In recent times, we’ve all heard about the need to eat food high in omega 3s. Salmon has some of the highest concentrations of this good fat. When you order grilled salmon at your favorite restaurant (or purchase at it at the grocery store), chances are you are actually getting “farm raise” (also known as “ocean raised”) fish. Farm raised salmon are inferior to wild in nutritional value and high exposure to antibiotics and pesticides.
In a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) comparing the nutrient profiles of wild versus farm raised fish and shellfish, it was determined that:
- Despite being much fattier, farmed fish provided less usable beneficial omega 3 fats than wild fish.
- Due to the feedlot conditions of aqua farming, farm-raised fish are doused with antibiotics and exposed to more concentrated pesticides than their wild counter parts. Farmed salmon, in addition, are given a salmon colored dye in their feed to turn their flesh pink so they look like their wild kin.
- Aquafarming also raises a number of environmental concerns, the most concerning is the negative impact on wild salmon. It has now been established that sea lice from farms kill up to 95% of juvenile wild salmon that migrate past them. (krkosek M, Lewis MA. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA.)
After you’ve finished your salmon, you turn your plate to enjoy a vegetable medley and dessert of berries full of nutrients-but is it? How do vegetables and fruits acquire their nutrients?….from the soil. But current commercial farming methods based on maximizing revenues aren’t always concerned with crop rotating, ph balance of soil or the other many requirements to produce highly nutritious produce. Most large commercial farms are heavy on pesticides and are open to the use of genetically modified plant DNA in order to produce fast growing, low maintenance foods. The result of all our “modern” technology is a decrease in the nutrient profiles of our produce over the last 40 years. If your interested in viewing the charts that showcase the nutrient decline from 1951 to 1999 click here.
Our food supply has been stripped of nutritional value yet our toxic load has increased. Vitamins and minerals are foundational to good health while antioxidants help to rid the body of free radicals and cells with DNA damage caused by chemicals and toxins. Taking supplements provides your body with needed nutrients you may not be getting from your diet and improve your health, In what is being called a landmark study conducted by the University of California Berkeley, concluded that long-termed dietary supplement users had markedly better overall health than non-supplement users. View additional information on this study here.
Disclaimer: I have taken supplements for years and have recently became a Shaklee distributor. Their products are one of the few that aren’t manufactured in China and shipped for sale in the U.S.. 95% of all supplements are made in China.
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