Food Healthy Jamestown New York
Oct0
Americans need to eat more seafood and less red meat, but are there affordable choices good for both our health and the environment? We consumed six times more red meat than seafood in 2007, a pattern that increases risk of colon cancer and adds to environment-damaging greenhouse gases.
Fish is naturally low in saturated fat, and some is also high in omega-3 fat, which lowers risk of stroke and heart attack and reduces inflammation throughout the body. Unfortunately, some fish come with toxins accumulated in polluted waters and certain fishing methods are environmentally destructive. Knowing how to choose fish that is both eco-friendly and health promoting creates a win-win situation.
Seafood that’s win-win
One example of a win-win fish is wild salmon, which is high in omega-3 fat, low in contaminants and comes from well managed fisheries. However, world supply would be decimated if everybody chose this for our recommended two servings a week.
For other win-win options, try Atlantic mackerel, sablefish (also called “black cod”), Arctic char, sardines and farmed rainbow trout. Barramundi, farmed striped bass and mussels are great options with slightly less, but still substantial, omega-3s. Canned wild salmon also offers health benefits in a convenient, affordable form.
Pacific halibut, Alaskan pollock and U.S. farmed catfish and tilapia aren’t high in omega-3 fat, but offer low saturated fat and contaminants, high nutrients and eco-friendly impact. Look for U.S. farmed or wild shrimp, which are more eco-friendly than shrimp from less-regulated countries. Clams, oysters and bay scallops are eco-safe and low-contaminant shellfish.
Choices that are healthy for you
Skipping the breaded, battered and fried seafood options, laden with trans and saturated fats and extra calories, is the first step in making a healthy choice. Don’t select only those high in omega-3 fat, but know that including them regularly adds an extra benefit. Making health-wise choices also means limiting exposure to toxins such as methylmercury, PCBs and dioxins that can accumulate in fish from polluted waters.
- Women of childbearing age and children up to age 12 should avoid swordfish, shark, tile fish and king mackerel due to greatest mercury contamination. These groups should choose up to 12 ounces per week (somewhat less for those under 6) of a variety of other seafood.
- Before cooking, remove the skin and fat where PCBs concentrate. Serve less fried fish because frying seals in pollutants that might be in the fat, while cooking on a rack or grill allows fat to drain.
- Try smaller fish like sardines and seafood such as U.S. farmed mussels.
For most of us, as long as appropriate amounts of a variety of seafood are selected to minimize risk from exposure to a single source, the health benefits of eating seafood several times a week seem to outweigh the possible risks.
Eco-friendly choices
When purchasing fish, ask the grocer how the fish was harvested. Wild fish caught by hook and line or trap are environmentally best. Environmentalists say that fish caught by trawl net, dragging or longline can damage coral or the ocean floor. These methods also lead to “by-catch” of small fish, dolphins and sea turtles, which are then tossed back dead or dying.
Farmed fish can be a smart option when they’re raised in closed systems where wastes are controlled and there is little chance of the fish escaping. Farmed seafood and fish produced outside of the United States is often not closely regulated, so fish can escape and threaten native species with disease or competition for food.
Also, water and waste may not be treated before being discharged to the surrounding habitat. With the exception of farmed salmon, U.S. farmed fish is generally a good choice.
(This article was provided by the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. A registered dietician is available to respond to questions about diet, nutrition, and cancer at the free AICR Hotline at 1 (800) 843-8114 during business hours.)
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Fundraisers have been a part of school and extra-curricular groups for many years, and as budgets get tighter, that income becomes more crucial. Now government and health experts are increasingly calling us to stop and consider the long-term effects of basing most of these fundraisers on high-calorie foods with little nutritional value.
More than twice as many children, and more than three times as many adolescents, are now obese compared to 1980. Because childhood obesity lays the groundwork for development of diabetes, heart disease and some forms of cancer later in life, health experts say we need major changes in youth eating and activity patterns.
A 2009 report from the American Institute for Cancer Research on policies that support healthier lifestyles to lower cancer risk includes a recommendation that schools provide healthy meals and restrict availability of unhealthy foods and drinks.
Unhealthy foods abound at fundraisers
Chocolate candy, cookies and other high-fat bakery items are sold in fundraisers in 50 percent of elementary schools and 67 percent of high schools, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The same survey reports that more than a third of states and school districts have policies prohibiting sales of “junk food” for fundraisers.
The Institute of Medicine has issued a report on steps to improve the nutritional value of food in schools. Many schools now have wellness boards that support improvements in school breakfast, lunch and vending machine offerings in accordance with the IOM recommendations.
Yet it’s not clear how many also follow the IOM recommendation to set standards for fundraising to offer only non-food products and foods that meet the nutrition standards for healthy school meals.
Some people believe that these restrictions go overboard because bake sales and other fundraisers occur too occasionally to make a difference. However, others say fundraisers add to an already excessive amount of high-calorie, low-nutrient foods available to children and teens, especially in the extra large portions commonly sold.
Junk foods send the wrong message
Furthermore, many educators say that these sales contradict and undermine lessons about the importance of healthy eating. They suggest that fundraising with healthy foods and non-food items puts into practice healthy lifestyle messages.
One of the CDC’s Ten Key Strategies to Prevent Obesity in our schools is to ensure that students have appealing, healthy choices in foods and beverages offered outside of the school meals program. Healthful foods that could be offered in fundraisers include fresh fruit, nuts, trail mix and popcorn.
Other fundraising options are available
Just as important, many state health departments and health professional organizations have developed lists of non-food and healthy food fundraisers that are readily available on the Internet. Students might sell gift wrap and greeting cards, magazine subscriptions, plants, garden seeds and bulbs, holiday wreaths and decorations, calendars, and school spirit mugs and T-shirts.
A variety of charity events can also make excellent fundraisers, some with potential side benefits promoting physical activity. These include walk-a-thons, bike-a-thons, fun runs, jump rope contests and read-a-thons, as well as services such as recycling, gift-wrapping and singing telegrams. Other events may offer more family or community involvement, such as rummage sales, holiday carnivals, talent shows, craft sales, family bingo nights and adult dances.
There is no single answer to the epidemic of obesity among youth and adults. But the CDC is calling on all of us in our communities to view fundraisers with the long-term picture in mind: “Use fundraising activities and rewards that support student health.”
(This article was provided by the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. A registered dietician is available to respond to questions about diet, nutrition, and cancer at the free AICR Hotline at 1 (800) 843-8114 during business hours.)
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