If you’re on a healthy nutritional plan, you’re probably eating a nutrient dense diet which is filled with lean protein, whole wheat carbs and rich omega-3 essential fatty acids. To obtain your healthy omega-3 fatty acids, you might have decided to introduce salmon to your diet which is a great choice but make sure you be aware of difference between farm raised versus wild ocean caught salmon before stocking up. There are many medical difficulties with farm raised salmon that exist in your local grocery stores and restaurants. We will discuss how farm raised salmon is different from wild ocean caught salmon and also the biggest problems that surround the farm raised type.
Farm raised salmon are fish which are housed in controlled farms across the country. These salmon are jam-packed into little bins with hundreds if not thousands of other salmon and fed fishmeal pellets his or her daily diet to bulk them up for market. Fishmeal includes ground-up sardines, anchovies, mackerel, along with other small fish. These are the biggest issues with farm raised salmon:
PCB Levels
Polychlorinated biphenyls “PCBs” are mixtures as high as 209 individual chlorinated compounds (known as congeners). There aren't any known natural causes of PCBs. PCBs are either oily liquids or solids which are colorless to light yellow. PCBs happen to be used as coolants and lubricants in transformers, capacitors, and other electrical equipment because they don’t burn easily and therefore are good insulators. The output of PCBs was stopped in the U.S. in 1977 due to evidence they build up in the environment and can cause harmful health effects. However, PCBs persist within the environment. Salmon absorb PCBs from contaminated sediments and using their food. Studies found that the fishmeal pellets fed to farm raised salmon is highly contaminated with PCBs. Farm raised salmon is dangerous due to the procedure for bioaccumulation. By consuming salmon, your digestive processes break up the contaminated salmon fat, releasing the PCBs to your system. Your body then stores the PCBs in its own fat. If you consume a large amounts of salmon, the PCBs of every bit of salmon become kept in your body. The PCBs eventually leave the body, however its over the course of years. The risk comes when you eat salmon actually because the PCBs along with other contaminants bioaccumulate inside of you.
Higher Fat Content
Because salmon are jam-packed in bins along with other fish, they can’t move around just as much so they possess a higher level of fat. On the other hand, wild ocean caught salmon are free to swim and move all over, so that they are a much leaner fish. The last thing you want is to think you’re selecting a healthy lean salmon but in fact are becoming a significantly fattier fish than expected. Not only does sedentary effects pack fat onto farm raised salmon however the fishmeal they are fed also has an effect of their overall fat content. The oils from the fishmeal pack fat onto farm raised salmon which results in farm raised salmon having 52% more fat than wild ocean caught salmon. However the putting on weight from additional fat also results in higher levels of PCBs along with other contaminants within the farmed salmon.
Artificial Colorings
Wild ocean caught salmon have that beautiful pink color for them. They get this coloring from being in the wild by eating their diet of natural food in the ocean. Farm raised salmon do not have this pink color, so that they receive artificial colorings to ensure they are more palatable towards the eye. This basically makes them more marketable, because so many consumers prefer fish using the traditional pink color. The harmful chemicals used to turn farm raised salmon pink are canthaxanthin and astaxanthin.
Overall Cheaper Salmon
Wild ocean caught salmon is commonly 3-4 times more costly per pound than farm raised salmon. Make sure you get that which you pay for, so the next time you’re at the grocery store, check out the label to determine what type of salmon you’re getting. The FDA makes it mandatory for those packaged salmon in supermarkets to specify if the salmon you’re purchasing is either farmed raised or wild ocean caught. Also, when you’re at your favorite restaurant, ask the waiter/waitress when the salmon is farm raised or wild. By doing this, you'll pick a healthier fish and make sure they aren't over charging for a fish which may be of cheaper quality.
