|
|
Ask a New Question |
|
|
Ask a New Question |
Q: Seafood
Should a PWA eat seafood? (October, 1999)
A: Diana Peabody, RD responds:
As long as it is well cooked. No raw fish/seafood as in sushi etc. Also be sure seafood is caught/harvested during appropriate season and from a safe site. For example, shellfish such as oysters, should not be eaten if havested during a red tide period or collected from a beach that is near untreated sewage outlet. Commercial vendors and restaurants will ususlly sell seafood from approved sources, but be careful if your friend offers to collect oysters, etc. from the beach. Shellfish provide protein, very little fat and varying amounts of minerals. They generally are not high in vitamins. Fish provides protein, and omega 3 fatty acids, which are beneficial for lowering triglycerides, decreasing the risk of heart disease, and reducing inflammation.
Jennifer Jensen MS, MBA, RD responds:
(Administrator's Note: Yes, Jennifer's fielding this one too, even though she's not here on this planet anymore, because she was such a nag about food safety. Even from The Beyond, she can't resist putting her two cents in. Below, I've excerpted some relevant passages from a couple of her articles that deal with the good and bad of seafood for Positive People. For the full text of the articles (and others dealing with food safety issues) go to Jennifer's Picnic Basket. As far as food safety goes, the three magic words which Jennifer always harped on to her clients are: HEAT KILLS GERMS! Remember that.)
From Jennifer's article Pyramid Power:
"Fish Protein
As with beef and poultry, fish is a "complete protein," it can be fairly cheap, and requires very little culinary skill to prepare. Flavor tampering can range from the simple lemon or lime squeeze to extravagant butter herb sauces and exotic marinades. But if it's undercooked, and you eat it anyway, forget dessert -- go right to the hospital for an emergency antibiotic drip to deal with all the toxins you just ate -- the little germs and worms and things. Look carefully; the flesh must be real flaky -- no mush at all is allowable.
"[But} there's also another really neat health bonus with fish. Fish Fat! -- often called Omega-3 fats or fatty acids (EPA & DHA), which are truly healthful, found in tuna, salmon, and a variety of cold-water species. Without diving (sorry, couldn't resist that pun) into too much scientific detail, let's just say that fish fats lead to better prostaglandins, which control cytokine blends in a beneficial way. And better cytokines is a really smart thing to shoot for. Yes, fish makes for a great healthfood."
And from Jennifer's article Moder Food Safety:
"The Ocean and the Chicken Coop
Cooked poultry should be very tender with no trace of pink in the white meat, and fish must be flaky -- no runny or mushy flesh. Of course, raw fish (including sushi, oysters, cebiche, undercooked shrimp/lobster, raw clams, etc.), is always a risk. I’m often asked about smoked meat products. Since I’m not sure, I say no, not unless it was cooked well before it was smoked. It’s far better to avoid these uncertainties than to go to the hospital
because you trusted what was unsure. Get special-tasting mesquite grilled steaks instead -- it’s a compromise, but it won’t make you sick.
"Raw food facts, especially Sushi, were discussed when I gave the food safety portion of a nutrition education group I was teaching -- on a Tuesday night. The following Friday, a group member went for Sushi with her husband and another couple. The men had raw fish and the women, aware of my advice, made safer food choices. Both men were in the hospital by midnight. Neither was Positive. The women (naturally) were just fine and healthy enough to nurse their men back to health.
"Egg protein is the so-called "gold standard" for measuring protein value. Eggs, however, represent a significant safety hazard. They are routinely exposed to salmonella, another AIDS-defining opportunist. We must expect that raw eggs have active salmonella.
"Well cooked eggs are quite safe. Soft yolks and runny whites are out! Other egg risks include Caesar salad dressing, homemade egg nog, puddings, custards, hollandaise and bearnaise sauces, and some meringues. Egg substitutes are safe because the egg whites they contain have been pasteurized. Pasteurization uses the heat technique."
