Is Eating Fish Healthy? All Your Questions Answered

Posted by Calvin on December 03, 2024

Like us, fish have thoughts, emotions, and relationships and can feel pain. 🐟 Kidnapping them from their ocean homes and killing them to eat is cruel, and there are countless vegan fish options to enjoy instead. But even though it’s unnecessary, some folks still want to know—is eating fish healthy? Read on to decide for yourself.

Mercury Rising

Polluting the water with toxic chemicals, microplastics, raw sewage, and trash and then eating fish who live in that water is a recipe for disaster—yet that’s exactly what humans do. Mercury levels in the northern Pacific Ocean have risen about 30 percent over the past 20 years, and they’re expected to rise 50 percent more by 2050, according to a 2009 study led by the U.S. Geological Survey and Harvard University.¹ Big yikes.

Trust us—you do not wanna get mercury poisoning. It can cause nervous system disorders and reproductive issues as well as developmental problems in children and unborn babies.² It’s so much easier to skip fish sticks than deal with debilitating health problems for the rest of your life.

Eating Fish Clogs Your Arteries

Between 15 and 30 percent of the fat in fish is saturated,³ which signals our livers to produce more artery-clogging cholesterol. In the heart, clogging your arteries can lead to chest pain and heart attacks. In the kidneys, it can lead to renal disease and failure, and it can even cause erectile dysfunction for some people. 😶 Do you know what contains exactly 0 cholesterol? Vegan food.

Surprise: You Might Be on Drugs!

Many fish, like salmon and tilapia, are raised on farms, where thousands are crammed into tiny pens of dirty water. Farmers add antibiotics and pesticides to the water that fish ingest and pass them on to whoever eats them. 🤢 It isn’t any less risky to eat fresh-caught fish—researchers have found that fish are frequently infected with worms and other parasites. Some humans have even contracted flesh-eating bacteria—which can be fatal—from uncooked fish in sushi.⁴

The IGF-1 Truth and Omega-3 Myth

Eating too much animal-derived protein like fish causes your body to produce more of a hormone called “insulin-like growth factor 1” (IGF-1),⁵ which has been shown to promote the growth and spread of cancer cells. Meanwhile, vegan protein sources like green vegetables, legumes, and seeds can help prevent cancer.

And anyone claiming that you need to eat fish to get omega-3 fatty acids is capping hard. Algal oil is a much better source of both DHA and EPA omega-3s (which comes from the same place fish get it—algae). Vegan foods have all the proclaimed health benefits of fish without the cruelty and danger. 💪

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We should avoid eating all sea animals, including lobsters. Learn about the hidden lives of these complex crustaceans and the key ingredient in making delish vegan lobster dishes.

References:

1. Sunderland, E. M., Krabbenhoft, D. P., Moreau, J. W., Strode, S. A., & Landing, W. M. (2009). Mercury sources, distribution, and bioavailability in the North Pacific Ocean: Insights from data and models. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 23(2). https://doi.org/10.1029/2008gb003425

2. Health effects of exposures to mercury | US EPA. (2024, November 26). US EPA. https://www.epa.gov/mercury/health-effects-exposures-mercury

3. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. (2016, August 25). Four reasons why fish should not be considered a health food. Vegan Sustainability Magazine. https://vegansustainability.com/four-reasons-why-fish-should-not-be-considered-a-health-food/

4. PETA Staff. (2018, August 31). Man’s Hand Covered in Blood-Filled Sacs, Amputated Due to Bacteria in Sushi. PETA. https://www.peta.org/blog/mans-arm-amputated-bacteria-in-sushi/

5. NutritionFacts.org. (n.d.). IGF-1 | Health Topics | NutritionFacts.org. https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/igf-1/#:~:text=Animal%20protein%20consumption