Which Is Worse, Eating Tilapia Or Bacon? You’ll Be Surprised!

Fish may be one of the best foods for our health, but it’s also one of the most detrimental. According to a new study, consuming farm-raised fish can be more toxic than eating bacon, a fatty pork with high amounts of sodium and saturated fat.

DrAxe.com reports that all seafood is not created equal and it’s imperative for us, as consumers, to find out where our fish is coming from, especially farm-raised breds like tilapia. “Recent studies have concluded that eating Tilapia may worsen inflammation that can lead to heart disease, arthritis, asthma and a world of other serious health problems,” the site reads. “In fact, scientists have found that the inflammatory potential of tilapia is far greater than that of a hamburger or pork bacon!”

Salmon lovers aren’t off the hook either. “Farmed salmon may have at least 10 times the amount of cancer causing organic pollutants compared to the wild variety,” Dr Axe details. “This can most likely be attributed to the feeds that are used on farm raised fish. If you knew what went into the feeds of farm raised fish you would be horrified. Apparently, chicken feces is one of the main ingredients that go into farm fish feed. Not only that, the transfer of pig and duck waste to fish farms is also a very common practice.”

High concentrations of antibiotics and pesticides cause problems as well. “Where do farm-bred fish get their antibiotics? The crowded conditions of fish farms cause the fish to be more susceptible to disease,” according to the article. “To keep them alive, farm owners give antibiotics to the fish to stave off disease. Farm-bred fish are also treated with pesticides to combat sea lice.”

“The pesticides used to treat these fish are so deadly,” it adds, “that they have been caused to kill wild salmon that are accidentally exposed to them.”

Check out a few more side effects here:

Farm-bred fish also have lower levels of healthy nutrients- Many of us consume fish, hoping to reap the omega-3 fatty acid benefits that come with it. However, did you know that the omega-3-acids that are found in farm-raised fish are less usable to our bodies compared to wild bred fish. Farm-raised fish also has a lower protein content. Not only that, because farm-raised fish are kept in cages, they have the tendency to be fattier, and can have a higher concentration of omega-6 acids. The problem with getting too much omega 3 and omega 6 acids is that they may cause inflammation to the body.

Dibutylin levels, a chemical used in PVC plastics is said to be 6 times higher in farm-raised mussels compared to wild ones – Dibutylin is toxic and can impair immune system function while also contributing to inflammation. Dibutylin may be the reason as to why there is a rise in asthma, obesity, allergies and other metabolic disorders in recent years.

Dioxin levels are 11 times higher in farm-bred salmon compared to wild salmon – Dioxin is actually a very toxic chemical that can contribute to cancer and other complications. The problem with dioxin is that once it enters our system, it can take a very long time until it is let out. The half life of dioxin is about 7 to 11 years.

Moral of the story: organic is always best. Check out the full report here to see why they called shrimp “the dirtiest of all seafood.”Culled