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Learn the 3 Safest fish to eat! I'll teach you more at
We are going to go over the top 3 fish to eat and the fish that you may want to avoid. Fish can become contaminated in a number of ways – size, species, age and location determine contamination levels. Heavy Metals: Mercury and Lead-

Mercury is known to cause many health problems and is especially dangerous for children and women who are or may become pregnant. It can take 12-18 months for mercury to pass through the body, so women who may become pregnant should also work hard to avoid mercury. The nervous system and kidneys are the main targets of mercury. Children exposed to mercury may cause mental development problems, including coordination and learning handicaps. Anyone can experience mercury health effects, including: fatigue, dizziness, numbness or tingling, memory and coordination problems, irritability.If enough mercury is consumed, permanent brain and kidney damage can occur. Large, older, or predatory fish have more time and eat more contaminated foods, allowing heavy metals to bioaccumulate.
Industrial Chemicals-
PCBs, dioxins, DDT and other chemicals can leach from factories or garbage into our waters. These chemicals are related to cancer risk. Bottom dwelling fish are the most susceptible to these toxins, including the American eel, sea trout and wild striped bass.

Radiation-
The Fukushima nuclear disaster is one of the most widely discussed radiation events that has an impact on what we eat. Radiation is known to cause cancer, so avoiding foods high in radioactive compounds is important. Researching your fish choices online is the best way to avoid consuming fish that come from an area high in radiation.

Choosing Fish for Your Family-
The Environmental Defense Fund Seafood Selector is a great benefit when deciding what fish to avoid and what fish to load up on. Given the above concerns while also weighing in health and deliciousness, here is the list of the top three fish:

(1) Pacific Sardines (US and Canada):
-Low in mercury
-Sustainably fished
-High in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins B12, B2, B3, D, selenium, phosphorus, calcium, copper and more
-They are inexpensive and easy to find canned.

(2) Wild Alaskan Salmon:
-Salmon is one of the most delicious fish, rich in healthy fats.
-Low in mercury and sustainably fished
-Contains bioactive peptides that may support for cartilage, insulin and inflammation.
-High in vitamins B12, B3, D, selenium, omega-3 fatty acids, phosphorus, B6 and many others.

(3) Muscles:
-Low in mercury and one of the most sustainably fished seafood sources out there
-High in selenium, omega-3s, B12, iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and many others.

Seafood to Avoid:
Due to toxins and sustainability, it is best to stay away from these types of seafood.

(1) Shark:
-Anything this high up on the food chain is going to be a red flag when it comes to toxins.Predators consume other fish and their toxins. The higher up on the food chain, the higher the levels of mercury and toxins in the fish. Adding to the health dangers is the unsustainable fishing practices. Sharks have long gestation periods, taking a long time to mature and have offspring. This makes overfishing or depleting their numbers easy to do. Most shark species are experiencing a large decline due to fishing, being caught as bycatch and for fins in Asia.

(2) Tuna:
A favorite among many sushi goers is unfortunately very high in mercury and horrible for sustainability.
Some tuna is much better for you and the environment than others. If you do consume tuna, US yellowfin is the best option. Canned albacore tuna is high in mercury and should be avoided. Bluefin and imported albacore are the worst tuna options for health and sustainability – do your best to avoid these.
Canned light tuna is better for you than canned white tuna when it comes to mercury, with about ⅓ the mercury content of canned white tuna.

(3) Farmed Tilapia:
Farmed tilapia in the US is often imported from China and Taiwan where the conditions and chemicals used are very troublesome.

(4) Swordfish:
All swordfish, being large hunters, are high in mercury. They are also fished very unsustainably, with large bycatch of sea turtles, sharks and seabirds.

References
1. Mussel nutrition and health benefits

2. EDF Seafood Selector

3. Salmon

4. Sardines

5. Mercury in Seafood

6. Common questions about contaminants in seafood

7. The lingering effects of fukushima on fish


    41 replies to "Top 3 Best Fish vs. Worst Fish to Eat: Thomas DeLauer"

    • Makael Turner

      Video starts at 4:11

      • mochipii

        Bless you, sir.

      • M Dub

        lmao. this dude really padding the run time

      • Nicholas Lopez

        You’re doing God’s work, thank you

      • hazel tate

        What are the 3 fish

      • Totally Unfiltered

        No KIDDING! This guy does two sets of steroids, one for his musculature and one for his voice box.

    • Carmel Gold-Fanning

      Absolutely love everything you’ve said here! Especially about sustainability, and of course the fact that you went into depth explaining the risks of mercury latent fishes. Sadly I’m a life-long tuna addict, and salmon too of course, and I can’t help but find myself depressed about what our human race has done to their eco systems and species as a whole… Salmon can grow up to five feet in length and over 100 pounds, that’s literally my height and weight. It is horrifying to know that this most popular fish is dying out. Because of, DUH, us and our love for it’s taste and texture. And farmed salmon is almost never healthy. Please look into it..

    • Kristinopolis

      As an Alaskan commercial fisherwoman, I thank you for speaking up about wild caught salmon. In Alaska the fisheries are incredibly well managed and I would never had thought of it as a career if I didn’t think that Alaska’s wild salmon was the most sustainable and healthy form of meat.

      • Kristinopolis

        @Retrofire I always appreciate healthy skepticism ✌️ I’m the same way haha.

      • Awakened Daughter

        Checking out videos that can inform me about the diet of these fish. Despite many being considered clean, I notice many of them seem to eat unclean things ( i.e., crustaceans, etc.).

      • Kristinopolis

        @Awakened Daughter why are crustaceans unclean? 🤔

      • Awakened Daughter

        Sea life without fins and scales are deemed biblically unclean.Think about what they eat. And as the saying goes, you are what you eat.

    • Phil Brown

      So, I’ve always been hardcore about only wild caught fish. Tonight a meat guy at Earth Fare was telling me that European farm raised is much higher quality and held to much higher standards. Thoughts anyone?

    • Kelvin Limbrick

      This is a great opportunity to talk about the SEAFOOD WATCH app. It tells you which style of catch is best for species (environmentally).

      Wouldn’t you want to avoid filter feeders like mussels to avoid pollution?

    • Karen Kaneshiro

      One of my favourite fish is orange roughy, which used to be called the ‘slimehead’ until a few years ago. Sadly, it is a ‘threatened’ fish, I believe among the top 10. And now I hear you mention life-span of the fish being important, and orange roughy has one of the longest life spans in the fish world, average being 149 years, with sexual peak often not occuring in the female until around age 90! So if you kill a roughy, it’s a long wait for the maturation of the next generations! (and more years to build up toxins in it’s body) And sadly I also love Albacore tuna, & hate the taste of the ‘darker’ tunas. So sad…another fish I love I now have to feel guilty eating….sigh. Thanks for your video.

    • Cloe L

      Hi Thomas, another great video, thanks! I’m one of those people who don’t eat a lot of fish, so I’m not sure how to prepare it. Could you give us a few ways to cook/eat them in a future video? Also, for sardines, do we eat the whole thing, bones and all? And mussels, do we eat the stomach and it’s contents? I’m a bit more familiar with shellfish, but am now repulsed by the stomach. Any suggestions? Thanks so much! Your videos are always so helpful, informative, very professional.

    • Eileen B

      Amazing ! I planned to eat lots of mussels and sardines during my summer vacations, YouTube recommendations are the best ! Now I’m a bit bummed for tuna and tilapia, especially tilapia because it’s delicious but I get it the farm raised one are a definite no-no

    • Cord Nash

      Hey Thomas, always love your videos! Wondering your thoughts on other shellfish, especially crab.

    • Gadusi

      Hey Tom, what are your thoughts on Trader Joe’s Yellowfin tuna in olive oil? Should it be drained or eaten with the oil?

    • The Anadromist

      As an Alaska of course I’m well aware of wild salmon, and usually recommend people stay away from farmed salmon. I recently moved to the country of Georgia, where I discovered the oilfish. I had never heard of this one before. It was high in fat. But kind of waxy. So I wondered if it was an omega-3 powerhouse or something else. It turned out to be in the absolutely avoid category. Essentially it’s chemically swimming plastic. The oils don’t digest at all and it causes stomach problems. So why is it here? It’s from East Asian oceans mostly. But I’m guessing it’s caught by Chinese fishers who are just selling this garbage fish to make some cash, and poor countries like Georgia are their customers. But the trout here is good.

    • Ay_Hess

      I love your balanced approach to this, taking ALL factors into account like environment etc. very helpful and thoughtful

    • Rick Rude

      I worked in a fish processing plant and we had to separate fish from certain lakes that had known higher mercury levels. We had special codes to use on the labels. I wonder if the end customers knew this.

      • Kei’ Lo’

        I doubt it

      • Laughing Man

        Give me the codes, it’s a matter of national security!

      • Rick Rude

        Products would use the normal product codes and add the letter “E” in front of it. Interesting they don’t use the letter “M”

      • Laughing Man

        @Rick Rude Sounds fishy 🤣

      • Spicy Shizz

        @Rick Rude I don’t get it

    • Nikki Kostan

      I’m so glad I came across this video! I’m a pescatarian and literally eat tilapia multiple times a week, and always buy albacore tuna! I had it in my head that the albacore was the best kind. Thank you for addressing this!

      • Lex Talonis

        Same as. Farmed Fish is not meant to be Good.

      • Urketovore Marilynn Sanchez

        I always found tilapia low quality.

    • flat logic in heaven

      That is so weird about what he said about the sardines because when I got really sick and couldn’t eat much I was chowing down on sardines with olive oil and wow I have to say they really brought the life back to me

    • Thomas DeLauer

      Free Intermittent Fasting Meal Plan (downloadable): https://thomasdelauer.lpages.co/fastandfeast/
      Free Keto Diet Meal Plan (downloadable): https://thomasdelauer.lpages.co/real-person-keto/

      • rusty mugg

        HEY its the
        Seattle Public Market I grew up going here, until the drug addicts took over downtown Seattle and the surrounding area all the way south to San Diego. It’s so sad 😞

      • rusty mugg

        I’m so surprised about Albacore ugh
        I just bought 2 large cans…5 bucks each

      • vasile teapa

        Hi, can you tell us your opinion on canned cod liver?

      • Emma Goodrich

        what about cod??

      • John Doe

        Does it matter the type of salmon? Pink salmon or sockeye salmon? Thanks👍

    • Rachel Panay

      Thanks so much! I learned a lot & was reminded me of imp. things I forgot about, especially about tilapia! Happy the mussels are advisable. The ones I got recently were frozen & pre-marinated so I bet I can probably figure out a healthier option, like, uh, cooking them myself?! : )

    • Richard Bond

      Usually I am skeptical about do and don’t videos, however, you are well informed. I am trying to increase my intake of fish because of health reasons. Salmon and Sardines are two fish that I focus on eating more already. I am surprised about the muscles. I always though the shell fish tend to have more heavy metals. Good video.

    • bublhed

      Great information…thank you! I’ve been told my protein is a little low. I love fish and I’m happy to learn some of my favorites are on the “definitely eat” list. Big shock about albacore. I’d be interested in learning about milk fish and trout. I take collagen every day so I’m going to make sardines a part of my diet more often.

    • Jerry Eisner

      I’ve been buying Wild Caught Tilapia from a very reputable organic grocery in Maryland. It is supposedly flash frozen right on the Boat and sold to my grocery. Do you think this is still unsafe? Confused but looking to hear your advice. Thank You. je

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