Sea Foods that We Should Stay Away From

Seafood 

Sea foods are perhaps one of the many foods out there that most of us would love to it. Not all of us are privileged enough to be able to grab a bite of these nutritious and interesting delicacies. Although sea foods are also a good source of different vitamins and minerals it is still important for us to be aware of the possible health hazards that we can get from eating them. Apart from the fact that some people are allergic to certain types of sea foods, there are also other health issues we should find out in order to avoid them. There also certain types of sea foods that we should not eat because they are already about to become extinct already and we can only help stop the killing if we stop patronizing their products or by avoiding buying them.

What are Sea foods?

Sea foods are foods that are of any kind of marine life that is considered edible to eat by humans. Sea foods actually come in different forms examples of which are fish, mollusks (shellfish), crustaceans (shrimp and lobster and echinoderms (sea urchins and sea cucumber). There are also edible plants from the sea that are part of the sea foods such as seaweeds and microalgae or microscopic algae found in sea water and they are also termed as sea vegetables. In many areas that are close to bodies of water, sea foods are their main source of protein.

List of Dangerous Sea Foods and Those We Should Avoid Eating:

As exciting as it for most of us to eat these delicious sea foods, it is really important that we know how to choose the right kinds of sea foods to keep us away from health problems and to make sure that we are not one of the many people in the world who are consuming sea creatures that are about to be extinct. Most of the dangerous sea foods in the list are considered exotic making it become even more important for us to be cautious when it comes to eating them.

seafood dish

• 1. Blowfish

Blowfish is a special delicacy in countries such as Japan and South Korea. The surprising thing about this fish is how it is poisonous and yet is still eaten by many people. In Japan, this fish is called Fugu and only trained chefs are allowed to handle this fish when preparing it because it contains a poison called tetrodotoxin in its organs specifically in its liver area, ovaries and the skin. When a person is poisoned, the tetrodotoxin will become a channel blocker causing muscle paralysis while a person is still awake. It will eventually cause the inability to breathe. The fish has been so known to be poisonous that it is banned in many places but there are still areas that sell this fish in secret.

• 2. Imported Russian Crabs

These type of crabs are those that come from Russia and almost to become extinct because ovf over harvesting. For clarification, these imported Russian crabs are often confused with Alaskan King Crabs but actually these two kinds of crabs are completely different. A possible explanation as to why these imported Russian crabs are becoming endangered is because there are supermarkets out there that label them as Alaskan King crabs—whether it’s done on purpose or not we should still be cautious about these crabs if we don’t want them extinct.

• 3. Jellyfish

Jellyfishes are prepared in an intricate manner and in a multiday process. They are mostly eaten in countries in Asia such as Japan and China to name a few. But because there are jellyfishes that are poisonous, the ones served in many places in Asia are the non-harmful ones that do not contain toxins but still we should be careful in eating them because they are usually served raw and are added to salads mixed with vinegar or soy sauce.

• 4. Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

The Atlantic Bluefin Tuna is one delicacy that lots of people love but there was a study released saying that this fish happens to have alarmingly high levels of Mercury than any other kinds of tuna. Mercury is really not good for our health even if we know that tuna is one nutritious, eating other kinds of tuna is not a problem just stay away from this one.

More Sea Foods to Avoid:

Seafood boil 

• 5. Shark’s fin Soup

Shark’s fin Soup is one dish that is often served in many parts in Asia especially in China. In China, people who eat this soup are only the wealthy because shark’s fins are quite expensive. The fins of different types of sharks are used in preparing this soup. The preparation involves peeling of the skin, shaping them and letting them dry thoroughly. Although the fins are not that tasty, a lot of people like this soup because of its texture and the ability of the fins to absorb flavor that the other ingredients of the soup has. This has been banned in other places to stop the killing because often, sharks are stripped off of their fins and are left to die.

• 6. Atlantic Salmon

Although salmons are one of the best kinds of fishes in the world, there has been recent warning about being cautious of eating the farmed ones from the wild ones. According to experts, the farmed Atlantic salmons are more at risk to disease and getting parasites because of the congested pens where they are placed. Things became much worse when genetically engineering these species were allowed and were sold in market without any labels.

• 7. Octopus

In places such as Japan, Hawaii and Portugal, octopus is one delicacy that they prepare in many ways but it is often eaten raw. These intelligent creatures are actually cut out of their legs while they continue to move around in your plate. They are really abundant of many vitamins and nutrients which is why a lot of people feed on them. In Korea, they call this the San Nak Ji or the live octopus. The hazards of eating this is how you can eat it without choking because at most cases its tentacles end up sticking to the roof of your mouth. It has been reported that a total of 6 deaths has been recorded in a year in South Korea due to choking upon eating this sea food.

• 8. Atlantic Flatfish

The Atlantic Flatfish is part of the list of dangerous sea foods because it is highly contaminated and is also fast becoming endangered. We should not eat them to not just keep away from the possible hazards it can bring to our health but in order to also allow them to reproduce.

• 9. Imported Shrimps

Not many are aware of this but imported shrimps are considered to be one of the dirtiest sea foods because they come with a number of contaminants that come in the form of antibiotics, chemical residue used for cleaning their pens, not to mention E. coli, rat hair, roaches and mouse hair too. Because most of the imported shrimps do not undergo inspection, they are most likely to be unhealthy.

• 10. Sea Cucumber

The Sea Cucumber is a delicacy in many southern and eastern cultures. It is eaten along with other vegetables, sometimes dried or at times raw. It is said to have a slippery and smooth texture. Sea cucumbers happen to contain a toxin found in its cuvierian tubules that when ejected can actually cause blindness.

Eating seafood 

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