How to make fish a safe part of your child's diet

 

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Trying to navigate good nutrition can feel so challenging. It feels even more essential to have solid information if you are pregnant or feeding your children. The messages seem to shift frequently enough to make your head spin. Soy, gluten, sugar, rice, eggs, coconut oil.. Are there really magically healthy foods out there? Even more importantly, can certain foods really impact our health negatively? Fish is one of the more confusing ones. Most people agree that eating fish is a really good source of protein, vitamin D as well as two omega- 3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA, that aren’t abundant in other foods. In fact the 2020 dietary guidelines from the USDA and HHS specifically call for making sure that fish and seafood are included in a healthy diet. According to the American Heart Association,  while there are plenty of supplements on the market, they are not quite as good as the real thing. Unfortunately, these days many types of fish are contaminated with mercury. Mercury is a problem for people of any age but it can have a greater impact on unborn and young children. This is because it can act as a toxin that inhibits natural growth of the brain and nervous system. Elevated levels can lead to neurological and developmental delays according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Of course fish are by no means the only source of potential mercury contamination. Old Thermometers, fluorescent light bulbs, cosmetics, older dental fillings and some water can all be unwitting sources. Most of those can be avoided if you are paying attention. Fortunately water can be effectively filtered, (boiling will not do the trick). Alas we have no way of removing mercury from our fish, so we have to choose the safe ones to eat. Some fish have a much higher concentration of mercury than others. Some of the biggest culprits are farmed saltwater fish such as the yellowfin, Albacore and Ahi Tuna.  If you want to go deeper and get solid information about where all that mercury is coming from, click this link https://anglers.com/news/mercury-in-fish/ The fish that you choose makes all the difference. There are new guidelines available to help you navigate this. https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/questions-answers-fdaepa-advice-about-eating-fish-those-who-might-become-or-are-pregnant-or There are several excellent guides to take with you to the market https://www.nrdc.org/stories/smart-seafood-buying-guide https://www.seafoodwatch.org/ Based on their mercury levels, fish are grouped into: Best choices oysters, salmon (wild and Alaska, canned or fresh), sardines, scallops, shrimp, squid, and tilapia. Good choices Atlantic croaker, Atlantic mackerel, catfish, crab, crawfish, flatfish (flounder and sole), haddock, mullet, pollack, and trout. Fish to avoid bigeye tuna (often used in sushi. This is not the stuff in the can!), Gulf tilefish, king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, shark, and swordfish. Women who are planning on getting pregnant, those who are pregnant or breastfeeding and young children should NOT eat anything from the last category. Canned tuna is tough to figure out and it depends a bit on who you ask. I wasn’t able to get consistent recommendations. In 2014 Consumer reports went as far as suggesting that pregnant women avoid it all together, but for young kids, it likely falls in the middle category and is fine to have on a limited basis. The albacore (sadly this is my preference) has 3 times more mercury than the chunk light. The advice is to give 2-3 servings per week of the best fish or 1 serving a week of the good fish. A serving is considered 4 ounces for anyone over the age of 7. For kids 4-7 the serving size is 2 ounces. No parental guilt if you give fish from the middle category! Since most of us don’t have a food scale in the kitchen, a good trick is just use your palm. An adult size palm is roughly 4 ounces. Don’t make yourself too nuts trying to weigh and measure the portions. Any parent knows that kids will eat what they will eat, and some of it is going to be tossed on the floor and fed to the happy pets. Be aware that fish makes it to my list of high allergy foods. When you give it for the first time, make sure you keep an eye on your child. Severe reactions will generally show up within an hour.  Thanks so much to COTY the bass guy for motivating me to do this post! Ironically, bass didn’t show up on the list. I asked him about that! He told me that since bass is typically found in murky conditions, it gives them a muddy taste based on what they consume. While taste might not be the best, health-wise, it is perfectly safe to eat.