Much of our fish supply is so polluted that algae-derived sources of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids may be safest option.
The Problem with Organic Salmon
4.4/5 - (21 votes)
The endocrine-disrupting industrial toxins in fish don’t just affect our gonads, but other glands, too. Like getting thyroid disruption from the flame-retardant chemicals, which literally just settle out of the atmosphere, such that even fish who swim only around Antarctica are contaminated. Levels in the United States, though, are higher than anywhere else in the world.
Researchers recently looked at U.S. retail salmon. And where do you think they found the most contamination? Six choices: wild-caught with skin; wild-caught without skin; organically farmed salmon with, or without skin; or conventionally farmed salmon with skin, or without?
The differences were really marginal, but the worst? Organic farmed salmon with skin. The wild-caught was least contaminated. Note, also, that it didn’t really seem to matter much whether you took off the skin, which suggests that the toxins are actually concentrated into the fish muscle itself.
PBDEs aren’t the only new industrial toxin we’re finding in fish. This year, researchers looked at the amount of polychlorinated naphthalenes in fat that was sucked out of the butts of New Yorkers (in liposuction samples). Where in the diet was it coming from? Out of about 52 daily nanograms, 50 came from fish.
What’s the bottom line? Until safer and more renewable sources of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids—plant-based sources—become more generally available, it would seem responsible for physicians to refrain from advocating that people should increase their intake through fish.
But it is available now. There are a half dozen brands of microalgae-derived DHA on the market now—I just show this one because I’ve found it to be the cheapest. And it’s 100% bioequivalent to what’s in fish. A “safe and convenient” source, and less likely to go rancid than fish oil. As you can see on the little handout that came with this DVD, I recommend people take about 250mg of microalgae-based DHA every day, which is about 5 times the average American intake.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Turyk ME, Persky VW, Imm P, Knobeloch L, Chatterton R, Anderson HA. Hormone disruption by PBDEs in adult male sport fish consumers. Environ Health Perspect. 2008 Dec;116(12):1635-41. Epub 2008 Jul 24.
- Ackerman LK, Schwindt AR, Simonich SL, Koch DC, Blett TF, Schreck CB, Kent ML, Landers DH. Atmospherically deposited PBDEs, pesticides, PCBs, and PAHs in western U.S. National Park fish: concentrations and consumption guidelines. Environ Sci Technol. 2008 Apr 1;42(7):2334-41.
- Borghesi N, Corsolini S, Focardi S. Levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and organochlorine pollutants in two species of Antarctic fish (Chionodraco hamatus and Trematomus bernacchii). Chemosphere. 2008 Sep;73(2):155-60. Epub 2008 Jul 30.
- Shaw SD, Berger ML, Brenner D, Carpenter DO, Tao L, Hong CS, Kannan K. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in farmed and wild salmon marketed in the Northeastern United States. Chemosphere. 2008 Apr;71(8):1422-31. Epub 2008 Mar 7.
- Kunisue T, Johnson-Restrepo B, Hilker DR, Aldous KM, Kannan K. Polychlorinated naphthalenes in human adipose tissue from New York, USA. Environ Pollut. 2009 Mar;157(3):910-5. Epub 2008 Dec 11.
- Jenkins DJ, Sievenpiper JL, Pauly D, Sumaila UR, Kendall CW, Mowat FM. Are dietary recommendations for the use of fish oils sustainable? CMAJ. 2009 Mar 17;180(6):633-7.
- Arterburn LM, Oken HA, Bailey Hall E, Hamersley J, Kuratko CN, Hoffman JP. Algal-oil capsules and cooked salmon: nutritionally equivalent sources of docosahexaenoic acid. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008 Jul;108(7):1204-9.
The endocrine-disrupting industrial toxins in fish don’t just affect our gonads, but other glands, too. Like getting thyroid disruption from the flame-retardant chemicals, which literally just settle out of the atmosphere, such that even fish who swim only around Antarctica are contaminated. Levels in the United States, though, are higher than anywhere else in the world.
Researchers recently looked at U.S. retail salmon. And where do you think they found the most contamination? Six choices: wild-caught with skin; wild-caught without skin; organically farmed salmon with, or without skin; or conventionally farmed salmon with skin, or without?
The differences were really marginal, but the worst? Organic farmed salmon with skin. The wild-caught was least contaminated. Note, also, that it didn’t really seem to matter much whether you took off the skin, which suggests that the toxins are actually concentrated into the fish muscle itself.
PBDEs aren’t the only new industrial toxin we’re finding in fish. This year, researchers looked at the amount of polychlorinated naphthalenes in fat that was sucked out of the butts of New Yorkers (in liposuction samples). Where in the diet was it coming from? Out of about 52 daily nanograms, 50 came from fish.
What’s the bottom line? Until safer and more renewable sources of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids—plant-based sources—become more generally available, it would seem responsible for physicians to refrain from advocating that people should increase their intake through fish.
But it is available now. There are a half dozen brands of microalgae-derived DHA on the market now—I just show this one because I’ve found it to be the cheapest. And it’s 100% bioequivalent to what’s in fish. A “safe and convenient” source, and less likely to go rancid than fish oil. As you can see on the little handout that came with this DVD, I recommend people take about 250mg of microalgae-based DHA every day, which is about 5 times the average American intake.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Turyk ME, Persky VW, Imm P, Knobeloch L, Chatterton R, Anderson HA. Hormone disruption by PBDEs in adult male sport fish consumers. Environ Health Perspect. 2008 Dec;116(12):1635-41. Epub 2008 Jul 24.
- Ackerman LK, Schwindt AR, Simonich SL, Koch DC, Blett TF, Schreck CB, Kent ML, Landers DH. Atmospherically deposited PBDEs, pesticides, PCBs, and PAHs in western U.S. National Park fish: concentrations and consumption guidelines. Environ Sci Technol. 2008 Apr 1;42(7):2334-41.
- Borghesi N, Corsolini S, Focardi S. Levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and organochlorine pollutants in two species of Antarctic fish (Chionodraco hamatus and Trematomus bernacchii). Chemosphere. 2008 Sep;73(2):155-60. Epub 2008 Jul 30.
- Shaw SD, Berger ML, Brenner D, Carpenter DO, Tao L, Hong CS, Kannan K. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in farmed and wild salmon marketed in the Northeastern United States. Chemosphere. 2008 Apr;71(8):1422-31. Epub 2008 Mar 7.
- Kunisue T, Johnson-Restrepo B, Hilker DR, Aldous KM, Kannan K. Polychlorinated naphthalenes in human adipose tissue from New York, USA. Environ Pollut. 2009 Mar;157(3):910-5. Epub 2008 Dec 11.
- Jenkins DJ, Sievenpiper JL, Pauly D, Sumaila UR, Kendall CW, Mowat FM. Are dietary recommendations for the use of fish oils sustainable? CMAJ. 2009 Mar 17;180(6):633-7.
- Arterburn LM, Oken HA, Bailey Hall E, Hamersley J, Kuratko CN, Hoffman JP. Algal-oil capsules and cooked salmon: nutritionally equivalent sources of docosahexaenoic acid. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008 Jul;108(7):1204-9.
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Title
The Problem with Organic Salmon
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Content URLDoctor's Note
Also check out my more recent videos on omega-3 fatty acids:
The Mediterranean Diet or a Whole Food Plant-Based Diet?
PREDIMED: Does Eating Nuts Prevent Strokes?
Mercury vs. Omega-3s for Brain Development
PCBs in Children’s Fish Oil Supplements
And check out my other videos on fish and my other videos on industrial toxins.
For more context, see my associated blog post: EPA dioxin limit has National Chicken Council worried products could be declared “unfit for consumption”.
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