IckyFishyGuideToToxinsInSeafood V3 AWS
IckyFishy Guide To Toxins In...
Lara Adler Certified Holistic Health Coach Environmental Toxins Expert www.laraadler.com
©2013 Lara Adler - Certified Holistic Health Coach & Environmental Toxins Expert www.laraadler.com
W
e all know that seafood can be incredibly heart healthy, rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, and a good source of lean protein. But it can also be loaded with a number of really nasty chemical toxins like PCB’s, Dioxins, and Mercury, among others. Most fish have some levels of toxins, but they can vary in range from barely measurable and of very little concern at all, to levels high enough to qualify for seizure by the FDA due to the ability to cause harm to human health. Most fish advisory sites online rate fish species based on sustainability, taking into consideration the methods of catching (line/net/troll/pole...) and the population numbers of each species, and often consider the potential toxicity of the species as an afterthought. The fish guides that do look at toxicity often look at single contaminants, like mercury, but don’t take into consideration the pesticide and antibiotic heavy side of farmed fish. In my opinion, this makes finding out which seafood choices are healthy and safe extra tricky!! Does this mean we can’t eat seafood? Absolutely not! It just means we need to have a better understanding of where the threshold is where the risks start to outweigh the benefits. Use this guide to help make better, safer, and healthier choices when choosing fish!👍
RULE of THUMB The higher the fish is on the food chain the greater the likelihood of mercury contamination! The lower on the food chain the lower the likelihood of any toxic buildup!
higher
lower
©2013 Lara Adler - Certified Holistic Health Coach & Environmental Toxins Expert www.laraadler.com
Should I Eat You? BLUEFIN TUNA* Bluefin Tuna is the biggest of the tuna species, and is a top-of-the-food chain fish. This means that greater levels of toxins are able to build up in the it’s fatty tissues, rendering it the most polluted of the tunas.
NOPE!
This ocean fish is most commonly served as high quality sushi fish, but is also consistently contaminated with mercury. This fish is also heavily overfished leading to a decline in the species. Best to skip this guy altogether! BIGEYE TUNA (aka Ahi)
NOPE!
Bigeye is also a popular sushi fish, prized for it’s high fat content - the same quality that makes it a storage receptacle for mercury. It shares similar high levels of mercury as Bluefin tuna - sometimes more. Recent testing found individual samples of Bigeye to have levels of mercury that exceeded the FDA “action level” of 1ppm, which means that it could be legally seized. While not under threat of extinction - this is a heavily fished species, and experts believe that fishing efforts should be reduced in oder to ensure long-term sustainability. Best to skip Bigeyes altogether. ALBACORE TUNA*
okay sometimes
Albacore tuna is what’s often found in “white meat” canned tuna and is this country’s favorite fish. It’s for this reason that the FDA has set specific guidelines for women of childbearing age and young children - no more than 6oz per week. Recent testing has shown that Albacore tuna can have even higher mercury levels than Bluefin, but not quite as high as Bigeye. I think the risks with Albacore are too high for women & children - skip it! (opt for wild caught canned salmon instead- see Skipjack)
©2013 Lara Adler - Certified Holistic Health Coach & Environmental Toxins Expert www.laraadler.com
Yellowfin TUNA (also aka Ahi)* Yellowfin, also known under it’s Hawaiian name Ahi, is the leanest of the tuna species but still has comparable levels of mercury as Bluefin tuna. It’s what’s used in “chunk light” canned tuna.
NOPE!
Because of depleted ocean stocks of Bluefin, many restaurants serve Yellowfin in it’s place and most tuna steaks sold in the supermarket are yellowfin. Women of child bearing age and children should skip this one too. Sorry! Skipjack TUNA* Skipjack tuna are the smallest of the tuna species and the shortest living, which also means that it has the lowest amount of mercury build up. It’s often what’s used in “light” canned tuna.
okay sometimes
Pole and Troll caught Skipjack Tuna and Albacore Tuna are okay to eat once or twice a week. Skip completely any tuna that is longline caught, both because of the devastating environmental impact and because fish caught this way are larger, older, and have higher levels of mercury. Farmed Imported Shrimp
NOPE!
The US imports 80% of our seafood and shrimp is second only to tuna in popularity. Imported shrimp comes mostly from Asia and it’s almost always farmed. Little to no regulation in these markets means that shrimp are raised in filthy conditions, often in waters intentionally contaminated with sewage, and treated with excessive amounts of pesticides and antibiotics.
* Levels of mercury can vary depending on how the species of tuna was caught. Pole and troll caught fish of these species are younger and smaller than ones that are caught using a long-line, and therefore have lower on average levels of mercury. If you still want to eat Tuna, stick to these varieties, and only ones that are pole and troll caught. ©2013 Lara Adler - Certified Holistic Health Coach & Environmental Toxins Expert www.laraadler.com
Swordfish * Shark * Tilefish Swordfish, Shark, Tilefish, Chilean Sea Bass, King Mackerel, and Marlin are all species that have high levels of mercury and are listed by the FDA as food that women of childbearing age and children should not eat at all.
NOPE!
NOPE!
NOPE!
Atlantic Salmon All Atlantic Salmon, no matter what the label, menu, or waiter says, is farmed. Native wild stocks of Atlantic Salmon were depleted by overfishing many years ago, and they are struggling to make a come back.
NOPE!
Commercial fishing of Atlantic Salmon is actually prohibited by law. Any menu that reads “Wild Atlantic Salmon” is pulling one over on you. It’s farmed. Skip it.
Pacific/Alaskan Salmon This is true Wild Alaskan Salmon and it is gooooood for you! There are 5 species of Pacific Salmon: Chinook, Chum, Coho, Pink and Sockeye.
EAT ME !!
Wild salmon have low levels of PCB’s and mercury and have some of the highest levels of heart, brain, everything healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. Enjoy!
©2013 Lara Adler - Certified Holistic Health Coach & Environmental Toxins Expert www.laraadler.com
Honorable Mentions of Non-Icky Fishies These guys are all pretty low on the food chain, and by that fact alone are lower in toxic build up. These are also really great sources of Omega-3’s. This is by no means an exhaustive list of the safe and “non-icky-fishies” out there - this guide would be 100 pages long, and well...
EAT ME !! ✦ Atlantic Herring ✦ Pacific Sardines ✦ Arctic Char ✦ US Farmed Oysters ✦ Wild Alaskan Salmon ✦ Pink Oregon Shrimp ✦ Alaskan or Canadian Sablefish
Better Canned Seafood While you won’t normally find me advocating canned foods due to the BPA found in can linings, the following companies offer some or all of their products in BPA free cans and can make a much healthier alternative.
✦ Vital Choice (everything but Dungeness Crab)
✦ Wild Planet (sardines & Albacore tuna pouch packed fish only)
✦ Oregon’s Choice (canned tuna only)
✦ Eco Fish (all BPA free cans)
©2013 Lara Adler - Certified Holistic Health Coach & Environmental Toxins Expert www.laraadler.com
Who Am I? Hi! I’m Lara Adler, Certified Holistic Health Coach and Environmental Toxins Expert. I specialize in helping women, mothers, and mothers-tobe identify and remove dangerous toxins in their diet and home environment so they can create a safe and healthy space for themselves and their families to grow, while reducing the risks of diabetes, obesity, behavioral issues, thyroid disorders, cancers, and other serious conditions. I also train and educate my colleagues in the holistic health & wellness community to have a greater sense of fluency around how toxins impact our health so they leave no stone unturned when seeking solutions for their clients. I’m deeply committed to peeling back the curtain and opening up the conversation about environmental toxins to people in a way that’s informative, accessible, actionable, and totally free from overwhelm. In working with me, my clients achieve a deep peace of mind in knowing that they’re doing the absolute best to protect their health and the health of their families. While it’s easy to get super paranoid or over the top fanatic about toxins - I prefer to take a practical, real-world approach to keeping you and your children safe.
I work to help people change the things they can control, so they can worry less about the ones they can’t.
To learn more about my work, head on over to:
www.laraadler.com or shoot me an email at: [email protected]
©2013 Lara Adler - Certified Holistic Health Coach & Environmental Toxins Expert www.laraadler.com
Lara Adler Certified Holistic Health Coach Environmental Toxins Expert www.laraadler.com
©2013 Lara Adler - Certified Holistic Health Coach & Environmental Toxins Expert www.laraadler.com
W
e all know that seafood can be incredibly heart healthy, rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, and a good source of lean protein. But it can also be loaded with a number of really nasty chemical toxins like PCB’s, Dioxins, and Mercury, among others. Most fish have some levels of toxins, but they can vary in range from barely measurable and of very little concern at all, to levels high enough to qualify for seizure by the FDA due to the ability to cause harm to human health. Most fish advisory sites online rate fish species based on sustainability, taking into consideration the methods of catching (line/net/troll/pole...) and the population numbers of each species, and often consider the potential toxicity of the species as an afterthought. The fish guides that do look at toxicity often look at single contaminants, like mercury, but don’t take into consideration the pesticide and antibiotic heavy side of farmed fish. In my opinion, this makes finding out which seafood choices are healthy and safe extra tricky!! Does this mean we can’t eat seafood? Absolutely not! It just means we need to have a better understanding of where the threshold is where the risks start to outweigh the benefits. Use this guide to help make better, safer, and healthier choices when choosing fish!👍
RULE of THUMB The higher the fish is on the food chain the greater the likelihood of mercury contamination! The lower on the food chain the lower the likelihood of any toxic buildup!
higher
lower
©2013 Lara Adler - Certified Holistic Health Coach & Environmental Toxins Expert www.laraadler.com
Should I Eat You? BLUEFIN TUNA* Bluefin Tuna is the biggest of the tuna species, and is a top-of-the-food chain fish. This means that greater levels of toxins are able to build up in the it’s fatty tissues, rendering it the most polluted of the tunas.
NOPE!
This ocean fish is most commonly served as high quality sushi fish, but is also consistently contaminated with mercury. This fish is also heavily overfished leading to a decline in the species. Best to skip this guy altogether! BIGEYE TUNA (aka Ahi)
NOPE!
Bigeye is also a popular sushi fish, prized for it’s high fat content - the same quality that makes it a storage receptacle for mercury. It shares similar high levels of mercury as Bluefin tuna - sometimes more. Recent testing found individual samples of Bigeye to have levels of mercury that exceeded the FDA “action level” of 1ppm, which means that it could be legally seized. While not under threat of extinction - this is a heavily fished species, and experts believe that fishing efforts should be reduced in oder to ensure long-term sustainability. Best to skip Bigeyes altogether. ALBACORE TUNA*
okay sometimes
Albacore tuna is what’s often found in “white meat” canned tuna and is this country’s favorite fish. It’s for this reason that the FDA has set specific guidelines for women of childbearing age and young children - no more than 6oz per week. Recent testing has shown that Albacore tuna can have even higher mercury levels than Bluefin, but not quite as high as Bigeye. I think the risks with Albacore are too high for women & children - skip it! (opt for wild caught canned salmon instead- see Skipjack)
©2013 Lara Adler - Certified Holistic Health Coach & Environmental Toxins Expert www.laraadler.com
Yellowfin TUNA (also aka Ahi)* Yellowfin, also known under it’s Hawaiian name Ahi, is the leanest of the tuna species but still has comparable levels of mercury as Bluefin tuna. It’s what’s used in “chunk light” canned tuna.
NOPE!
Because of depleted ocean stocks of Bluefin, many restaurants serve Yellowfin in it’s place and most tuna steaks sold in the supermarket are yellowfin. Women of child bearing age and children should skip this one too. Sorry! Skipjack TUNA* Skipjack tuna are the smallest of the tuna species and the shortest living, which also means that it has the lowest amount of mercury build up. It’s often what’s used in “light” canned tuna.
okay sometimes
Pole and Troll caught Skipjack Tuna and Albacore Tuna are okay to eat once or twice a week. Skip completely any tuna that is longline caught, both because of the devastating environmental impact and because fish caught this way are larger, older, and have higher levels of mercury. Farmed Imported Shrimp
NOPE!
The US imports 80% of our seafood and shrimp is second only to tuna in popularity. Imported shrimp comes mostly from Asia and it’s almost always farmed. Little to no regulation in these markets means that shrimp are raised in filthy conditions, often in waters intentionally contaminated with sewage, and treated with excessive amounts of pesticides and antibiotics.
* Levels of mercury can vary depending on how the species of tuna was caught. Pole and troll caught fish of these species are younger and smaller than ones that are caught using a long-line, and therefore have lower on average levels of mercury. If you still want to eat Tuna, stick to these varieties, and only ones that are pole and troll caught. ©2013 Lara Adler - Certified Holistic Health Coach & Environmental Toxins Expert www.laraadler.com
Swordfish * Shark * Tilefish Swordfish, Shark, Tilefish, Chilean Sea Bass, King Mackerel, and Marlin are all species that have high levels of mercury and are listed by the FDA as food that women of childbearing age and children should not eat at all.
NOPE!
NOPE!
NOPE!
Atlantic Salmon All Atlantic Salmon, no matter what the label, menu, or waiter says, is farmed. Native wild stocks of Atlantic Salmon were depleted by overfishing many years ago, and they are struggling to make a come back.
NOPE!
Commercial fishing of Atlantic Salmon is actually prohibited by law. Any menu that reads “Wild Atlantic Salmon” is pulling one over on you. It’s farmed. Skip it.
Pacific/Alaskan Salmon This is true Wild Alaskan Salmon and it is gooooood for you! There are 5 species of Pacific Salmon: Chinook, Chum, Coho, Pink and Sockeye.
EAT ME !!
Wild salmon have low levels of PCB’s and mercury and have some of the highest levels of heart, brain, everything healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. Enjoy!
©2013 Lara Adler - Certified Holistic Health Coach & Environmental Toxins Expert www.laraadler.com
Honorable Mentions of Non-Icky Fishies These guys are all pretty low on the food chain, and by that fact alone are lower in toxic build up. These are also really great sources of Omega-3’s. This is by no means an exhaustive list of the safe and “non-icky-fishies” out there - this guide would be 100 pages long, and well...
EAT ME !! ✦ Atlantic Herring ✦ Pacific Sardines ✦ Arctic Char ✦ US Farmed Oysters ✦ Wild Alaskan Salmon ✦ Pink Oregon Shrimp ✦ Alaskan or Canadian Sablefish
Better Canned Seafood While you won’t normally find me advocating canned foods due to the BPA found in can linings, the following companies offer some or all of their products in BPA free cans and can make a much healthier alternative.
✦ Vital Choice (everything but Dungeness Crab)
✦ Wild Planet (sardines & Albacore tuna pouch packed fish only)
✦ Oregon’s Choice (canned tuna only)
✦ Eco Fish (all BPA free cans)
©2013 Lara Adler - Certified Holistic Health Coach & Environmental Toxins Expert www.laraadler.com
Who Am I? Hi! I’m Lara Adler, Certified Holistic Health Coach and Environmental Toxins Expert. I specialize in helping women, mothers, and mothers-tobe identify and remove dangerous toxins in their diet and home environment so they can create a safe and healthy space for themselves and their families to grow, while reducing the risks of diabetes, obesity, behavioral issues, thyroid disorders, cancers, and other serious conditions. I also train and educate my colleagues in the holistic health & wellness community to have a greater sense of fluency around how toxins impact our health so they leave no stone unturned when seeking solutions for their clients. I’m deeply committed to peeling back the curtain and opening up the conversation about environmental toxins to people in a way that’s informative, accessible, actionable, and totally free from overwhelm. In working with me, my clients achieve a deep peace of mind in knowing that they’re doing the absolute best to protect their health and the health of their families. While it’s easy to get super paranoid or over the top fanatic about toxins - I prefer to take a practical, real-world approach to keeping you and your children safe.
I work to help people change the things they can control, so they can worry less about the ones they can’t.
To learn more about my work, head on over to:
www.laraadler.com or shoot me an email at: [email protected]
©2013 Lara Adler - Certified Holistic Health Coach & Environmental Toxins Expert www.laraadler.com
