RESPONSIBLE SEAFOOD: PART 1

All day long I find myself looking at bad cholesterol numbers, and high blood pressures, and singing a similar song to my patients: Eat More Seafood. Eat More Vegetables. Exercise More.

It's pretty simple to live a healthy lifestyle, when you really think about it. But some of these things need elucidation, especially if you're thinking about more than just a healthy "you." What if you're thinking about a healthy planet? I know I am. I want to keep my own body, my family, my community, and my patients healthy. But JUST AS importantly: I want my planet to be healthy. Perhaps that's even more important. After all, if we don't have a healthy planet to support us, what use is our own health?

As you know from my recent blog, when a doctor tells you to "eat more seafood," you can include shellfish on your shopping list. But as you may also know, seafood, including shellfish, is a complicated issue. Which seafood items are fished or farmed in a manner that respects the environment? Which fish are overfished? Which fish are farmed in a manner that destroys ocean and watershed ecosystems? Which fish are loaded with mercury and other harmful contaminants?

RESPONSIBLE SEAFOOD THAT IS GOOD FOR YOU

If you read no further, read this: the web site that will tell you everything you need to know about seafood: www.seafoodwatch.org. This site was created by the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, and it's updated frequently. Rather than just telling you what NOT to eat, this site gives you lists of seafood products that ARE safe to eat, that ARE readily available, and that ARE fished or farmed in a sustainable manner. Yes, the lists do get long and complicated, but that's just because there are many organisms that can be described as "seafood."

SEAFOOD TO EAT: FINFISH

Here are the best choices. Keep in mind the SAME fish can be a sustainable choice or a TERRIBLE choice, depending on how it was raised or caught. If you don't know, ask the person at the seafood counter of your store. If they don't know, leave the store and go somewhere else.

People have NO BUSINESS selling stuff they don't know about, especially if it's food.

EAT THESE:

1. FARMED U.S. Catfish (easy to find)

2. PACIFIC wild Halibut (moderately easy to find)

3. ALASKA WILD Salmon (sometimes hard to find)

4. ALASKA WILD Pollock (hard to find)

5. U.S. FARMED Tilapia (easy to find)

6. FARMED Rainbow trout (easy to find)

7. U.S. or BRITISH COLUMBIA, trolled or pole-caught Albacore Tuna (hard to find)

8. Trolled or pole-caught Skipjack (I've never heard of it)

9. LAKE, TRAP-NET caught Whitefish (moderately easy to find)

10. U.S. FARMED Barramundi (I don't know where to find it)

THE EASY BOTTOM LINE

If the above is too complex for you, let me recommend my favorite 3, easy-to-find, very healthy and large finfish. There are lots of little healthy fish, but today I'm talking about fish that are nice as fat fillets and steaks, when you want a big slab of yummy fish:

1. U.S. Farmed Tilapia: it's hard NOT to find this fish in food stores. Can be used in any recipe that calls for Halibut, trout, sole, flounder, catfish, or other "whitefish."

2. Wild Alaskan Salmon: you might need to go to a specialized meat or seafood store for this, or a Whole Paycheck Market. I rarely see this in the normal chain supermarkets, which are awash with Atlantic Salmon and farmed salmon, both of which are BAD CHOICES for the planet. If you don't know how to cook salmon, post a comment. I've got recipes.

3. Farmed Rainbow Trout: this is still my favorite fish to pan-fry with a bit of butter, lemon, and salt and pepper. I consider it the "flank steak" of fish: lean, tasty, and delicious without a lot of spices or sauces needed. I see it in most of the grocery stores I go to.

NEXT BLOG: SEAFOOD TO EAT- THE SHELLFISH