Food Warnings

[Thebazile78]

Growl.

I love fish.
Most of the fishes I enjoy most are both larger fishes and pretty high on the food chain, which means their flesh has the potential to have a higher concentration of pollutants like methyl mercury. I don't have an exclusive diet of tuna, shark or swordfish, mostly because I'm buying my own groceries nowadays and Matty doesn't eat them, but I do enjoy the occasional "treat" of a grilled swordfish steak, so I think I'm pretty safe.

However, I do indulge in tuna sushi more often. It's readily available and makes for a great lunch when I'm in the grocery store.

I was upset to learn in today's (1/23/08) Dining and Wine section (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/dining/23sushi.html?ref=dining) that bluefin tuna in several NYC restaurants (and, by extension, in other parts of the USA, since the suppliers are likely to be fishing the same waters) had very high levels of methyl mercury.

Because I intend on starting a family within the next couple of years, and mercury is harmful to the developing nervous system of your child, I am particularly sensitive to any news items that have this kind of information. I intend on bringing this article to my doctor's attention, because I know that some women will be terrified by this information. I'm already concerned about heavy metals in my blood, like lead and mercury, because I'd like to give my future children the best chance possible.

I know that I shouldn't panic, and I'm not.

What other foods have received a bad rap or publicized warnings nowadays? How do you handle the information?

[donnie_darko]

haven't they been warning against pregnant women eating seafood for at least 10 years because of mercury?

also on that list recently is caffeine.

[grlNIN]

Trans fat Trans fat Trans fat.

No Trans fat this, no Trans fat that. It's the most common one i have seen in the past couple of years.

I've honestly never heard the mercury in fish thing but i have never eaten seafood really so that's my reasoning.

[Thebazile78]

haven't they been warning against pregnant women eating seafood for at least 10 years because of mercury?

also on that list recently is caffeine.

It's not all seafood and I'm not pregnant yet. Only higher-up on the food chain fishes, like shark, swordfish, etc.

Pregnant and breastfeeding women can have canned tuna, but they're supposed to limit their consumption.

In this article on WebMD (http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20060605/canned-tuna-avoid-pregnant), the top-end is 3 or fewer cans per week of chunk light tuna and 1 or fewer cans per week of albacore/white tuna for ANY WOMAN of childbearing age, especially if she intends on having children.

I read about that caffeine study, too. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/21/health/21caffeine.html?em&ex=1201237200&en=dc3c27410264e64c&ei=5087%0A) Honestly, I think that many women who miscarry are looking for some way to take control of their situation and they cling to something they might have done differently - i.e.: cut out the coffee, etc. - so that they could have a full-term pregnancy. Often, there's a lot of self-blame for a miscarriage, so looking for what could be a pretty easy solution is hopeful for a lot of women.

From the article, linked above:

Dr. Carolyn Westhoff, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and epidemiology, at Columbia University Medical Center, had reservations about the study, noting that miscarriage is difficult to study or explain. Dr. Westhoff said most miscarriages resulted from chromosomal abnormalities, and there was no evidence that caffeine could cause those problems.

“Just interviewing women, over half of whom had already had their miscarriage, does not strike me as the best way to get at the real scientific question here,” she said. “But it is an excellent way to scare women.”

She said that smoking, chlamidial infections and increasing maternal age were stronger risk factors for miscarriage, and ones that women could do something about.

“Moderation in all things is still an excellent rule,” Dr. Westhoff said. “I think we tend to go overboard on saying expose your body to zero anything when pregnant. The human race wouldn’t have succeeded if the early pregnancy was so vulnerable to a little bit of anything. We’re more robust than that.”

[Thebazile78]

Trans fat Trans fat Trans fat.

No Trans fat this, no Trans fat that. It's the most common one i have seen in the past couple of years.

I've honestly never heard the mercury in fish thing but i have never eaten seafood really so that's my reasoning.

Even Girl Scout Cookies (http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/) are trans-fat (http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/features/2003/503_fats.html) free.

I'm not panicked about trans fats, but all the same, I'm trying to cut down on the amount of processed food I consume. Hydrogenating oils makes them more shelf-stable and longer lasting, which makes them perfect for canned goods, among other things.

[Chris from TX]

Sodium nitrite is used to preserve meat and fish. Some studies suggest it can lead to the formation of a carcinogen. I think it has some other nasty side effects too. Mostly found in meat like bacon, sausage, and smoked fish.

[spoon]

I've been hearing a lot of bad shit about aspartame as well. Guess who helped get it through and legal here in the states? Take a guess. Based on what I've heard, and reminded of tonight on a Coast to Coast segment, it's some really potent/horrible shit.

[Heather 8]

haven't they been warning against pregnant women eating seafood for at least 10 years because of mercury?

also on that list recently is caffeine.

Caffeine isn't a recent thing; they've actually been warning pregnant women not to partake for quite a while now.

As far as seafood goes, my doctor only told me to avoid shark, swordfish, and tile fish (none of which I've ever eaten in my life), and to not eat a lot of tuna, especially the canned stuff. Raw sushi, for obvious reasons, is out as well.

[Thebazile78]

I've been hearing a lot of bad shit about aspartame as well. Guess who helped get it through and legal here in the states? Take a guess. Based on what I've heard, and reminded of tonight on a Coast to Coast segment, it's some really potent/horrible shit.

Aspartame makes me sick to my stomach, so I try not to consume products with it. Sucralose, which is the generic name for Splenda, doesn't bother my stomach as much.

In artificial sweeteners, the item I heard this week is sorbitol, which I've seen in chewing gum and in conjunction with aspartame in other sugarless foods.

If you consume enough sorbitol, it causes diarrhea and weight loss. But to "consume enough" you'd have to chew something like 15 pieces of gum daily.

[Chip196]

A new movement which is on the rise is Grass-Fed Beef rather than Corn-Fed. I'm a big believer in this for all the health benefits. I will also admit to being biased because my in-laws have a grass-fed black angus farm. I won't preach about it, but if you're interested in why Grass-Fed is so much better for you, check out:

http://www.grazinangusacres.com/whygrassfed.htm

[Thebazile78]

A new movement which is on the rise is Grass-Fed Beef rather than Corn-Fed. I'm a big believer in this for all the health benefits. I will also admit to being biased because my in-laws have a grass-fed black angus farm. I won't preach about it, but if you're interested in why Grass-Fed is so much better for you, check out:

http://www.grazinangusacres.com/whygrassfed.htm

If grass-fed beef is anything like the cheese I had a few weeks ago made from the milk of grass-fed cows, it's something to consider for taste as well!

That was some of the best, sharpest, smoothest-tasting cheddar cheese I've ever had!

[Chip196]

If grass-fed beef is anything like the cheese I had a few weeks ago made from the milk of grass-fed cows, it's something to consider for taste as well!

That was some of the best, sharpest, smoothest-tasting cheddar cheese I've ever had!

I can't even begin to tell you how much better it tastes as well. You have to cook it slightly differently since it's not as fatty, but once you get the hang of it you won't want to go back. More interesting stuff: The government regulation on "Free-Range Chicken" is that they have the ability to get out of their cage. Most farmers open the cages for about 15 minutes a day, and a scared chicken isn't likely to leave, but it doesn't matter if he leaves or not, it's still "free-range chicken". "Pastured Chicken" means that the chickens get to walk around in the grass eating grubs, bugs, grass, and anything else they can. Eating a more healthy, robust and natural diet produces the best tasting chicken you can imagine. Many grass-fed beef farms will have their pasture chickens roam in the same fields the cows end up in on a rotating basis. The ground needs nitrogen to produce the best grass for the cows. Chicken shit is loaded with nitrogen naturally ... so you get the best tasting chickens, who help make the healthiest grass, which feeds the healthiest and best tasting beef. And I said I wouldn't preach ... sorry about that :thumbup:

[Thebazile78]

I can't even begin to tell you how much better it tastes as well. You have to cook it slightly differently since it's not as fatty, but once you get the hang of it you won't want to go back. More interesting stuff: The government regulation on "Free-Range Chicken" is that they have the ability to get out of their cage. Most farmers open the cages for about 15 minutes a day, and a scared chicken isn't likely to leave, but it doesn't matter if he leaves or not, it's still "free-range chicken". "Pastured Chicken" means that the chickens get to walk around in the grass eating grubs, bugs, grass, and anything else they can. Eating a more healthy, robust and natural diet produces the best tasting chicken you can imagine. Many grass-fed beef farms will have their pasture chickens roam in the same fields the cows end up in on a rotating basis. The ground needs nitrogen to produce the best grass for the cows. Chicken shit is loaded with nitrogen naturally ... so you get the best tasting chickens, who help make the healthiest grass, which feeds the healthiest and best tasting beef. And I said I wouldn't preach ... sorry about that :thumbup:

That's pretty exciting, actually, because I hate regular chicken. Cannot stand the stuff. (Filthy animals. It doesn't help that I'm terrified of birds as well.)

I've read about this on multiple occasions:

Marian Burros's follow up to a piece she'd done in 2002 about Grass-Fed Beef (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05EFDA113EF933A0575BC0A9609C8B 63&scp=2&sq=grass+fed+beef&st=nyt)
Marian Burros's Report of a study on the health-benefits of Grass-Fed Beef (March 2006) (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/dining/08beef.html?_r=1&scp=17&sq=grass+fed+beef&st=nyt&oref=slogin)
Slate's Taste-Test to find the "best steak" (November 2006) (http://www.slate.com/id/2152674/)
How Your Beef Gets from Pasture to Plate (February 2004) (http://www.slate.com/id/2096213/)

And there's always this:
OK, it's not beef, but it's Buffalo. Which I actually enjoy a bit more than beef! (Marian Burros; August 2007) (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/15/dining/15biso.html?scp=13&sq=grass+fed+beef&st=nyt)

[Chip196]

That's pretty exciting, actually, because I hate regular chicken. Cannot stand the stuff. (Filthy animals. It doesn't help that I'm terrified of birds as well.)

I've read about this on multiple occasions:

Marian Burros's follow up to a piece she'd done in 2002 about Grass-Fed Beef (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05EFDA113EF933A0575BC0A9609C8B 63&scp=2&sq=grass+fed+beef&st=nyt)
Marian Burros's Report of a study on the health-benefits of Grass-Fed Beef (March 2006) (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/dining/08beef.html?_r=1&scp=17&sq=grass+fed+beef&st=nyt&oref=slogin)
Slate's Taste-Test to find the "best steak" (November 2006) (http://www.slate.com/id/2152674/)
How Your Beef Gets from Pasture to Plate (February 2004) (http://www.slate.com/id/2096213/)

And there's always this:
OK, it's not beef, but it's Buffalo. Which I actually enjoy a bit more than beef! (Marian Burros; August 2007) (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/15/dining/15biso.html?scp=13&sq=grass+fed+beef&st=nyt)

Wow ... these are great! Thanks for the info. If you can find pasture chicken anywhere, let me know what you think.

[Thebazile78]

Caffeine isn't a recent thing; they've actually been warning pregnant women not to partake for quite a while now.

As far as seafood goes, my doctor only told me to avoid shark, swordfish, and tile fish (none of which I've ever eaten in my life), and to not eat a lot of tuna, especially the canned stuff. Raw sushi, for obvious reasons, is out as well.

Sushi in general tends to be off limits for foodborne illness reasons. Some OB's will tell you to avoid both fish sushi AND vegetable sushi because of the risk of cross-contamination through utensils and rolling mats. (Think about it. If your sushi is coming from the grocery store, as mine does, that's probably a good point to keep in mind. I've never seen the sushi masters making my sushi, so I don't know if they roll my cucumber roll with the same mat as the spicy tuna roll.) The last thing you want is to put your pregnancy at risk because you contracted E. coli poisoning.

For fish, the "no, absolutely not" list is shark, swordfish, tilefish and sometimes grouper; it depends on how much fish you say you eat and what's on the hot list when you're talking about it.

Canned tuna, which is what most people in this country think of when someone says "tuna," is to be limited, but not cut out altogether. My gyno said 3 or fewer cans per week is a good rule of thumb; the concentrations of methyl mercury in albacore tuna is higher. (I don't particularly care for the canned stuff anyway, so I'd probably cut it out altogether!)

Caffeine has been under advisement for quite some time; some women do just fine with caffeine, but others have serious problems. Because it's a diuretic, and you pee enough as it is when you're pregnant (don't you?), it'd be inadvisable to drink too much to begin with. If you factor in its stimulant effects, I'd be concerned about preterm labor.

[Chigworthy]

To sum up the grass-fed vs. grain (corn)-fed beef, cattle, sheep, and most "red-meat" animals are "detritovores", not omnivores. They rely on bacteria and fungus in their digestive system to digest plant matter. The whole chewing of the cud thing is a regurgitation of plant matter that has been digested (rotted) by bacteria and fungus. This is what the detritovore is meant to glean nutrition from. When they are fed glucose-rich grain, it bypasses the bacteria/fungus thing somewhat, and heads straight to the GI tract. While this feed is very nutritious, it is not waht the animal is made for. The animal develops cholesterol-rich, fatty muscle tissue, and it also becomes sick, necessitating antibiotics to maintain it's health until a slaughterable age. The result is fatty meat that is tasty, but full of drugs and cholesterol.

I love seafood of just about any sort. I've always been into swordfish, tuna, and other top marine carnivores. After a recent class where we examined biomagnification of mercury, pesticides, insecticides, radioactives, and other nasties, I have stopped eating canned tuna, sword steaks, and maguro sushi (for the most part). I miss 'em, but eating poison seems somehow silly.

Last year, here in beautiful Sonoma County, we were warned of eating top carnivores from local freshwater systems as well. In the gold rush era, this area had extensive mercury mines, which have caused a lot of mercury-rich soil to enter our lakes. Mercury doesn't naturally leave an aquatic system, and usually increases if more is introduced.

A while back, a good friend of mine was renting a house on this really wierd piece of property that had been a pretty big mercury operation in the past. It was really creepy there, yawning holes in the ground spewing cold air, industrial wreckage, and boarded-up mine shafts were everywhere. The landowner lived on top of a hill there, and he had a small pond that was surrounded by old equipment from the mine. The pond must have been used as part of the mining process. Anyway, this kook stocked this tiny pond with trout and fished out of it for dinner. Whatta tool. Me too, since I ate trout from it one night. Oh well.

[Thebazile78]

To redirect the trend this thread took:

How do YOU deal with food warnings? Do you take action? Do you cut out the foods in question without doing your own research? Do you learn as much as you can about the threat and make your own informed decision? Do you take your concerns to your doctor or another health professional before taking action?

I try to learn as much as I can about an issue before I freak out and eliminate all of my favorite foods from my diet.

In light of this, I have one follow-up article and two sane articles to realign my thinking about having that tuna sushi.

All the same, I think that, when we're closer to having kids, I may still get my blood tested for heavy metals (i.e. lead and mercury) so I have time to detox and relax. I really want to give my future children the best start they can possibly have, especially if it's something I can control.

Follow-Up:

The Times' Fishy Story: Nevermind that scaremongering story about mercury-tainted sushi. (Slate, "Pressbox", January 25th, 2008) (http://www.slate.com/id/2182823/)

Sane Articles:

Welcome to the Fish Fry, Mom: The evidence that seafood won't hurt your baby. (http://www.slate.com/id/2160280/) (Slate, "Medical Examiner", February 21st, 2007)

Does Mercury Matter? Experts Debate the Big Fish Question (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9401E4DE1F3FF93AA15754C0A9659C8B 63) (The New York Times, July 29th, 2003)