An epidemic of extinctions: Decimation of life on earth

Thank you, Rhonda.

Thanks, Greg, good to meet you :)

Thanks, Barry, Surely there are other ways of managing fisheries! I'd like to read about that if you come across research in the field. Currently, with contamination of waters, all large fish have become poisonous to humans, and the fish farm method  is counterproductive!

Here is some good info from Dr Mercola's website - mercola.com - a trustworthy source of info on all health matters:

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The average Western diet is seriously deficient in the essential omega 3's, DHA and EPA. Except for certain types of fish, there are very few sources of these vitally important fats.

Unfortunately, as a well-written article in the Guardian
spells out quite succinctly, fish supplies around the world are
becoming scarcer each year. Even I see it, every year that I go to Maui
the fish are becoming far less abundant. And, add to that the fact that
much of the fish that is available are grossly contaminated.

Additionally,
eating fish before maturity (meaning it has not had time to reproduce)
spells disaster for the ecology. Eating fish that is loaded with toxins
spells disaster for your health, completely counteracting any of its
inherent benefits.

These are both good reasons for limiting your fish intake, and being mindful of the types of fish you do consume.

The World’s Most Perfect Food – Not so Perfect Anymore

The
world’s oceans are so polluted with industrial waste that most
commercially available fish have become little more than carriers of
toxins – especially mercury – which accumulates throughout the fat and tissues of their bodies.

This isn’t surprising, considering some 40 tons of mercury are released in the United States alone, every year, due to burning coal to generate electricity.

The most common contaminants found in fish include:

• Mercury
• PCBs
• Radioactive substances like strontium
• Toxic metals such as cadmium, lead, chromium and arsenic

Smaller
fish, such as herring, sardines, and anchovies fare better than larger
fish since they don’t have time to accumulate much mercury in their
tissues.

The highest concentrations are found in the large carnivorous fish of the ocean, such as:

Tuna
Canned tuna
Sea bass
Oysters (Gulf of Mexico)
Marlin
Halibut
Pike
Walleye
White croaker
Largemouth bass
Shark
Swordfish

GotMercury.org
is a good website if you’re curious to see just how high your intake of
mercury might be. Not only do they have a handy mercury calculator, but
they also perform independent testing on various sources of fish.

You also want to be especially cautious of canned tuna if you’re interested in keeping yourself and your children safe from mercury contamination. Independent testing by the Mercury Policy Project found that the average mercury concentration in canned tuna is far over the EPA’s “safe limits.”

For example, they found that:

• A 22 pound toddler who eats just 2 ounces of tuna per week may exceed the EPA’s “virtual safe limit” of mercury by 400 percent
• A 132 pound woman who eats 12 ounces of canned tuna per week could also exceed the EPA’s limit by 400 percent

Farm-Raised Fish is Much like Factory-Farmed Cattle

Contrary
to what industry would like you to believe, farmed fish is NOT a
healthier option. Not for you, the fish, nor the environment.

Not
only do you still have the problem of mercury, but farm-raised fish
also has higher levels of PCBs, another poisonous industrial byproduct.
Residues in farm-raised fish can be as much as 9 million times the
amount found in the water.

See, in order to be
profitable, fish farms must raise large quantities of fish in confined
areas, and the overcrowding leads to disease and injuries to the fish.
The fish are therefore given antibiotics and chemicals for the
parasites like sea lice, skin and gill infections and other diseases
that commonly affect them.

Making matters worse, these fish are also given drugs and hormones, and sometimes are genetically modified, to accelerate growth and change reproductive behaviors.

Farmed salmon
are also given the chemicals canthaxanthin and astaxanthin to turn
their flesh pink. Wild salmon eat a diet of shrimp and krill, which
contain natural chemicals that make the salmon pink. Farm-raised salmon
do not eat a natural diet, so their flesh would be gray if they were
not given these additives.

Always remember that the food chain matters. You eat what your food ate. Beef from grass-fed cattle,
for example, contains a healthy balance of omega 3 and omega 6 (about
3:1), whereas corn-fed beef from factory farms has the complete
opposite composition, containing far more pro-inflammatory omega 6’s
than anti-inflammatory omega 3’s (about 20:1!)

So, What’s Your BEST Omega-3 Source?

Unless you have lab results in your hand that verifies the purity of the fish, I recommend you avoid it.

Your safest and most cost effective choice , however, is to take high-quality krill oil on a regular basis.

I
used to recommend taking fish oil or cod liver oil (and I still do in
some cases), but aside from the problem of over fishing to the point of
near extinction and the potential of mercury contamination in the oil,
fish oils also have other drawbacks.

Most
importantly, fish oil is low in antioxidant content. And, as you
increase your intake of omega-3 fats by consuming fish oil, you
actually increase your need for even more antioxidant protection.

This happens because fish oil is highly perishable.

You
have to have sufficient antioxidants to ensure that the fish oil
doesn't oxidize and become rancid inside your body (oxidation leads to
the formation of unhealthy free radicals).

This is one of the main reasons I now recommend getting your omega-3 fats from Antarctic krill oil.

It
is superior to fish oil because it contains phospholipids, antioxidants
( more than 47 times the levels found in fish oil!), and omega-3’s
bonded together in a way that keeps them safe from oxidation, and makes
them easily absorbed in your body. So with krill oil, you can ensure
that you’re getting these incredibly healthy fats (EPA and DHA) without
having to worry about oxidation issues.

Additionally,
your risk of getting any mercury contamination is extremely low since
krill are so small they don’t have the chance to accumulate toxins
before being harvested.

Personally, I now
take krill oil every day. I particularly appreciate the fact that the
omega-3 is attached to phospholipids that dramatically increase its
absorption, especially into brain tissue.