Thank you for this, an important point. According to my own research, the main benefits of fish consumption to human health are omega-3-fatty-acids. These inherently stem from various algae which ultimately end up in the fish bodies through the food chain. I personally consume algae oil as an supplement for DHA and EPA and make sure to get a lot of omega 3 from flax, hemp and chia seeds.
Of course you have to do your own research on this, but please also keep in mind the potential amount of antibiotics, microplastic and heavy metals that might be found in various fish.
Hi Ruben, it’s true that omega-3s seem to be important, but the research on omega-3 supplementation consistently seems to find almost no effect or tiny effects, or sometimes even small harmful effects (examine.com’s pages are a good starting off point for this).
Again, while it’s true that seafood may have yucky contaminants in it, eating small fish close to the bottom of the food chain here seems like a situation where moral and nutrition concerns align—briesling sprats and pilchard sardines have very very tiny wee little brains, and it seem less likely to me that they suffer much. They’re also wild caught, so have at least had free lives.
The supplement industry, OTOH, also has documented problems with contamination, and many supplements are poorly absorbed—consuming an isolated compound generally doesn’t seem to be fungible with eating a whole food.
Thank you for this, an important point. According to my own research, the main benefits of fish consumption to human health are omega-3-fatty-acids. These inherently stem from various algae which ultimately end up in the fish bodies through the food chain. I personally consume algae oil as an supplement for DHA and EPA and make sure to get a lot of omega 3 from flax, hemp and chia seeds.
Of course you have to do your own research on this, but please also keep in mind the potential amount of antibiotics, microplastic and heavy metals that might be found in various fish.
Hi Ruben, it’s true that omega-3s seem to be important, but the research on omega-3 supplementation consistently seems to find almost no effect or tiny effects, or sometimes even small harmful effects (examine.com’s pages are a good starting off point for this).
Again, while it’s true that seafood may have yucky contaminants in it, eating small fish close to the bottom of the food chain here seems like a situation where moral and nutrition concerns align—briesling sprats and pilchard sardines have very very tiny wee little brains, and it seem less likely to me that they suffer much. They’re also wild caught, so have at least had free lives.
The supplement industry, OTOH, also has documented problems with contamination, and many supplements are poorly absorbed—consuming an isolated compound generally doesn’t seem to be fungible with eating a whole food.