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This article recently appeared in my local newspaper, The Philadelphia Inquirer. Interesting.... I really like Tilapia but don't think I'll be eating it in the future as frequently as I do now. I doubt I'll be substituting it with Sardines - don't know how anyone can eat Sardines -
Tilapia bad for your health?
By Faye Flam
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Consider the latest food to hit the danger list: farm-raised tilapia.
Researchers from Wake Forest University Medical Center say you're better off with a big juicy burger than with this mild, low-fat fish, which turns out to be high in an unhealthful form of fat called long-chain omega-6 fatty acids, especially when it's produced by fish farms.
Long chain omega-6 fats promote inflammation associated with heart disease, asthma, some cancers, Alzheimer's disease, stroke and other conditions, said Floyd Chilton, professor of physiology at Wake Forest and head of the study.
Is there anything left that the experts say we should eat? Not much, said Chilton, thanks to a large-scale corruption of the American food chain with cheap corn feed. That has altered the composition of fats found in beef, chicken, eggs and farmed fish, such as catfish and tilapia.
In tests, the researchers found that grain-fed tilapia concentrated even more of the worst fats than did grain-fed beef.
One animal-based food that Chilton recommends is wild-caught fish, such as salmon and sardines, since they contain inflammation-fighting omega-3 fatty acids. Unfortunately, he said, public health officials have been wrongly telling people to get more of this important nutrient by eating more fish without specifying what kind.
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