Popular fish is worse than bacon for your health

Tilapia is one of the most highly consumed fish in America. This type of fish has very low levels of beneficial omega – 3 fatty acids. The problem is that tilapia contains very high levels of omega –6 fatty acids which makes fish worse than bacon, according to Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

The researchers discovered that tilapia fish can turn out to be a dangerous food combination for dieters with heart problems, asthma, arthritis and some other allergic or auto – immune problems which are vulnerable when it comes to “exaggerated inflammatory response.” Nutritionists tend to recommend fish in every diet, but sometimes you have to watch out.

"In the United States, tilapia has shown the biggest gains in popularity among seafood, and this trend is expected to continue as consumption is projected to increase from 1.5 million tons in 2003 to 2.5 million tons by 2010," write the Wake Forest researchers in an article published this month in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Some individuals eat fish in order to control inflammatory diseases, particularly heart disease, but it is clear that tilapia or cat fish are not the best choices. The study shows that farm – raised tilapia or cat fish, has several fatty acids considered detrimental by the scientific community.

Tilapia was proved to have more fatty acid than a doughnut, bacon and a hamburger all put together. "Cardiologists are telling their patients to go home and eat fish, and if the patients are poor, they're eating tilapia. And that could translate into a dangerous situation”, according to Dr. Chilton from the New England Journal Medicine. 

This research was funded by the Office of Dietary Supplements of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), by an NIH Molecular Medicine training grant and by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

You should now think twice before going to the market and buying fish. Cheap fish is not always the best for your health.