What To Do About Mercury In Fish?

Fish is an excellent source of protein, and its healthy oils protect against cardiovascular disease. However, nearly all fish and shellfish contain traces of mercury, a toxic metal, and some seafood contains other pollutants known as POPs. As small fish are eaten by larger fish up the food chain, concentrations of mercury and POPs increase, so that large, predatory deep-ocean fish tend to contain the highest levels. That makes it best to avoid eating these large fish, such as shark, swordfish, tilefish, and king mackerel.

Because a diet rich in seafood protects the heart and benefits neurological development, fish
remains an important component of a healthy diet.

Recommendation: Most adults can safely eat about 12 ounces (two 6-ounce servings) of a variety of cooked seafood a week as long as they avoid the large predatory ocean fish mentioned above and pay attention to local sea- food advisories.

For women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, nursing mothers, and children ages 12 and younger, caution is needed to avoid potential harm to a fetus’s or a young child’s developing nervous system. The same amount, 12 ounces, is considered safe with these additional guidelines:

• Eat up to 12 ounces (two average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury. Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.
• Another commonly eaten fish, albacore (“white”) tuna, has more mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your fish and shellfish, eat no more than 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna per week.
• Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in your local lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. If no advice is available, eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) per week of fish from local waters, but don’t consume any other fish during that week.
• Follow these same recommendations when feeding fish and shellfish to your young child, but serve smaller portions

To Limit Or Reduce Saturated Fats

Many of us can benefit from replacing some of the saturated fats in our diet with healthy fats. Saturated fats are mainly found in animal products such as red meat and whole milk dairy products. Poultry and fish also contain saturated fat, but less than red meat.

Simple ways to reduce saturated fat

  Eat less red meat (beef, pork, or lamb) and more fish and chicken

  

Go for lean cuts of meat, and stick to white meat, which has less saturated fat.

  Bake, broil, or grill instead of frying.

  Remove the skin from chicken and trim as much fat off of meat as possible before cooking.

  Avoid breaded meats and vegetables and deep-fried foods.

  

Choose low-fat milk and lower-fat cheeses like mozzarella whenever possible; enjoy full-fat dairy in moderation.

 Use liquid vegetable oils such as olive oil or canola oil instead of lard, shortening, or butter.

  

Avoid cream and cheese sauces, or have them served on the side.

Sources of Saturated Fats	Healthier Options
Butter	Olive oil
Cheese	Low-fat or reduced-fat cheese
Red meat	White meat chicken or turkey
Cream	Low-fat milk or fat-free creamer
Eggs	Egg whites, an egg substitute (e.g. Eggbeaters), or tofu
Ice cream	Frozen yogurt or reduced fat ice cream
Whole milk	Skim or 1% milk
Sour cream	Plain, non-fat yogurt

Reaping The Benefits Of Exercise Is Easier Than You Think

To reap the benefits of exercise, you don’t need to devote hours out your busy day, train at the gym, sweat buckets, or run mile after monotonous mile. You can reap all the physical and mental health benefits of exercise with 30-minutes of moderate exercise five times a week. Two 15-minute exercise sessions can also work just as well.

If that still seems intimidating, don’t despair. Even just a few minutes of physical activity are better than none at all. If you don’t have time for 15 or 30 minutes of exercise, or if your body tells you to take a break after 5 or 10 minutes, for example, that’s okay, too. Start with 5- or 10-minute sessions and slowly increase your time. The more you exercise, the more energy you’ll have, so eventually you’ll feel ready for a little more. The key is to commit to do some moderate physical activity—however little—on most days. As exercising becomes habit, you can slowly add extra minutes or try different types of activities. If you keep at it, the benefits of exercise will begin to pay off.

Moderate exercise means two things:

1. That you breathe a little heavier than normal, but are not out of breath. For example, you should be able to chat with your walking partner, but not easily sing a song.

2. That your body feels warmer as you move, but not overheated or very sweaty.

Do I need different types of exercise?

While any kind of exercise offers tremendous health benefits, different types of exercise focus more on certain aspects of your health. You can concentrate on one type of exercise or mix them up to add variety to your workouts and broaden the health benefits.

Aerobic activities like running, cycling, and swimming strengthen your heart and increase your endurance.

Strength training like weight lifting or resistance training builds muscle and bone mass, improves balance and prevents falls. It’s one of the best counters to frailty in old age.

Flexibility exercises like stretching and yoga help prevent injury, enhance range of motion, reduce stiffness, and limit aches and pains.

Getting More Good Fats In Your Diet

Okay, so you realize you need to reduce saturated fat andavoid trans fat… but how do you get the healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats everyone keeps talking about?

The best sources of healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, and fish.

• Cook with olive oil. Use olive oil for stovetop cooking, rather than butter, stick margarine, or lard. For baking, try canola or vegetable oil.
• Eat more avocados. Try them in sandwiches or salads or make guacamole. Along with being loaded with heart and brain-healthy fats, they make for a filling and satisfying meal.
• Reach for the nuts. You can also add nuts to vegetable dishes or use them instead of breadcrumbs on chicken or fish.
• Snack on olives. Olives are high in healthy monounsaturated fats. But unlike most other high-fat foods, they make for a low-calorie snack when eaten on their own. Try them plain or make a tapenade for dipping.
• Dress your own salad. Commercial salad dressings are often high in saturated fat or made with damaged trans fat oils. Create your own healthy dressings with high-quality, cold-pressed olive oil, flaxseed oil, or sesame oil.

Eliminate The Bad Trans Fat From Your Diet

When focusing on healthy fats, a good place to start is eliminating your consumption of trans fats. A trans fat is a normal fat molecule that has been twisted and deformed during a process calledhydrogenation. During this process, liquid vegetable oil is heated and combined with hydrogen gas. Partially hydrogenating vegetable oils makes them more stable and less likely to spoil, which is very good for food manufacturers—and very bad for you.

No amount of trans fats is healthy. Trans fats contribute to major health problems, from heart disease to cancer.

Sources of trans fats

Many people think of margarine when they picture trans fats, and it’s true that some margarines are loaded with them. However, the primary source of trans fats in the Western diet comes from commercially prepared baked goods and snack foods:

Baked goods – cookies, crackers, cakes, muffins, pie crusts, pizza dough, and some breads like hamburger buns

Fried foods – doughnuts, French fries, fried chicken, chicken nuggets, and hard taco shells

Snack foods – potato, corn, and tortilla chips; candy; packaged or microwave popcorn

Solid fats – stick margarine and semi-solid vegetable shortening

Pre-mixed products – cake mix, pancake mix, and chocolate drink mix

Good Fats vs. Bad Fats

To understand good and bad fats, you need to know the names of the players and some information about them. There are four major types of fats:

§  monounsaturated fats

§  polyunsaturated fats

§  saturated fats

§  trans fats

Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are known as the “good fats” because they are good for your heart, your cholesterol, and your overall health.

GOOD FATS
MONOUNSATURATED FAT	POLYUNSATURATED FAT
§  Olive oil §  Canola oil §  Sunflower oil §  Peanut oil §  Sesame oil §  Avocados §  Olives §  Nuts (almonds, peanuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews) §  Peanut butter	§  Soybean oil §  Corn oil §  Safflower oil §  Walnuts §  Sunflower, sesame, and pumpkin seeds §  Flaxseed §  Fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, trout, sardines) §  Soymilk §  Tofu

Trans fats, or hydrogenated oils, are used in the manufacture of food to help it stay fresh longer. They are known as “bad fats” because they increase your risk of disease and elevate cholesterol.

Saturated fats are harder to categorize since some can have health benefits as well as potentially negative effects on cholesterol. For example, despite their high saturated fat content, whole-fat dairy products are a good source of calcium and protein, while (unhydrogenated) coconut oil may boost energy and endurance. For some of us, eating saturated fats in moderation appears to be key, while those with poor cholesterol numbers, high blood pressure, or other heart disease indicators, may be wise to reduce the amount of saturated fat in their diets.  

Appearance-wise, trans fats and saturated fats tend to be solid at room temperature (think of butter or traditional stick margarine), while monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats tend to be liquid (think of olive or corn oil).

BAD FATS

TRANS FAT

§  Commercially-baked pastries, cookies, doughnuts, muffins, cakes, pizza dough §  Packaged snack foods (crackers, microwave popcorn, chips) §  Stick margarine §  Vegetable shortening §  Fried foods (French fries, fried chicken, chicken nuggets, breaded fish) §  Candy bars

QUESTIONABLE FATS

SATURATED FAT

§  High-fat cuts of meat (beef, lamb, pork) §  Chicken with the skin §  Whole-fat dairy products (milk and cream) §  Butter §  Cheese §  Ice cream §  Palm and coconut oil