Why You Should Never Eat Tilapia??

For a long period we have known that fish is considered as a healthy source of protein compared to chicken, beef pork etc, it contains low levels of fat, calories and cholesterol. But at the same time, it consists of a good amount of vitamins, minerals some essential fatty acids which are considered as good for our health. 

Unfortunately, not all fishes are considered as good for health because some such fishes contain high levels of mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and dioxins meanwhile it can cause major health risks. Tilapia is one such fish that contains certain things which are not good for our health. In this blog, we will explore why you should not eat tilapia.

Tilapia, a common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the Cichlidae family is one of the most farm-raised fish that many people eat, there are some other reasons also, people eat tilapia because of its cheap cost and delicious taste. According to the National Institute Of Fisheries, Tilapia is the fourth most consumed seafood in the United States. 

There are some reasons why you should not eat tilapia, one of the main issues is how they are produced. The farming process of tilapia is in freshwater tanks, where they are produced in huge numbers and in crowded conditions and fed soya-based food, which leads to the consumption of antibiotics.

Reasons why you should not eat Tilapia

• Most fish contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial for our health because they help to lower our blood pressure, and cholesterol in our bloodstream, they can also prevent arthritis, heart disease, etc. But, according to Wake Forest University in 2008, they say that tilapia contains more omega 6 compared to omega 3 (ratio of 11: 1). Omega 6 is also needed for our health but in lower amounts (2: 4). Intake of higher omega 6 will leads to increasing the risk of arthritis, asthma, other inflammatory conditions.

• There is something just a guess or idea that is not certain. According to the Economic Research Service of the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2009, the farm-raised seafood imported from China is localized in industrialized regions where the air, water, and soil all are exposed to toxins substances, there are some news organizations reported that the practice of feeding animal faeces in tilapia farm was rampant in china.  Then In 2006, all the seafood, imported tilapia fishes, was avoided.
• Since there are so many fish that are raised in crowded fish pens, that’s why tilapia are more prone to be infected, that’s why farm owners use antibiotics to prevent them from any kind of diseases. They also use some pesticides for treating some common diseases.
• Tilapia will contain some components of toxic chemicals because of the environmental conditions where they are raised in
• Some study showed that tilapia also contains some rare bacteria (eg: Vibrio vulnificus). 

Conclusion

Hence, tilapia contains huge amounts of contaminants or antibiotics which are not good for our health. The amount of risk associated with are present in this fish is much higher. So after all the info which are mentioned above, if you choose to eat tilapia, please make sure they have properly labelled on it.