I have 2 young kids and my wife are pregnant with another one. My wife have been frequently advise to eat more fish especially those with high Omega 3 content as Omega 3 are good for brain development. It also have the same benefits for young child and also benefit adult in one way or another.

However, I realize that there is also the concern of mercury content in fish especially popular high Omega 3 fish such as Tuna, Salmon and etc. To deal with that, I am thinking of eating plant based Omega 3 & local freshwater fish with lower Omega 3 content (not sure how low) but recently I heard that freshwater fish actually have higher mercury content that can affect brain development. I am confuse . Do you guys have any info about this?

Other than that, I also wanted to show my kids the photo of those fish before it is cooked & served on a plate as I noticed many youngster today don't even know what kind of fish that they're eating. (Including myself, I only know few but not really sure how to differentiate it). I don't want my kids to be like those kids in developed country like USA & etc that don't even realize the foods that they eat especially meat are living being that have head, feet, name and etc before being served as food.

And being a Chinese and living in Malaysia, I also want to know and tell my kids the name of those fish in Chinese, Malay and etc. Hope you guys have some info about this.

This post has been edited by Leo.Lee: Mar 13 2018, 04:28 PM

The keyword for this is "MODERATION"
Too much of something is not always good. So just give your lovely wife those healthy foods everyday. Don't think too much.

Google and you shall find..

Study shows not the type of fish, but where the fish comes from.. but of course, fish who eat fish (carnivorous) usually have higher mercury levels as they are concentrated.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4334092/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/27...nsular_Malaysia

This post has been edited by gark: Jan 17 2018, 11:34 AM

Live in kampung the best.

why not use supplements if got concern?

Not only pregnant.. if lifetime eat mercury tainted fish.. in kids and adults will lead to future complications..

Unless you avoid seafood altogether..

This post has been edited by gark: Jan 17 2018, 11:36 AM

deswai some ppl choose vegan

i guess one needs to eat a lot of fish to get mercury poisoning...BTW, don't drink water also cos i heard got a lot of female hormones in our water

Not really..



Depends on lifestyle..

This post has been edited by gark: Jan 17 2018, 11:39 AM

Freshwater in Malaysia is patin, keli, temoleh, ikan hantu and few others. Chinese names are patin, tong sat, soon hock, Tak you lei. Other species edible is wan yue and wang bu liao . Empurau.

Most is farmed except temoleh and wang bu liao which is still natural for now. Mercury comment is higher cause most farms do not wash their sangkar.

Marine edible species too many to name. Snapper and grouper the most common . That alone also variety of species and mostly farmed.

Jenahak, kerapu, bawal, siakap, ikan merah, semilang, etc etc are some of the more common ones. Red snapper, golden snapper, mutton snapper, mangrove Jack, tiger grouper, Goliath grouper, hybrid grouper, barramundi.
Chinese is the pan family , Lou Fu pan , sekpan , loong Dan for grouper and Zhou family is hung Zhou, Kam Zhou , pak Zhou for snapper family. Siakap is common species.

Most Marine fish are farmed as well.
Hybrid grouper is a cross between tiger and Goliath and hence is what you are eating in most of the restaurants. But they still coin it as sek pan, even though it's already crossed hybrid between 2 species.
Ok?

Mercury content depends on which Waters and which farm and their water structure.

Anyway.. not only Mercury.. but lead, arsenic, cadmium.. is also a concern..

so those who are vegetarian cannot pregnant?

reality ppl proven it can.

Tilapia I didn't mention cause it's not worth mentioning. Cod and salmon not available in msian Waters . Cobia, parang, gt all is game fish. Mekong is game fish.

bottom feeder and big fish more mercury as they live longer, eat more little fish with mercury. Eat sharkfin, very high mercury, die faster.

Eat salmon, less mercury, wallet cry... but good

Hi, I am no expert but I know some of the information that you needed. So, bear with me for my long essay.

Omega 3
Yes, the advice to consume more fish which is high in Omega 3 does help baby and young kids’ brain development. It also helps adults’ brain in a way of preventing dementia (also some other brain related disease), heart disease and some other illnesses. However, the brain beneficial Omega 3 actually refers to 2 out of 3 types of Omega 3 which is called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). The third types are called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). This is why the milk powder for infants and children are fortified with DHA and EPA. Noted that food that is fortified with DHA & EPA and Omega 3 supplements are no match for natural sources.

The sources which contain DHA & EPA are definitely come from meat or animal based. The animal based that have highest DHA & EPA are the marine animal (includes seals & whales) especially those oily fish which live at colder region because they need to keep a lot of fat in their body in order to thrive in cold region. Freshwater fish that live in colder region also have high amount of DHA & EPA compare to our tropical freshwater fish but lower compare to marine/saltwater fish that live in cold region. Other animal based that contain DHA & EPA but in lower content includes grass-fed cow & chicken egg.

The alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is usually found in plant such as walnut, flaxseed, chia seeds, soy, leafy greens and etc. Plant based contain little to none at all of DHA & EPA. As such, I don’t recommend to eat more plant in your search for beneficial DHA & EPA. I didn’t mean that ALA is bad for your health. ALA is also beneficial to human health in other ways and our body need ALA to transform it into DHA & EPA. However, this transformation of ALA into DHA & EPA in animals and human are not efficient.

All animal includes fish and human are only able to convert ALA into tiny amount of DHA & EPA. However, oily fish able to contain the highest amount of DHA & EPA by accumulation. It mean that ALA which contain in aquatic plant such as phytoplankton, algae, seaweed and etc are being eaten by small fish that convert ALA to DHA & EPA which lead to being eaten by medium fish which not only taken in the DHA & EPA from the small fish but also convert some ALA into DHA & EPA in its own body and so on until it reach the top of the food chain, the apex predator in the ocean such as tuna, salmon, mackerel and etc. Fish that live in cold water would save a lot of this ALA, DHA & EPA in its own body as part of its body fat while tropical fish didn’t save much.

Mercury
Mercury itself is a naturally occurring element that is present throughout the environment and in plants and animals but human industrial activity (such as coal-fired electricity generation, smelting and the incineration of waste) boost up the amount of airborne mercury which eventually finds its way into lakes, rivers and the ocean, where it is gobbled up by unsuspecting fish and other aquatic. This is one of the reasons that mercury contents in animal especially in fish are raising.

For your information, mercury usually refers to as inorganic form while the mercury in fish are the more toxic organic form called methylmercury but I will just refers it as mercury. It is true that freshwater actually contain more mercury than saltwater. However, it doesn't mean that freshwater fish have higher level of mercury than saltwater fish. Because in freshwater, mercury tends to latch onto decayed plant and animal matter, where sunlight can easily break it down. However in saltwater, mercury latches onto chloride (salt), where sunlight has less of an effect on those bonds. By being longer in saltwater, it increases the chance that a fish will ingest more of the mercury.

Once mercury gets into the marine food chain, it “bioaccumulates” in the larger predators in a same way as how Omega 3 accumulates. That’s why larger fish are generally riskier to eat than smaller ones. Fish not only accumulate mercury from consuming smaller fish. All fish absorb mercury from the water that passes through their gills. The longer the fish lives, the more mercury it will bio-accumulate. As such, species of fish that live in saltwater where mercury does not break down easily by the sunlight, long-lived and/or high on the food chain contain higher concentrations of mercury than others.


Solutions / Guides
As I mentioned earlier, mercury exist in our environment, plants and animals. It is just a matter of the level of mercury concentrations. As such, you could always choose fish which is low in mercury but high in Omega 3. Unfortunately for us, Malaysia doesn’t really that strict or efficient in providing an easy access and detailed list of mercury content in local fish (especially freshwater fish). The list below is from USA release by their U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Please be noted that since the list is from USA, the type of fish listed might be different/different name from what we know in Malaysia and/or Asia. (e.g. lobster - they refers to saltwater variety, the freshwater variety are called crayfish/crawfish in USA, bass such as sea bass, black bass are not our Asian Sea Bass/Barramundi/Kim Bak Lor).

Highest Mercury Fish
Pregnant and nursing women and young children should avoid fish high in mercury, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). High mercury fish to steer clear from include:
• Tilefish
• King mackerel
• Shark
• Swordfish
• Marlin
• Orange roughy
• Ahi Tuna
• Bigeye tuna

High Mercury Fish
While not the highest in mercury, you’ll still have to limit these mercury-containing fish to three 6-ounce (170g) servings (or less) per month.
• Spanish mackerel
• Gulf mackerel
• Albacore tuna
• Yellowfin tuna
• Sea bass
• Bluefish
• Grouper

Low to Moderate Mercury Fish
These fish contain low to moderate amounts of mercury, so it’s generally safe to eat up to six 6-ounce (170g) servings each month.
• Striped bass
• Black bass
• Saltwater bass
• Mahi Mahi
• Lobster
• Fresh water perch
• Sea trout
• Canned light tuna
• Skipjack tuna
• Cod
• Halibut
• Trout
• Whitefish

Lowest Mercury Fish
If you’re concerned about ingesting mercury from fish, choose fish lowest in mercury — especially if you’re pregnant or nursing. Low-mercury fish are excellent choices for children as well. The FDA says you can enjoy up to 12 ounces (340g) of low-mercury fish per week if you’re pregnant or nursing.
• Salmon
• Herring
• Haddock
• Anchovies
• Butterfish
• Crab
• Clam
• Crawfish
• Catfish
• Croaker
• Flounder
• Chub mackerel
• Atlantic mackerel
• Oysters
• Pollock
• Perch
• Mullet
• Mussel
• Rainbow trout
• Freshwater trout
• Sardines
• Shrimp
• Scallops
• Squid
• Sole
• Tilapia

Best for Pregnant Women
Not all low-mercury fish are high in omega 3 fatty acids, which are fats needed for proper brain development in babies and children — and important for brain health in adults. Therefore, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) provides a list of the best overall fish options for pregnant women because they’re low in mercury and good source of omega 3s:
• Sardines
• Herring
• Oysters
• Pollock
• Salmon
• Mussel
• Atlantic mackerel
• Rainbow trout

While the threat of mercury contents in fish are real and should be concerned. It may be made too extreme by the trends/hype. It is because mercury in fish has always been exists and human have ate it since ancient time. It is just made worse by human activity. While lesser mercury contents in those days are one of the reasons for the ancient people being not affected by mercury, there is another reason. That reason is selenium. There are some studies about how selenium prevents the bad effects of mercury on human body. And all fish contains selenium. As such, by eating fish which contain low mercury and moderate to high selenium, maybe even add some food which is high in selenium such as chicken egg, shiitake mushroom, white mushroom, chicken, brown rice, soy bean and etc into your diets, it should help you to be able to reap the benefits of Omega 3 while reduce the risk of mercury poisoning.

If you're still worry about the mercury in fish, maybe you should check your own mercury level first. After all, fish are not the only living beings that is affected. The next thing you know, you or your family already have high level of mercury contents in the body. Go for a blood mercury test. Women with a high blood mercury level who are planning to start a family may decide to postpone pregnancy for a few months until that level drops.

As for the name of edible fish, I assume fish which is locally available in Malaysia? For that, I will post later .

This post has been edited by xxhenry89xx: Jul 6 2018, 03:46 PM

Yeah its kind true.

I don't have the stats with me, but I saw one video, even Norweigian Salmon is tainted with mercury.

So whatever gain u have on Omega3 is set off by the sea pollution.

Apa susah....buy food supplement lah.

Then you should probably start learning the type of fish you can commonly find in supermarket. When you are shopping for grocery, head to seafood section there's fish with their name and price shown there. Market like giant, Tesco or Aeon should have listed them in BM & English, if either then Google it.

Also nowadays has website for online ordering fish that Chinese commonly eat like 非洲鱼, 白须公, and etcetera. Chinese restaurants mostly don't list them on menu so you have to ask them to know. It's much more easier to remember the fish you usually eat than just memorize and read about them on the web.

Why fuss over things like this? Might as well you live in a bubble - our air has tons of pollutions, high amount of carbon monoxide from the car exhaust fumes, etc etc.

Just do everything in moderation like what the other dude said, and you’ll be fine.

Mix your meat intake with other meats, and not just fishes your whole life and you should be fine.