Many people who stop eating meat continue eating fish in the belief that it’s good for them and that fishing is less cruel and destructive than farming – but this is simply not true.
Here’s why:
The human body need fats called essential fatty acids for our cell membranes, brain and nervous system. They help regulate blood pressure, boost our immune and inflammatory responses and are called ‘essential’ because we can’t make them in our bodies, we must get them from food. Omega-3 essential fatty acid are found in plant foods such as flaxseeds, rapeseeds, soya, walnuts and their oils.
While large companies and society may lead you to believe that Omega 3 can only be found in fish, several studies show that oily fish, particularly fish oil supplements, can have the opposite effect of the good health that’s claimed. In fact, a study on men in Eastern Finland, where mercury levels in fish are high, found that the level of mercury in their hair and the amount of fish they ate were linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
All the world’s oceans are contaminated with toxic pollutants that they’re cancelling out any beneficial effects of omega-3 found in fish, and replacing it with harmful contaminants that people are consuming dangerously high levels of by eating their fish diet (all in the name of good health).
Fish farms provide over half of all fish consumed by humans. Much like meat slaughterhouses – these are overcrowded, unnatural pens that transmit disease and cause water pollution, choking marine life with persistent organic pollutants, antibiotics, chemicals from parasitical treatments, anaesthetics, disinfectants, feed additives, metals and anti-foulants. If these fish survive all of these toxins before being killed…they end up on the plate of those who are convinced eating fish means they’re consuming a healthy diet. Just let that sink in.
Plant foods can provide more than enough to keep your heart healthy and combat inflammatory conditions.
Safer, healthier and sustainable sources of omega-3s include flaxseeds (linseeds), rapeseeds, soya, walnuts and oils made from them. Some species of algae (and supplements made from them) can provide the longer chain omega-3s found in oily fish without exposing you to harmful pollutants. By avoiding fish you can protect your health and help stop the destruction of the oceans caused by over-fishing.
*The author is an expert in vegan wellbeing and health. Instagram handle: @Ghanim92
Ghanim al-Sulaiti
