Micronutrients are a type of nutrients necessary for the human body, mainly including vitamins and dietary minerals. According to statistics, 2 billion people in the world lack micronutrients, and the lack of micronutrients causes nearly 1 million premature deaths every year. Nearly half of the deaths of children under 5 in the world are due to the lack of micronutrients.

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In fact, people can get nutrients from a variety of foods. As a common food, fish are rich in protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and minerals such as iron, zinc, iodine, and selenium. Material, but it is often overlooked by people.

In October 2019, a new study was published in the top international academic journal Nature. The article revealed that although some nutritious fish species in the world are caught in coastal areas, there are still many malnutritions in coastal areas. Children and residents.

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The author of the article, a coral reef research team from James Cook University, recorded the concentration of 7 important nutrients in 367 fish species from 43 countries, and quantified the global distribution of nutrients in marine fisheries by establishing a predictive model.

Research results show that tropical fish contains high levels of calcium, iron and zinc, which are essential for human growth and health. This may be due to heavy rains in the tropics that flush these nutrients from the land to the ocean, thereby increasing the concentration of these nutrients in the marine food web.

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Asians and Africans often advocate eating small fish that contain higher concentrations of calcium, zinc and Omega-3 fatty acids than fish from other regions.

Omega-3 fatty acids have important functions for the cardiovascular and nervous system. Studies have shown that the use of Omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the risk of heart death, coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke.

Large aquatic mammals living in cold regions have higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids. This is because large mammals often feed on plankton, which is the main source of Omega-3 fatty acids in the ocean.

In addition, fish in deeper waters contain higher concentrations of selenium. Fish with high trophic levels (higher consumers) in cold regions but shorter fish have lower vitamin A concentrations.

Based on calculations and statistics on the nutrients contained in fish, researchers can make global estimates of nutrient concentrations in marine fishing grounds around the world.

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Dr. David Mills, a collaborator from JCU Coral CoE, is a senior researcher at WorldFish. He said that fish is an important source of protein, omega-3 fatty acids and micronutrients such as iron, zinc, and calcium. Such nutrient deficiencies can also lead to increased maternal mortality and childhood growth retardation to a certain extent.

The first author of the study, Professor Christina Hicks, believes that this study shows that people have fished enough nutrients from the ocean, but in some countries, these nutrients have not reached the hands of the local population, and these people often need it. Nutritious.

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These areas include parts of Africa, Asia, the Pacific and the Caribbean. Although there is a lot of fishing, they are still areas with severe malnutrition.

For example, Asian and African fish have high iron and zinc content. 100 grams of fish can provide children under 5 with the iron and zinc content they generally need. However, children in this part of the region are deficient in micronutrients. very serious. Currently, more than 50% of coastal countries are at risk of moderate to severe malnutrition.

Researchers believe that if a small part of the fish caught is used in the daily diet of residents, the health of many children in tropical coastal areas will be significantly improved, and this will make a huge contribution to global human health.

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When it comes to "big fish and big meat", people are often associated with the "three highs" and unhealthy diets. In order to prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, some people even refuse all meat. Although high-oil and high-fat diets increase the risk of chronic diseases, fish should be excluded.

The cardiovascular benefits of eating fish are beyond imagination

Recently, the "European Heart Journal" published a research analysis based on 420,000 people in the British biological database, which showed that compared with people who eat red meat, people who eat fish have ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure. The risk was reduced by 21%, 30%, 21%, and 22%, respectively; the risk of cardiovascular disease in vegetarians was only reduced by 9%. The cardiovascular benefits of eating fish meat are not only higher than those who eat red meat, but also better than vegetarians. Researchers at Oxford University have also published a study that lasted 18 years. They divided the participants into a carnivorous group (including red meat, fish eggs and milk), a fish eating group (including vegetables and fish), and a vegetarian group (including eggs, milk and vegetables), and the different groups had ischemic heart disease. And assess the risk of stroke. It was found that the meat-eating group had a high risk of disease, followed by the vegetarian group, and the fish-eating group had a low risk.

Xu Dingli, chief physician of the Department of Cardiology, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, explained that red meat contains higher saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, which is one of the chief culprits leading to elevated blood lipids. Fish meat is different. Because it is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, some fish meat is also rich in taurine (especially cuttlefish and squid), which can not only promote the metabolism of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ("bad cholesterol"), but also increase serum levels. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol ("good cholesterol"). Studies have shown that "good cholesterol" can prevent the occurrence of atherosclerosis and protect the heart and brain blood vessels to a certain extent. Because vegetarians do not eat meat, they can naturally reduce the "bad cholesterol" in the blood and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, they may have other negative effects on the body due to unbalanced nutrition. Therefore, compared with the other two diets, eating fish can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. As early as 2018, "Eating fish is good for the heart" was written into the scientific consensus of the American Heart Association. However, in the current diet of most people, the intake of fish is far from enough, and the intake of red meat is often exceeded.

Fish stands on top of the meat pyramid

In fact, fish meat is not only healthier than red meat, even poultry, which is also white meat, is slightly inferior. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Internal Medicine confirms that eating more red meat and processed meat will increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause death; frequent consumption of poultry meat will also lead to a slight increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease ; There is no such risk when eating fish.

"Among many meats, fish retains the advantages of meat foods, but also makes up for the shortcomings of most meat foods." Chen Shunsheng, a professor at the School of Food Science at Shanghai Ocean University, said that the protein in fish is high-quality, not only high in content. For white meat such as chickens and ducks, the proportion of essential amino acids in protein is higher than that of red meat, which is one of the main sources of high-quality protein. In addition, fish meat has less muscle matrix protein, shorter muscle fibers, and delicate meat. Compared with poultry and red meat, it tastes softer and easier to digest and absorb. Due to the different growth environment, fish meat contains more vitamins and minerals than terrestrial animals, such as calcium, iron, zinc, iodine, vitamin A, vitamin D, and B vitamins. In addition, fish meat is also rich in biological functional ingredients such as DHA, glutathione, and taurine. Because of this, the benefits of fish meat to health are not only heart-protecting, but also many.

Good for brain health. The omega 3 fatty acids rich in fish meat can promote brain development and increase the gray matter layer in the brain that controls the memory area, thereby enhancing memory. A study published by Columbia University in the journal Neurology found that eating more fish can resist the brain damage caused by air pollution. Under the same level of air pollution, the brains of subjects with lower levels of omega 3 fatty acids in the blood The degree of shrinkage is even higher.

Reduce gastrointestinal burden. Modern people often go to restaurants and eat takeaways. A diet high in sugar and fat has greatly increased the burden on the stomach and intestines, and there are more and more people suffering from chronic digestive diseases. Compared with other meats, fish is easier to digest. Appropriate consumption can not only meet the human body's demand for meat food, but will not increase the burden on the intestines and stomach.

Protect eyesight. "Ophthalmology Archives" published two studies at the same time. A study of 681 elderly men in the United States showed that those who ate fish twice a week had a 36% reduction in the probability of developing macular degeneration. Another five-year follow-up survey of 2,335 Australian adults showed that those who eat fish once a week have a 40% lower risk of suffering from age-related macular degeneration.

Conducive to weight control. Xu Dingli said that compared with the same amount of red meat, fish meat has lower calories, and the fat is mostly unsaturated fatty acids, which can avoid obesity caused by fat accumulation in the body. Obesity is the fuse of many chronic diseases, and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, etc. are inseparable from it. When the total calories are not excessive, eating more fish and less red meat will help you control your weight.

Eat right to enjoy health benefits

Eating fish is good, but the premise is that it is selected correctly, done well, and has balanced nutrition. Chen Shunsheng said that the richer the food, the more comprehensive the nutritional intake. When eating fish, you should also match vegetables, staple foods, etc., while controlling the intake of other meats, otherwise the total calorie, total protein and total fat intake will exceed the standard, which is also not good for health. In addition, the choice and cooking of fish varies from person to person.

Patients with chronic diseases or high-risk groups eat more marine fish. Overweight and obesity, family genetic history of chronic diseases, the elderly, etc., are often high-risk groups of chronic diseases, and attention should be paid to controlling blood lipids. Marine fish contain more unsaturated fatty acids than freshwater fish. You can usually eat more marine fish, especially the long cylindrical migratory fish, such as mackerel (mackerel, herring, mackerel), Trevally (pond fish, horse mackerel), sardines, saury, mackerel, bonito, tuna, etc.

The elderly and children choose fish with few spines. The elderly and younger children have weak digestive functions, and there is a risk of being caught by the bones if they are not paying attention when eating fish. Therefore, it is recommended to choose white meat fish with few bones and fine meat, such as turbot, flounder, and pomfret Wait.

Steaming is a better way to eat. Fish cooking methods include steaming, braising, frying, roasting, frying, etc. The healthy method is steaming, which can not only retain the original delicious flavor of the fish, but also reduce the intake of oil and salt. Generally speaking, fresh white-fleshed fish, such as turbot, sea bass, etc., have high nutritional value, good taste, and suitable for steaming; fish with reddish or gray-brown flesh, such as mackerel, spaniel, sardines, etc., have a strong smell. You can choose braised sauce, but you should control the addition of oil and salt during cooking; fish with high fat content, such as saury, has a good grilled flavor, but people with high blood fat should eat less. In addition, it is not recommended to fry fish during cooking. This practice will destroy the nutrition of the fish, making it difficult to digest and absorb, and may also lead to excessive intake of fats.

Pick fish that are fresh and eighty large. Choose fresh freshwater fish. Fish with poor physique is not flexible, or the fish’s mouth is close to the water, or the tail is swimming down, or the fish is floating sideways on the water (“turning the belly”). It is recommended not to buy them. Marine fish are mostly refrigerated. When distinguishing, the eyes and scales of the fish must be shiny and the body of the fish must be complete. The size of the fish is about eighth, too small with many spines, and too big with rough meat.

Source: Comprehensive International Science, Life Times