Go Wild With Your Fish!

It is well established that eating fish regularly helps protect against developing disease and contributes to an overall healthy diet. The oils in fish are unique; they have omega 3s–fatty acids not found in any other foods, especially fatty species such as salmon, herring, black cod, mackerel, and sardines. Sockeye salmon is one of the few foods that’s naturally high in vitamin D as well (140% of the daily value per serving), a nutrient that helps reduce inflammation and regulates calcium absorption. Read on for some of the best reasons to add wild fish (not farmed) to your weekly meals!

The Immune System

The immune system protects the body from foreign invaders such as bacteria, viruses and allergens by producing specific antibodies for each invader. Once an antibody latches on to the intruder, it becomes marked for destruction and removal by other immune cells. Another part of the immune system removes infected cells and generates inflammation—the swelling, pain, heat, redness and sometimes itching—that develops around an insect bite, wound, or the body’s own tissue (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis).

Inflammatory responses promote healing and limit tissue damage from an injury or harmful agent. Excessive immune responses pave the way to several chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. They underlie allergies or hypersensitivity to foreign irritants (antigens) like pollen or certain food proteins. Common allergies produce inflammatory responses in skin, nose and eyes. In chronic diseases, inflammation is responsible for the joint pain of rheumatoid arthritis, the breathing difficulties of asthma, and the itchy red skin of psoriasis and eczema.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids greatly affect inflammatory responses because of substances made from them. Products from arachidonic acid, derived from vegetable oils, usually increase inflammatory responses. In contrast, the omega 3 fatty acids from fish and shellfish, EPA and DHA, help restrain runaway inflammation.

Allergic diseases are increasing in western countries. Some experts have suggested that declining consumption of omega 3s and antioxidants (e.g., vitamins E and C), along with the high intake of omega 6 fatty acids from vegetable oils favor the development of allergies such as eczema, asthma and hay fever. Eating less fat of all kinds and more seafood omega 3s has been associated with improved immune function and less severe symptoms in some people with these allergic conditions.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

In rheumatoid arthritis the body’s immune system targets the joints causing pain, stiffness, swelling and deformity. It is three times more common in women than men. Fish oil has been used to treat rheumatoid arthritis for many years and has helped ease the symptoms of morning stiffness, pain, and swollen joints. Fish oil also reduces the production of inflammatory substances and reduces the activity of enzymes that erode joint tissue.

In addition to improving symptoms, adding fish oil to other arthritis medications may reduce the amount of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs needed for pain control. Seafood omega 3s have many protective effects on heart health, an important benefit as people with rheumatoid arthritis are at greater risk of heart disease. Further, seafood omega 3s are without harmful side effects. Before taking large amounts of fish oil, people should consult with their doctor, especially if they are taking blood-thinning medications.

Asthma

Asthma results from chronic inflammation of the airways. The condition affects about 16 million American adults, but often begins in childhood. People with asthma have episodes of breathing difficulty, wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and coughing. Breathing problems can be triggered by allergens, irritating substances in the air (e.g., smoke), infection and exercise. Although there are many studies of the effects of fish oil in people with asthma, findings are mixed and inconclusive.

Many studies found little benefit from moderately high amounts of omega 3s. However, several epidemiological studies (observations comparing the condition in one group with another) indicate that low omega 3 intake and levels in blood are linked to greater occurrence of asthma. In addition, foods consumed in most western countries, particularly in the U.S., are high in the fatty acids that promote inflammatory responses (polyunsaturated vegetable oils) and very low in omega 3s. Several studies with fish oil supplementation reported that inflammatory substances were significantly reduced, even if symptoms were unaffected.

More recent research in asthmatic patients undergoing exercise reported that the consumption of fish oil for 3 weeks prior to exercise significantly improved lung function, reduced the use of a bronchodilator (inhaler), and decreased the production of inflammatory substances.

Several studies in children at risk of asthma suggest that consuming fish in early childhood, before the age of one year, may reduce the chance of developing the condition, delay it, or result in less severe symptoms. Children with higher intakes of seafood omega 3s have less wheezing and coughing compared with children with low levels. Omega 3s do not prevent the condition, but help make it less severe.

Eczema

Another allergic inflammatory condition is eczema, a chronic skin disease, often linked to family history. Some forms of eczema, usually in patients with a family history of eczema, have altered polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism that results in lower production of anti-inflammatory substances. In several studies, fish consumption or supplementation with EPA and DHA resulted in less severe symptoms in people with the condition. Fish oils reduced the production of inflammatory substances and increased the production of those with anti-inflammatory effects. There are also reports of less severe allergies in infants and children whose mothers consumed fish oil during pregnancy. It is not clear whether the benefits observed in infancy persist into later childhood. Early exposure to omega 3s, as in pregnancy, may be advantageous, but more studies are needed to confirm this possibility.

Much remains to be learned about these complex immune conditions before saying for certain that fish oils prevent eczema. However, regular fish consumption or omega 3 supplementation may offer some relief to those suffering from them.

Heart Health

Omega 3s inhibit the formation of blood clots. This is important because most heart attacks result when blood clots get stuck together in the blood vessels leading to the heart. They may protect against sudden cardiac arrest, a major cause of death from heart disease. They lower very high levels of triglycerides, a type of fat in the blood which, when elevated, increases the risk of heart attacks.

Intake of fish rich in omega 3 fat is associated with decreased risk of numerous cardiovascular problems, including: heart attack, stroke, heart arrhythmia, high blood pressure, and high triglycerides in the blood. Intake of omega 3-containing fish is also associated with improved metabolic markers for cardiovascular disease.

Brain Health

Many researchers consider DHA to be the most important fat found in the human brain, and the unusual concentration of this omega 3 fatty acid in salmon helps explain the research-documented benefits of salmon and omega 3 fish intake for thinking and the decreased risk of certain brain-related problems that accompanies omega 3 fish consumption. There is also evidence of decreased risk of cognitive decline in the elderly with regular omega 3 consumption.

Eye Health

Omega 3 intake and consumption of omega 3 fish has been associated with decreased risk of two eye-related problems: macular degeneration and chronic dry eye. Improvement has been noted with 2-6 weekly servings of salmon.

Cancer-Fighting Benefits

Intake of fish rich in omega 3 fat is also associated with decreased risk for several types of cancer. These cancer types include colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, and breast cancer. Some of the strongest findings for decreased cancer risk following regular intake of omega 3 fish involve the blood cell or lymph cell-related cancers including leukemia, multiple myeloma, and non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Similar to cardiovascular studies, cancer risk studies typically begin to show measurable benefits when omega 3 fish are consumed at least once per week.

Farmed vs. Wild Caught

We have all heard that eating salmon is a healthy thing to do; however a study published in Science reported that some varieties of farmed salmon contained high levels of cancer-causing chemicals called PCBs, which caused some people to shy away from farmed varieties. (More than 80% of the fresh salmon eaten in the U.S. is farmed.) The PCBs come from the fish meal and fish oil the salmon are fed. However, this is not the only problem with farmed salmon. The trend toward greatly increased salmon farming has been an ongoing concern to many researchers who study the ecological impact of farmed salmon, including the impact on wild salmon populations.

Salmon farming has also concerned many researchers from a health standpoint. Farmed salmon when raised in a non-sustainable way and without regard for the organic standards that exist in some countries outside the U.S. have repeatedly been found to have measurable and undesirable amounts of numerous contaminants. Some researchers have raised the question of whether sustainable salmon farming is even possible, given the natural habits of salmon and the unique habitats that have historically supported their vitality.

However, there are still salmon runs that pose relatively low risk in terms of contaminants. Leading this low-risk category for wild-caught salmon are Alaskan salmon. Southeast Alaskan chum, sockeye, coho, pink, and chinook salmon, together with Kodiak coho, pink, and chum salmon have all been evaluated for contaminant consumption risk involving many POPs (including dioxins, dioxin-like compounds, or DLCs, and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs) and have been found to be the lowest risk category of wild-caught salmon for regular consumption. This lower contamination risk amongst all wild-caught salmon is one of the reasons why wild-caught Alaskan salmon is the recommended salmon of choice.

Along with lower risk of contamination from wild-caught Alaskan salmon, Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California has determined Alaskan salmon to be the only low-risk salmon in terms of four sustainability criteria: the inherent vulnerability of the fish, the effects of fishing on the overall habitat, the status of wild stocks, and the nature of the by-catch (the other types of fish that are caught unintentionally during salmon fishing).

A new delivery of Doug’s Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon and Halibut can be found in our frozen departments, as well as a nice selection of shelf-stable wild varieties of fish and seafood on our grocery shelves!