Something Fishy about Tilapia?

I really, really don't like fish (or any seafood, and I've tried most). It's mostly a texture thing. I can occassionally eat tuna, but even that sometimes turns my stomach.

(Missing a paragraph because of characters that the system doesn't like -- trying again)

I think the issue here is that industrial-raised animals (including fish) are being fed exactly the sort of mass-produced pseudo-food that we are finding to be less-than-healthy for us. If we eat a diet that is predominantly from the local fast food emporium or pre-packaged processed stuff without a veggie in sight, then we are prone to the ills that we see in the so-called western diet. If a fish or cow or chicken is fed this stuff, the farmer will be happy because he can get the animal out the door with less time and money investment than if he had allowed the animal to eat the diet it would look for naturally. So, the farmer benefits, and the consumer pays less for the food, but the animal has the wrong balance of fats and minerals and what-not, and ultimately we consumers suffer.

Fish is good for us. So we over-fish the oceans and rivers. Some entrepeneurs figure out how to mass-raise the critters with fake food and antibiotics. Then fish becomes not-so-good food.

What am I doing? Buying frozen salmon and eating it in small quantitites once in a while. I use cold-pressed canola oil and a good olive oil. I eat lots of veggies. I try not to think about the details and just do the best I can.

I don't know what the answer is. There isn't enough fish in the oceans and rivers for everyone (who isn't allergic to fish) to have a significant amount in their diet. Raising farmed fish is a business. The cost of raising fish with a healthy diet, so that the resultant fish has a good balance of omegas, is too expensive to make a reasonable business out of it.

Ultimately, my own take is: there is no miracle food (= eat this one miracle food and you'll be healthy).

The whole idea of eating more fish is to increase your ratio of omega 6 to omega 3. The ratio should be around 1:1 to 1:2 but today we are 20:1 to 50:1. SO if the farm raised fish have more omega 6 then omega 3 it is not what the experts are recommending. Anytime mas production gets involved in our food it's usually a bad thing. Look at milk - one of the healthiest foods has become the most unhealthy? So the same thing is happening to fish being farmed at the cheapest possible cost. My guess would be that these tilapia are also very high in some heavy metals. 40 million fish in a little pond are going to be eating some not so good things. Anyway be careful what fish you do buy. To Learn More About -> Omega 3

Eating a variety of fish, and not relying on just one type seems the best way to go, if you eat fish. There is nothing wrong with Omega-6, it just needs to be in a reasonable ratio to Omega-3.

Fish is good, this fish is not. Butter is good, butter is not. Coffee is good, coffee isn't. Seems to me the more we know about 'nutrition' the less certainty we have about fods. After a while you just really start wondering how we got to this place where there is always a 'yes but'.... WE just seem to have got to a point where we've got so far from unpolluted Nature that it's no wonder we're having all these debates.

Tilapia is one of the most highly consumed fish in America. I read at http://www.projectweightloss.com/index.php why tilapia fish can turn out to be a dangerous food combination for dieters with heart problems. Nutritionists tend to recommend fish in every diet, but sometimes you have to watch out.

First I have heard of this with Talapia. I haven't had it for awhile but it is a good fish for people who don't really like fish normally.

A great and simple guideline (note that I did not say "rule") for healthy eating: choose items that are native to your general locale or at least as fresh as you can reasonably achieve. Once I tasted cod caught fresh from the North Atlantic, I could barely eat farm cod and the last farm cod I had was indeed the LAST. It was imported from China and I simply could not choke it down. Only a few days later I learned what farm-raised cod eat in China and it explained so much. I now avoid any farm-raised seafood and simply do not buy Chinese fish. My daughter bought baby chickens in the spring and we all enjoy fresh eggs (wow, strong shells!) from hens who love to eat green grass, clover leaves, and live crawlies as they can catch, in addition to the traditional chicken feed. Bought from a local farmer, half a young beef who wouldn't stay inside the fence. Too bad for him, good for the farmer and us. Unbeatable flavor w/o chemicals.

If you are eating fish just for the sake of getting your "omega fatty acids" then why not just supplement it with gel caps? eat fish only if you enjoy it... sounds so trivial doesn't it? yet so many people don't realize this

FlawlessFitnessBook.com

I don't eat a lot of fish, so this news doesn't really apply to me. I've never even tried tilapia, even though I've always heard pretty decent things about it. It seems like it's just like with any other animal: if you feed it corn (ie, NOT its natural diet), it messes with the omega-3/omega-6 ratio. The only time I really eat fish is salmon, and I try to buy the wild Alaskan salmon and not farm-raised.

The claim was soundly rejected by most in the science community [peer journals] and I'm still shocked I see this being circulated. Goes to show how lies can spread quickly on the Internet.

The fact remains is it depends on the diet of tilapia. Corn-based feed vs. natural protein feeds + vegetable feeds on farmed fish can drastically change this scenario. You reap what you sow. You are what you eat. (Example: Try feeding tilapia pepper seeds two weeks before harvest and it will start having a certain spicy flavor in its meat.)

Overall though tilapia and any fish with scales are safer to eat than pork or other types of meat and less disease. Just avoid Chinese fish you'll be fine.

Talapia is a wonderful fish and it is well advised that 1 of every 5 people should use this fish as meals at all times. There are medical reports and there are medical reports , alas , there can never be a more nutrious source of food.