An introduction to one of the most mysterious fishes, eels, and their nutritional value

Eel is one of the most mysterious fish in the world, it spawns and breeds in the deep sea, grows in freshwater environment, is a pure natural wild resource, eel fry has not yet been able to achieve artificial breeding, can only rely on artificial fishing.

First, an introduction to eels

Eel, scientific name eel, commonly known as river eel, has a dark green back and a white abdomen, which is a river-descending fish that breeds in seawater and grows in fresh water. Because of its delicious taste and rich nutrition, it is known as "ginseng in the water" and enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad. The eel has a slender body, cylindrical at the front, flattened posteriorly, small eyes, a snout, and a body surface rich in mucus.

Japanese eel spawning grounds

Eel fry cannot be bred by artificial reproduction, mainly because eels have a very special life history and are difficult to simulate in an artificial environment. Eels grow into adult eels in freshwater rivers, and in the summer they begin to migrate to the sea, that is, from rivers to the ocean to spawn, which is exactly the opposite of the river-going migration of trout and salmon swimming back to the rivers from the middle of the ocean to spawn. Its spawning grounds are thousands of kilometres away in the deep sea between the Philippines and the Maina Archipelago, and scientists have discovered this spawning grounds mainly because of the many of its newly hatched hatchlings.

The eel is the most famous long-distance traveler in the fish, swimming back to the sea to lay eggs at a distance of more than 5,000 kilometers, which is the longest of the fish. It can survive a year and a half after a "hunger strike," and it can climb Niagara Falls in the Americas. In the 4th century BC, the great Greek scientist Aristotle began to study eels. In China, the study of eels also has a history of thousands of years, the five generations of "Rihuazi Materia Medica" has the saying that "eels cure labor, make up for deficiencies, warm waist and knees, and raise the sun"; the Ming Dynasty Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" records: eels, to strain, even to supplement benefits" .

Therefore, japan has established an eel festival on a certain day or two days between July 19 and August 7, and the date of each year is not fixed. The eel festival is called the Earth Fish Festival, and the so-called "soil use" refers to the first 18 days of the annual Li Chun (around February 4), Li Xia (around May 5), Li Qiu (around August 7), and Li Dong (around November 7) during the first 18 days of the year; and "ugly" is the cattle in the earth branch. When the earth and the ugly day coincide on the same day, it is the "ugly day of the earth". Whenever it comes to the ugly day of the earth, the Japanese people will eat eels according to traditional customs. Every family will eat delicious eel dishes, and each restaurant will also hang a very special eel cuisine Kanban board to attract passers-by.

eel

Second, the nutritional value of eels

The nutritional value of eel is very high, so it is called the soft gold in the water, and it has been regarded as a good product for nourishment and beauty in China and many parts of the world since ancient times. In winter, Japanese people often eat fragrant grilled eel rice to drive away the cold and maintain full energy. Eels are rich in nutrients, each 100 grams (100g) of fresh eel contains 61.1g of water, 16.4g of protein, 21.3g of lipids, 0.1g of sugars, 1.1g of ash, 95mg of minerals (mg), 230mg of vitamins, and also contains calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, potassium and other substances. The miraculous therapeutic effects of eels are recorded in books such as "Magic Medicine in the Palm", "Shenghui Fang", "Compendium of Materia Medica", and Japan's "Honmei Food Book": tonic deficiency, warm intestines, dispel wind, detoxification, beauty, wind healing, treatment of wet athlete's foot, wet rheumatism between the waist and kidneys, cure bad sores, cure corpse furuncle strain, warm waist and knees, rise yang, cure pediatric chancre, and bring down women.

The meat of eels is rich in protein, vitamins A, D, E, minerals and unsaturated fatty acids DHA/EPA. It provides the nutrients humans need to grow and sustain life. Long-term eel eating is extremely helpful for strengthening the body, enhancing vitality and nourishing the face, especially pregnant women and infants. Compared with other animal foods, eels have higher content of vitamin A, vitamin E and polyunsaturated fatty acids contained in fat. It is worth mentioning that river eels are rich in antioxidant nutrients, such as vitamin A, which contains nearly 2,500 international units (IU) per 100 grams of eels, 50% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A for adults in Daguo, and about 100 mg per 100 grams of eels, such as mineral calcium.

Scientific studies have shown that eels are one of the fish with the highest EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), which can not only reduce blood lipids, fight arteriosclerosis, and fight blood clots, but also replenish the necessary nutrients to the brain. DHA can promote brain development and enhance memory in children and adolescents, and also help prevent brain function decline and Alzheimer's disease in the elderly. Medical experts have also found that eels, which combine the beneficial ingredients of fish oil and vegetable oil, are ideal foods to supplement essential fatty acids and amino acids. Eels are high in zinc, polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E, which can prevent aging and arteriosclerosis, thus having skin care and beauty benefits, and is a natural and efficient beauty dish for women. In Fuqing, surrounded by mountains and rivers, there is a Qi Xiang food company that is going farther and farther in the eel industry, getting stronger and stronger, setting off a domestic eel boom.