(0:40) Welcome
Welcome back to The Paleo View listeners!This week Stacy and Sarah are talking about seafoodAll the seafood and all the things people are concerned about when it comes to seafoodAnd whether or not these concerns are legitimateStacy and Sarah did discuss this topic on a previous episode (here), but it was time to revisit the discussionEating seafood is a common talking point on this show since it is so nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory and healingBefore the hosts dive into the topic, they want to take a moment to thank this week's sponsor, Butcher BoxThey have a special seafood promo that is being offered to The Paleo View listeners and this discount is not being offered anywhere elseButcher Box is starting to move into the realm of seafoodSarah thinks that they have the best salmon she has ever hadYou can always add salmon to your standard meat subscriptionHowever, they now seasonally sell scallopsThe Paleo View listeners can visit this linkbefore 9/5 to redeem free bacon and free scallopsNo code is neededAfter 9/5, The Paleo View listeners will receive $15 off and a free pack of bacon(7:10) Q & A
Sarah is going to break down Alana's question and take it step by step to look at every pollutant/processing chemical that might be introduced to fishThere are dyes added to some low-quality fish to make it look redderThere are times when farmed-fish are fed feed that contain dyes to change the colorIf dyes are added after the fish are processed, that is going to be added to the labelThings that are not going to be on the label:MercuryIt irreversibly binds to selenium based proteins and enzymes in our bodies so that those proteins can't do their jobIt impacts 3 different systems the most:thyroid hormone productionsliver detoxificationprotecting the brain against oxidative damageSeafood is one of our best food sources of selenium and the mercury that the fish are exposed to actually binds with selenium based proteins in their bodiesOnce it binds with the fish's selenium it can't bind with our seleniumWhen we are consuming that fish, almost all of the time, we are consuming more selenium than we are getting exposed to mercuryEven fairy contaminated fish and top predators will have more selenium than mercurySo that selenium that we are ingesting in fish is actually still helping to protect us from mercury exposureThe surveys that have been done now show that with the exception of a few top predators in fairly polluted waters there is typically much more selenium than mercury in all ocean fishAnd probably with 97% of lake fish, you are getting more selenium than mercuryIf you are eating these top predator fish, don't eat them that oftenExamples: mako shark, pilot whaleYour body can still detoxify some of this mercuryYou can handle a little bit of exposure if you are eating a healthy diet and have a healthy lifestyleA little bit here and there is not a big dealSwordfish is probably fine if it comes from non-polluted watersAnd again is something you shouldn't eat every dayFish and shellfish are some of our best sources of zincOn average 73% of Americans never meet the RDA of zincZinc is supposed to be the second most abundant mineral in the human bodyIt is phenomenally important for a whole host of functions within the human bodyWe are getting really interesting nutrients from fish that are hard to get from other sourcesFish protein is the best protein for the gut microbiomeThere have been studies that actually show that consuming fish protein can make up for high sugar dietsThe omega-3's are really important for every system in our bodyOur neurological system, immune system, gut bacteriaThe omega-3's from seafood are the long-chain that our body can use directly without having to convert themThe kind from flax or chia have to be converted before our bodies can use themFish has all of these amazing things so as we go through the less than ideal things, the cons are outweighed by the prosAlana asked about other heavy metals as well (lead and cadmium)There have been some environmental impact studies that have looked at heavy metal in farmed fishThe study found that the levels in the fish are still extremely low and below the World Health Organization's guidelinesIn places where there are more environmental protections you are going to end up with basically levels of heavy metals that are far below any level that we would want to worry aboutThe other heavy metals are a moot pointFish has been demonized as a source, while it's actually much much richer in nutrients that will help us detoxifyIt is also much lower than other foods, and yet it gets all the blameStacy finds it interesting how pervasive mainstream media can be when it comes to creating cultural assumptionsSarah shared information on MTHFR gene variance and MTHFR enzyme function(28:41) More on Contaminants in Fish
Cesium isotopes from FukushimaThere have been levels detected in fish caught off the California coastFukushima was the second-worst nuclear disaster ever after Chernobyl, and there is a lot of fear around the aftermath from this eventThis is an ongoing challengeThere is a small amount of cesium-134 and cesium-137 in the ocean thanks to FukushimaWhat is important to understand is that there are radioactive isotopes in nature all over the placeWe are exposed to them on a daily basisIf you live somewhere with high radon levels you are exposed to moreOur body is fairly resilient to these low levels of exposureThe amount of cesium isotopes in the most contaminated fish's flesh is even 2,000 times lower than the threshold for health effectsSo as it pertains to eating fish from the Pacific ocean; no we should not be concernedFor more on this, check out this blog postfrom SarahThe equation is:If you consumed 12 ounces (which is a very large portion) of contaminated bluefin tuna every day for an entire year, the cumulative dose of radiation that you would consume from all of that tuna would equate to 12% of the radiation dose from a one-way cross country flight from LA to New YorkStacy appreciates that analogy - it is so helpfulSarah and Stacy had a sidebar discussion about personality typesGretchen Rubin's 4 tendencies personality categoriesEnneagramSarah shared a story about her experience playing with her kids at the playground recentlyConcerns around BPA in canned fish packagingSarah wrote a blog postabout BPA and its' impact as an endocrine disruptorThis has been confirmedSarah shared more on the links between BPA exposure and various medical conditionsOur dominant BPA exposure is through our plastic use, not through BPA lined cansIt is added as a coating inside a can to stop acidic liquids from corroding the aluminumYou can reduce your exposure by:Not heating your food in the canNot letting your canned goods sit in a hot car for a long amount of timeBe careful when you are removing food from the can so that you are not scraping the edge coating into your foodThe BPA alternatives for canned good linings have been minimally tested for safetyMany of them have also been shown to be endocrine disruptorsThere are a lot of unanswered questions around these alternativesThe benefits of fish still outweigh the potential harm of BPA exposureIf you are making efforts to reduce BPA exposure from other places (plastic food storage, plastic water bottles, plastic wrap)Where you can, mix it up with some fresh and frozenBut overall Sarah thinks that again the benefits of eating canned fish outweigh the risksStacy shared her experience with canned goods and why she doesn't worry about the canned goods they consumeHow they balance the quality of foods they consumeDon't let perfection be the enemy of goodIf you are unable to afford or find canned goods that are BPA free, don't lose sleep over itAntibiotic use in farmed fishWhile wild-caught is the best, avoiding fish because wild-caught is not monetarily accessible is probably doing more harm than consuming farmed fishAsk the worker at your fish counter where the fish comes from and they are grownIn most Western countries, there are regulations on how much antibiotics can be used and how long they have to be discontinued before fish can be harvestedAntibiotic residues are linked with all kinds of problems, so if there isn't a washout period then yes the antibiotic residues can cause health problemsWhere we see this is in developing nations where the practices are not as tightly regulated and they don't have a vet administering the antibioticsOr using the right dosage and/or are failing to follow directionsDon't eat farmed fish when traveling to developing countriesStacy shared on her food evaluation approachLooking for sustainable practicesIf you don't have access to sustainability sourced seafood, remember to check out Butcher BoxThey are offering an amazing deal to new subscribersFind out more here: https://www.butcherbox.com/thepaleoview/(57:37) Closing Thoughts
Thank you for joining Stacy and Sarah on this seafood-rich episode!Stacy and Sarah will be back again next weekDon't forget to leave a reviewA listener touched base to share this feedback:"Hi Stacy, I just wanted to tell you that I am listening to the beginning of the last Paleo View podcast where you are giving an update on the little girl who has alopecia. Thank you so much for giving that update! I remember that show. I remember balling my eyes out. I have alopecia too and it got pretty bad towards the end of a really stressful job I had about a year and a half ago. AIP has definitely helped, so has less stress. I too am moving away from super strict AIP because after five months I can tolerate pretty much everything now. Not gluten - I will be gluten-free for life. That is crazy to me. Two weeks into AIP, I broke down and had rice and had a horrible reaction. Eczema being the easiest way to tell I was having a reaction. I never imagined healing to the point of reintroducing so many foods, but it has happened. Thanks for sharing the update! Alopecia can be hard to talk about and there is not that much info out there. So thank you for getting the word out!"Stacy reminds listeners that no matter where you are at in your healing journey, know that the time will come when you can reintroduce foodsIt takes some people more time than others to healSarah loves reading comments like thisAnd seeing the different ways that Stacy and Sarah are able to communicate with people and provide resourcesShe loves to see the different ways the information resonatesThank you, listeners, for being here!Thank you again to Butcher Boxfor supporting this episode!
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