"Children should eat more fish and become smarter", "Pregnant women should also eat fish, which is good for children" - everyone knows that "eating fish is good". Fish aquatic food, as a representative of the "white meat" respected by nutritionists, what are the benefits and how to eat it? On November 12, the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) issued the "Fish Eating Recommendation". This recommendation is mainly for pregnant women, lactating women and children aged 1 to 11 years old how to eat fish healthily. At the same time, this "fish eating advice" also supports the recommendations of the American Dietary Guidelines. So let's take a look at what important information this healthy fish eating advice has!
What are the benefits of eating fish?
Fish contains nutrients that contribute to children's brain development. Fish is part of a healthy eating pattern that provides important nutrients for infant brain development during pregnancy, lactation, and early childhood. These nutrients are:
Ω-3 fatty acids (known as DHA and EPA) and Ω-6 fatty acids
iron
Iodine (important during pregnancy)
choline
Choline also promotes the development of the baby's spinal cord. The iron and zinc contained in fish support children's immune systems. Fish is also rich in other nutrients, such as high-quality protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and selenium.
Eating fish has other health benefits. Pregnant women are recommended to eat fish during pregnancy, as studies have confirmed that eating fish is beneficial for the development of the baby's cognitive function.
Eating fish as part of a healthy eating pattern may have heart health benefits.
Healthy eating patterns that contain fish also have other health benefits. Healthy eating patterns that contain more fish, but also fresh vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, low-fat or nonfat dairy, lean and poultry meats, nuts and vegetable oils with unsaturated fatty acids, small amounts of red and processed meats, sweet and sweet drinks, and refined grains. There is a moderate amount of research evidence that this healthy eating pattern also has these health benefits, including:
Promotes bone health and reduces the risk of hip fractures
Reduce the risk of being overweight and obese
Reduces the risk of colon and rectal cancer.
Be careful to choose safe fish
"Fish Eating Advice" suggests that you must choose fish with low mercury content. For pregnant, lactating women and children, it is important to reduce the amount of mercury in the diet,
Mercury is an element that occurs naturally in the environment and is also released into the environment through many types of human activities. It can be enriched in rivers, lakes and oceans and converted to methylmercury in water or sediments. This methylmercury may be found in fish and aquatic foods. If too much methylmercury is exposed for a long time, it can cause damage to the body's brain and nervous system.
Do all fish contain methylmercury? Almost all fish contain trace amounts of methylmercury to a greater or lesser extent. However, some species of fish are more likely to accumulate methylmercury, especially those that eat other fish, and those that live longer.
Methylmercury is found everywhere in fish tissues, and cleaning or cooking does not reduce the amount of mercury in fish. The way to reduce mercury intake is to eat fish that are considered the "best choice" in the chart.
The Eat Fish Guidelines release group takes a cautious and highly protective approach to determining the type of fish in each category. Using mercury content information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's database of commercial fish and other sources, they calculated how many servings an average pregnant person could eat in a week. If the fish can be eaten at least three times a week, then put it in the "best option" category. If this fish can only be eaten once or twice a week instead of three times a week, then put it in the "good choice" category. If this fish cannot be eaten once a week, then we put the fish in the "avoid choice" category.
Let's take a look at what kind of fish you can choose.
Best Options: Anchovies, Atlantic YellowFish, Atlantic Mackerel (Mackerel), Black Perch, Butter, Sea Catfish, Clams, Cod, Crab, Freshwater Lobster, Flounder, Haddock, Dog Sturgeon, Herring, American Lobster, Mullet (Mullet), Oyster, North Atlantic Mackerel (Mackerel), Freshwater Sea bass, Barracuda, Flounder, Narrow Cod, Salmon, Sardine, Scallops, Herring, Prawn, Squash, Scallops, Herring, Prawn, Mackerel, Squid, Anchovy (Coffer), Collapsed Fish, Squid, Tilapia, Trout, Trout White salmon, cod (small bearded cod)
Good choice: horse mackerel, buffalo, carp, Chilean sea bass/small-scaled canine tooth Antarctica, grouper, flounder, mackerel, ankon, rockfish, bare-lipped fish, red perch (sheephead seabream), sea bream, Spanish seabream (bluefish), striped sea bass (seawater), squarehead fish (Atlantic), tuna (albacore/white tuna, canned, fresh, frozen), tuna (yellowfin tuna), sea trout (canned toma), sea trout (canned toma), sea trout (canine-toothed tomaid), whitefish
Choices to avoid: Atlantic mackerel, marlin (sailfish), orange spiny seabream, shark, swordfish, squarehead fish (Gulf of Mexico), tuna (bigeye seabream)
How much fish should I eat?
Use the palm of your hand to help. Don't worry about the size of everyone's palm, how big your own palm is, how big a piece of fish is your "share".
A palm of the fish
1 serving is 4 oz.
It is recommended to choose 2 to 3 servings of fish from the "Best Choices" catalogue every week. Or from the "Good Choice" catalogue, select 1 serving of fish.
Usually, a copy would be:
1 to 3 years old, 1 ounce
4 to 7 years old, 2 ounces
8 to 10 years old, 3 ounces
11 years old, 4 ounces
It is recommended to choose 2 servings of fish from the "best choice" catalog every week.
It should also be emphasized that the consumption of raw fish and aquatic products is not recommended for pregnant women and children. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommend that pregnant women and children should only eat food that has been cooked to a safe temperature inside fish, meat, poultry, or eggs to protect against possible microbes. Sushi and sashimi can also be eaten, and pregnant women and children often have weaker immune systems and are at greater risk of foodborne illness.
Many people will care, how old can children eat fish?
The American Dietary Guidelines recommend that after 6 months of age, your baby can include nutrient-rich foods such as fish as a staple food. After 6 months, breast milk or infant formula can no longer meet the nutritional needs and physiological development needs of the baby, and it is necessary to add complementary foods in time. Make sure the food is nutritious enough and exposes your child to the taste, texture, and different types of food. However, when adding fish to food, we must pay attention to safety, so as to avoid the risk of fish pricking to the baby, coughing and suffocation.
How do you start giving your child fish? Fish and aquatic products are a food that is more likely to cause food allergies. So after you feed your child fish for the first time, carefully observe for a few days for any allergies. If you have a history of food allergies in your family, or if your child has any signs of food allergies, consult your child's doctor or nurse. Some parents are worried that food will cause allergies, peanuts, fish and other foods that are easy to cause allergies are afraid to add to the child's menu, in fact, postponing the introduction of allergenic foods can not prevent the occurrence of food allergies.
Can I use omega-3 supplements instead of eating fish?
Omega-3 fatty acids are one of the key nutrients needed for rapid brain development in early childhood. However, omega-3 supplements do not provide protein, omega-6 fatty acids, vitamins, or minerals found in fish, which are also important for your health and your child's development. In addition, research on the health benefits of omega-3 supplements is still ongoing and there is no scientific consensus conclusion.
Key References:
https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/advice-about-eating-fish?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery