy, should eat more fish. It’s a fabulous way to get lean protein. Icelanders eat a whopping 220 pounds of fish a year. The average North American eats a paltry 16 pounds annually.

One reason is anxiety about potential dangers of contamination. Unfortunately, we now live in a crowded world with increasing levels of contamination in the oceans. But reputable fish companies are adopting practices that protect fish habitat and avoid added chemicals, antibiotics, water, or phosphates. The only ingredient is the fish itself. The key is where they catch the fish.

Iceland is among the places where the fishing industry focuses on keeping ocean waters clean and fish harvests at sustainable levels. Iceland has been managing fishing levels since the 1970s. The cold waters of Iceland are among the cleanest waters in the world. Since its economic drivers are its fish industry and tourism, there is little of the industrial pollution seen in other developed countries close to the ocean.

The best producers freeze fish just once and ship directly to stores. They add no water or any other ingredients.

There is no doubt that the diverse nutrients in high-quality fish offer a huge array of health benefits. They serve as antioxidants, fight inflammation, heal wounds, support brain health, and fight cardiovascular disease. In addition, they are important for good vision, immune response, normal skin physiology, and for fetal and infant development.

Several times a week, eating fresh, high-quality fish is a good investment in your health. But this is pricey too. Another good recommendation, therefore, is to get the most important nutrients found in fish, eicosatetraenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA), two omega-3 fatty acids, by taking a fish oil supplement. Supplements, too, deserve scrutiny. Certified Natural’s Omega3X has the Gifford-Jones endorsement because it is sourced from Icelandic fish and contains MaxSimil, a form of omega-3 fatty acids developed and researched in Canada to offer better absorption. Readers may recall past columns in which we tested the efficacy of Omega3X with blood tests prior to and after 2-3 months of use. We had big results!

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