Eat Your Fish

Fish can be dangerous, with mercury and PCBs accumulating in their tissue, yet fish is also a truly remarkable health food. Fish are the best source of those wonderful omega-3 fatty acids, which are associated with all kinds of health benefits ranging from improved cardiac health to improved mood and behavior, and reductions in cancer risk and arthritis symptoms.

Our bodies can't produce these beneficial omega-3 fatty acids; they have to come through our diet, and cold water fish are by far the best source of omega-3 fatty acids. (Other sources include grassfed meat and milk.)

These fish are your best choices for both environmental sustainability and health reasons, and are safe to eat at least once per week:

anchovies,

clams,

Dungeness crab,

king crab (US),

snow crab,

Pacific cod,

crawfish,

Atlantic herring (US/Canada),

lobster (US/Baja/Cananda/Australia),

Atlantic mackerel,

blue mussels,

farmed oysters,

wild Alaskan salmon,

sardines,

farmed scallops,

shrimp (US/Canada),

squid,

tilapia (US/Central America),

farmed rainbow trout,

canned tuna (light/skipjack).

The fish you should absolutely avoid include:

bluefish,

striped bass,

American eel,

weakfish,

king mackerel,

bluefin tuna,

swordfish,

shark,

croaker,

Atlantic salmon.

If you forget the list, this list, and other tips on healthy living are available on the Toxic Burden Living Clean Tips page for easy access.