BY SUSAN WEST, OUTER BANKS SENTINEL | Consumers looking for heart-healthy food may want to eat fish other than farm-raised tilapia.
Researchers at the Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem have reported that farm-raised tilapia contains low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and high levels of dangerous omega-6 fatty acids.
That combination could be dangerous for some patients with heart disease, arthritis, asthma, and other allergic and autoimmune diseases, according to the report published in the current issue of the American Dietetic Association Journal.
The American Heart Association recommends eating two servings of fish each week to increase levels of omega-3 fatty acids that can decrease the risk of arrhythmias, triglyceride levels, and plaque growth, and may lower blood pressure.
Fish high in omega-3 fatty acids include bluefish, king and spanish mackerel, and tuna.
The Wake Forest School of Medicine report found that farm-raised tilapia contained higher levels of omega-6 fatty acids than foods like doughnuts and bacon.
Excessive levels of omega-6 fatty acids have been linked to a number of diseases, including heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, cancer, and depression.
Tilapia is the fifth most popular type of seafood consumed in the US, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The mild-flavored, white-fleshed fish, native to Africa, has become popular with Americans looking for inexpensive fish.
Tilapia filets run around $7.50 per pound in retail markets, considerably lower than offshore species like tuna but higher than species like bluefish and spanish mackerel.
Fish farms in the US, including North Carolina, produce about 20 million pounds of tilapia every year, but most tilapia comes from other countries.
In 2007, tilapia imports, mostly frozen filets, exceeded 383 million pounds.
National Marine Fisheries Service doesn't distinguish between wild-caught and farm-raised imports, but most tilapia comes from Asia or Latin America, fish farming epicenters.
Ecuador, Honduras, and Costa Rica supply the bulk of the 57 million pounds of fresh fillets that come into this country.
China alone supplied US consumers with 193 million pounds of frozen filets last year.
Although the fish's rise to popularity with US consumers has taken place relatively recently, tilapia is thought to have been the fish Christ multiplied a thousand-fold to feed the masses.
I think this one is really insane, my father and I is raising tilapia in our farm but our buyers are getting even more and they said that our tilapia's are really full of taste.
Posted by: buy soma online | December 04, 2009 at 02:47 AM
I love tilapia and I just don't know if I can give it up that easily. Would love to read their findings as well as how many test cases they did.
Posted by: Jo | April 27, 2011 at 09:51 PM
Great job, Susan!
I've also read some farms treat the fish with hormones to produce bigger fish.
Posted by: notasellout | July 30, 2011 at 09:34 AM
Were the fish tested by Wake farm raised here in the USA or only from foreign suppliers???
Might make a difference to some, to some it never will as they'd like to harvest "wild caught" to produce "fresh local" in ways that are not sustainable.
Take care
Posted by: Chuck Laughridge | August 01, 2011 at 10:39 AM
For sure, some fishing for their personal consumption wackin' 5.7 million pounds, at two a day sure piles up quick don't they.
Interesting that those producing the "fresh local wild caught" didn't even fill the 480,000 quota, and left 80,000 pounds still swimming.
Posted by: BuddyRoe | August 01, 2011 at 06:24 PM