FISH; not a health food…the last post in a series of 6

The last commercial fishing fleet in CT — right here in my home town of Stonington

If you saw yesterday’s blog, you’re already up to speed on this topic. So rather than re-invent the wheel, the only new content in this blog will be the inclusion of what we had to say about fish as one of our six “not-so-healthy” foods in Chapter 10 of our book:

While fish does contain the healthy omega-3 fatty acids that our bodies need, it also contains the fat, cholesterol, animal protein, and pollutants that our bodies don’t need. Do yourself and your planet a favor, and find another source for your omega-3s—flax seeds and walnuts, for example.

If Mother Nature had intended for humans to eat fish, she would have put us in the ocean and there would be some larger fish who would be eating us.

Since beginning this blog in February of 2011, I have mentioned the “seafood” issue in over thirty of my 160 blogs. Three of them have been devoted exclusively to fish, including this one posted yesterday…

Fish-Farming — A sad “solution” to an unnecessary problem

The other two are provided here also for your convenience:

What about the other five “not-so-healthy” foods? (See links below) We chose these six foods to highlight near the end of our book, because most people think of them as very healthy foods. We felt that we should gently remind them that they are not. You may choose to continue eating these foods (hopefully not too often), but we wanted you to have the requisite knowledge for making the best decision for you and your family.

Handy 5-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

The movie that’s changing the lives of millions: Forks Over Knives DVD
Healthy Eating, Healthy World, The “big picture” about food (our book)
An essential scientific resource: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell
Dr. McDougall’s new book, The Starch Solution, with lots of great recipes.
Dr. Campbell’s new book: WHOLE, Rethinking the Science of Nutrition

Why should we be eating mostly plants? The “big picture” in 4 minutes.

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Survey. It takes less than five minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com

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J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

To order more of my favorite books—visit our online BookStore now

For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, visit our 4Leaf page and also enjoy some great recipes from Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

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—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation

About J. Morris Hicks

A former strategic management consultant and senior corporate executive with Ralph Lauren in New York, J. Morris Hicks has always focused on the "big picture" when analyzing any issue. In 2002, after becoming curious about our "optimal diet," he began a study of what we eat from a global perspective ---- discovering many startling issues and opportunities along the way. In addition to an MBA and a BS in Industrial Engineering, he holds a certificate in plant-based nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies, where he has also been a member of the board of directors since 2012. Having concluded that our food choices hold the key to the sustainability of our civilization, he has made this his #1 priority---exploring all avenues for influencing humans everywhere to move back to the natural plant-based diet for our species.

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2 Responses to FISH; not a health food…the last post in a series of 6

Charles Bagnall says:

07/22/2011 at 1:12 am

I appreciate having found your blogsite and have just enjoyed reading some of the posts. I would also like to bring forth a little more about Omega-3. It is still very hard for plant-based whole food people (like myself) to get the necessary/helpful omegas. I draw your attention to some quite recent research by Kings College London on omegas: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/index.aspx
That research highlights the requirement for DHA that is difficult to get from nuts and other plant based sources. Our bodies do not do a good job of converting ALA to DHA and EPA. Some conversion is achieved but not enough. A supplement can be obtained of almost pure DHA – from fish oil – or the more recently achieved product from algae. Unfortunately that algae based supplement is of rather low strength – especially for its price – about 4x the price of the equivalent from fish oil. Check out the Kings College work. Thanks again for your work. Charles

edith platt says:

07/18/2011 at 7:21 am

Where I used to live, Castine, ME, many fisherman, lobstermen and urchin divers were forced to find other occupations on the sea. Many took courses at the Maine Maritime Academy (it was literally in my back yard) to become licensed as small vessel operators.