Is Eating farm-raised Tilapia Safe?

You might have been advised by many health books to always choose fish over meat because of the optimum levels of cholesterol and fat found in many fish as compared to meat. And the truth is, it really is... most of the time.Fish is a low fat, high protein food that has a range of health benefits. However, given what we know of fish and its sources today, we may have to re-examine this statement.

Fish can either be one of the best foods for you or detrimental to your health depending on where it is sourced. There is a vast difference between  fish caught in the wild, farm-bred or farm-raised fish. The most common farm-raised fish are: salmon, tilapia, sea bass, catfish, and cod.

Why Tilapia?

Tilapia is one of favourite fish world wide. According to the National Fisheries Institute, the mild fish has climbed to become the fourth most eaten seafood in the U.S., behind only shrimp, salmon and canned tuna.
So why would farm-raised tilapia be dangerous to our health? Let's answer this question as objective as possible below...

 Reasons Farm-Raised Tilapia is Dangerous to your Health

1.  Farmed tilapia may contain a significant  amount of cancer causing organic pollutants compared to the wild variety – This can most likely be attributed to the feeds that are used on farm raised fish. If you knew what went into the feeds of farm raised fish you would be horrified. Apparently, chicken feces is one of the main ingredients that go into farm fish feed. Not only that, the transfer of pig and duck waste to fish farms is also a very common practice.
   
    

   

   Tilapia Cage

2.  Farm-bred fish have been found to have high concentrations of antibiotics and pesticides. Farm-bred tilapia are normally raised in cages. An average 2m by 3m by 1.5 m deep cage is normally stocked with about 1000 fingerlings. These fingerlings also reproduce, multiply, and excretory products compound as they grow. The crowded condition make the fish more prone to diseases. To keep them alive, farm owners give antibiotics to the fish to stave off disease. Farm-bred fish are also treated with pesticides to combat sea lice. The pesticides used to treat these fish are so deadly that they have been found to kill wild salmon that are accidentally exposed to them.                                                                                                      
3. Lower levels of Healthy Nutrients                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Many consume fish hoping to reap the Omega-3 fatty acid benefits that come with it. However the Omega-3 acids found in farmed tilapia are less usable to the human body as compared to the wild-caught tilapia. And because farmed-tilapia are raised in cages, they have the tendency to grow fattier (and they do grow fat) which can lead to a high level of Omega-6. Too much Omega-3 and Omega-6 acids have been found to cause inflammation to the body.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
4. Some Tilapia are fed with filth
   Farmed-tilapia aren't necessarily inferior to their wild-caught variety. And there's no guarantee that wild-caught tilapia are a safer fish source as they often ingest a variety of toxins and other pollutants that flow into the water ways. But in China and Taiwan, water pollution and the use of some unauthorised chemicals in Tilapia farming is a concern. (China is the world's largest producer of farm-raised tilapia, supplying about 40% of global production)
   
   One of the issues with tilapia farmed in China is that smaller independent farmers face economic pressures to use human excreta and animal manure rather than more expensive commercial feed for farmed fish, a practice which contaminates water and makes the fish more prone to spreading food-borne diseases.
   

    The Lesson

    These are some dangers linked to eating farm-raised tilapia. This blog '' never intends to paint tilapia as the cause of anything bad. Our goal is to provide consumers with more information about their fish'' as Dr. Floyd Chilton, professor of Physiology and Pharmacology at Wake Forest said. The big lesson here is to know where your tilapia is coming from.
   

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Hand Sanitizers and Ebola - What You Need to Know

Introduction

Ebola is a rare (worldwide) but common viral disease in some West African countries which causes bleeding inside and outside the body. Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to the virus.Common Ebola signs and symptoms include

• Fever ( Body temperature greater than 38.6°C or 101.5°F)
• Severe headache
• Muscle pain
• Weakness
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal (stomach) pain
• Unexplained hemorrhage (bleeding or bruising)

The World Health Organisation have reported that the total number of probable, confirmed and suspected cases in the current outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa is 4,269, with 2,288 deaths, as of the 6th September 2014. Countries affected to date are Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

 In the past few weeks, cases have dramatically increased, with widespread and intense transmission. In view of this, people have adopted many ways of preventing infection and the use of hand sanitizers is no exception.

Hand Sanitizers

Washing the hands with water and soap is always the best way to reduce the number of microbes on them. Soap and water are not always available, as people are mostly always on the move, hence the use of a portable alternative- hand sanitizers.

A hand sanitizer or hand antiseptic is a supplement or alternative to hand washing with soap and water. Antiseptics are antimicrobial substances that are applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, inflammation and decomposition of proteins (putrefaction). Many sanitizer preparations are available including gel, foam and liquid solutions.

The active ingredient in most hand sanitizers is alcohol. The level of alcohol varies between 60% and 85%. Alcohol rub sanitizers kill most bacterial, fungi and stop some viruses. Alcohol rub sanitizers containing at least 70% alcohol kill 99.99% of the bacterial on hands in one minute of application. Very high alcohol (>90%) sanitizers have very high virucidal (virus-killing) activities against many different kinds of viruses but are highly flammable and irritating to the skin with prolong use.

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Glutathione- The 'Chief' Antioxidant

There has been over 100,000 scientific studies and articles on glutathione (pronounced ''gloota-thigh-own'') recorded in PubMed, the official U.S Government library on medical research. Those articles reveal the remarkable role gluthathione plays on the protection, optimal health, support and function of every cell, tissue and organ of the human body.
Glutathione is the body's most important antioxidant.  It is a small molecule produced naturally in the body when the conditions and the building blocks are available. It is a combination of three simple building blocks of proteins or amino acids- glutamate, cysteine and glycine.

Benefits

• Slows down aging process
•  Reduces muscle and joint discomfort
• Strengthens the immune system
• Detoxifies the liver and cells
• Improves mental focus and clarity
  
• Improves quality of sleep
• Reduces effects of stress
• Improves the skin
• Increases energy
• Improves athletic performance and recovery

Effects of Low levels

As stated earlier, glutathione is produced naturally in the human body but poor food quality, pollution, toxic environments, stress, infections and radiations drastically reduce it's level in the body.  The effects of reduced glutathione levels in the body is obvious- the adverse effects of the above-mentioned benefits.

Ok, so what next 

The following are some tips to improve your glutathione levels, improve your health, optimize your performance, live a long and healthy life.

• Consume sulfur-rich foods. The main ones in diet are onions, garlic, cabbage, cauliflower, colards, watercress, broccoli, etc.
•  Regular exercise. Exercise boosts glutathione levels thereby boosting your immune system, improves detoxification and enhances your body's own antioxidant defences.
• Take Glutathione-supporting Supplements. I recommend Cellgevity.  It the most potent anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, immune-boosting supplement that I have ever experienced

References; Glutathione, the mother of all antioxidants
                      Max International 
                     Wikipedia/Glutathione




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Free Radicals and Antioxidants

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Free Radicals and Antioxidants- What you Need to Know.

What are free radicals? How are they formed? Are they damaging to living cells? What are antioxidants? What’s their role in the human body? How would the knowledge of these help my health? I will attempt to answer these questions and help you understand why eating antioxidant-rich food would benefit your health. But before all that, a little background.
 

Chemical Bonding

The human body is composed of many different types of cells. Cells are made up of molecules. Molecules are made up of at least two atoms of one or more elements joined together by chemical bonds (Electrostatic force of attraction).

An atom comprises a nucleus occupied by neutrons (no charge) and protons (positively charged), surrounded by electrons (negatively charged) ‘orbiting’ in shells- as you probably remember from your high school days.

The first (innermost) shell is full when it has two electrons. When the first shell is full, electrons begin to fill the second, until they are 8, then it becomes full, and so on.

The most important feature of an atom for determining its chemical behavior is the number of electrons in its outermost (valence) shell. A substance (with all its bonding atoms) that has a completely filled valence shell tends NOT to enter into chemical reaction because they are more 

stable.

  Because atoms seek to reach a state of maximum stability, an atom will try to fill its valence shell by

• ·         Gaining or losing electrons to either fill its valence shell or empty it (Ionic Bonding)

OR

• ·         Sharing its electrons with other atoms to completely fill its valence shell. (Covalent Bonding)

Free Radicals and How They are Formed

Any molecule or substance which has an atom whose valence shell is incompletely filled is a free radical. Free radicals are formed when bonds (weak ones especially) split. Once formed, they (free radicals) are highly unstable and react rapidly with other compounds, trying to 'steal' electrons to complete their valence shell. The 'attacked' compound also loses electrons and becomes a free radical, beginning a chain reaction. This chain reaction normally results in the disruption of the cell.

Some free radicals are naturally produced during metabolism to destroy bacteria and viruses. However, pollution, stress, herbicides, radiation, cigarette smoke and some other environmental factors lead to the production of billions of free radicals.

Antioxidants

An antioxidant is a substance or compound that neutralizes free radicals by donating one or more of its electrons to the free radical, ending the 'stealing' and chain reaction. By donating electrons, the antioxidants don't become free radicals because they are stable in either state. They can be likened to scarecrows on farms- preventing birds (free radicals) from eating  seeds or crops planted there.

Some common antioxidants include glutathione (chief antioxidant), Vitamins C and E,  just to mention but a few.  Eating fruits and vegetables would provide you with these vitamins but be warned that more is not always better.

I hope you enjoyed reading this. Please do not hesitate to comment below or subscribe to my blog for more interesting articles. 

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