Not good.
A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association suggests that farm-raised Tilapia can actually be bad for our health because they contain omega-6 fatty acids which is the BAD fatty acid. We should be having omega-3 fatty acid. The fish in the market don’t have omega-3 and omega-6 labels so just shopping for a fish is already dangerous in itself. And if you had been eating Tilapia for the longest time (like me), then that means you have had a crazy amount of omega-6 deposited in your body. So, you already have lost a couple of years in your life span…all because this important information was withheld from you (and me).
So, the American Heart Association should revise their call to eat fish twice a week and make it…”Eat non-tilapia fish twice a week”. This should make them immune to lawsuits.
Tilapia is relatively cheaper hence it is our choice of fish if we feel like eating one. In light of this disturbing discovery, the family would have to switch to tuna or salmon. Boring but it will make us live longer.
Source: US News
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How interesting! We’ve come from Zimbabwe originally – although we now live in Australia – Tilapia (Kariba Bream – as we knew it) was very popular eating fish in Zimbabwe. Your articles makes a lot of sense to me! We are hydroponic rose growers and at many a conference we have been faced with the possibility of introducing aquaponics……and tilapia were recommended although there is a type of mackerel which is better as it is carnivorous and thus better in the nitrogen convsersion process we are lead to believe. I wonder – they are probably full of the bad omega 6 fatty acids too – and therefore not good for re-sale to the culinary trade. Thank-you!
thanks for the info. I will limit my tilapia intake from now on…..but wait, you haven’t explained why omega-6 fatty acid is bad..anyway i will just research it. thanks.
Garbage in, garbage out. Just like human’s, what fish eat is important; and if they are fed cheap foods, their nutional value will be low. It was interesting to read in the article that farm fed salmon “had relatively good concentrations of ‘good’ omega-3 fatty acids compared with ‘bad’ omega-6 fatty acids.” Define relatively! I bet its a lot lower too.
And they shouldn’t call omega-6s “bad”. After all both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are Essential Fatty Acids, meaning our body need them, but can’t make them from foods that don’t have them.
So, to answer yhetz03, most Americans consume too much omega-6 (primarily because everything is corn fed and cooked in saturated fats) and not enough omega-3s. This is believed to cause higher levels of cholesterol and heart disease. Similarly, too many omega-3s and not enough omega-6s can be bad. The Inuit who eat large amounts of seal meat (high in omega3s) have blood that is sooo thin that cuts won’t stop bleeding.
If you live in the part of the country where there’s not a lot of salmon, good alternatives include flax and walnuts. But neither of these foods, which are high in omega-3s, will help if you are eating foods high in omega-6.
That’s right, Mike. We get omega-3 and omega-6 from our diets. There should be a balance of both types of fatty acids, but unlike omega-3, we can’t go overboard on omega-6. If we do, we have a high chance of developing high blood pressure, increased blood clotting and heart disease, among other things.
gee, thanks for the helpful info!
I dont know much about omega this and omega that.This much I know. First the experts say that eating 2 much red meat will give you HBP. So, red meat goes out.Then chicken they say is also bad bcos the chicken are pumped up with hormones to reach maturity fast,meaning they can be sold in the wet market witin 6 months. And hormones are also bad for your health.So,chicken is also out. Ok,so I told myself “i’ll keep away from meat and become a vegan”. That way I’ll be healthy and live to be 90. Fat hopes! Do you know that the fertilisers they put into vegetables is enough to senf you to thy kingdom come.
So,good people. Here I am siting down in my easy chair and sipping my good old cuppa waiting for the fat lady to sing.
Some people say that Tilapia in the Philippines are sometimes fed chicken manure. another reason you should think of not eating them. Eat more of vegetables, especially malunggay (moringa oleifera). It’s nutritious
The tilapia (and other farmed fish) are high in Omega 6 due to the food that they are fed. Regular ole’ fish that swim in cold water are loaded with Omega 3s – sardines, salmon, etc…
This post lists which fish are high in Omega 3 as well as highlighting a study showing a link between mom’s ingestion of omega 3s and her baby’s higher level of cognition
http://healthhabits.wordpress.com/2008/05/29/pregnant-mothers-intake-of-omega-3-key-to-babies-big-brains/
So does that mean I can look forward to a big sale on Tilapia this weekend through out the Asian and Mexican stores in Chicago?
Listen Up!!!!!!!
Please be aware that anything “Farm Raised” for mass consumption is filled with steroids, harmones, pestisided, and who knows what other drugs-even greenhouse farming. All these bad chemicals store in the plants and animals-not that human health or consumption is taken into consideration; that would effect the Bottom Line of the producers. In mass production farming and a few others who want to just make ends meet, fill their animals with harmones and steroids sick or not and sell them to those who slaughter, package and sell to the public. Health is our concern, not theirs; that is why each of us MUST take charge of our health, and that of our families. I know you probably think that I am a vegeterian or just a plain fanatic-NOT; however, I do strive to read everything I get my hands on concerning the foods I put in my body. Often when the media get on to something it is old news or is presented in a way to terrify the public. I had to take charge of my high and low fears by taking steps to research on my own food additives, the effects of things injected into the foods that I eat, and the byproducts used for preservatives and stabilizers. So sorry to bash your ear with my “soap box”, I love to eat, and there’s nothing better than the taste of great food-I just don’t want to have to be picky when I sit to eat food that I look forward to enjoying. With all the scares and real poisining events from food you can’t be too careful. I just refuse to let terror take hold of me over our human basic necessity-EATING. This does not imply that I will eat at just any old place, or whatever food that is offered to me.
Is omega 6 and 9 bad for you? I heard that omega 6 is in fast foods, sweets and snacks. That means that it is bad for you. Why would your body need omega 6 which is bad fatty acid when you could just take omega 3? It doesn’t make any sense, is omega 6 bad for you or not?
Here’s an interesting retraction of the statement that fish with Omega 6 should be avoided.
http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=29401038617