Tag: Fish

Is Smoked Fish Dangerous To Your Health?

Post author By Akinrodola Owanikin
Post date 6 November, 2016
No Comments on Is Smoked Fish Dangerous To Your Health?

I have gotten this question a lot on this blog — people have asked me a lot if the smoke used for smoke fish pose any danger to their health. I plan to use this article to talk a little about the process of fish smoking and smoking of food in general. I will also answer this question to the best of my knowledge here with facts to back my answers.

Smoking remains a popular food preservation method in this part of the world. Smoking develops a lot of flavors in fish that many people have forgotten that smoking should be for preservation, they just want to get that characteristic smoked fish flavor in their mouth.

In one of my previous articles about the dangers of eating Suya, I mentioned smoking and some of the other potential dangers. You can still read that article.

What is Food Smoking?

Smoking can be simply defined as the process of flavouring, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning materials. The material most commonly used is wood.

Wood contains three major components — cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, that are broken down in the burning process to form smoke. Typical smoking of fish is either cold (28–32°C) or hot (70–80°C). Hot smoking is what is prevalent around here.

When I talk about smoking in this article, I mean the traditional, common smoking process using smokes from burning woods or wood shavings. Smoking was originally carried out on food (including fish) to preserve them. However, since the advent of freezing and other preservation methods, smoking is now mostly done to develop the unique taste and flavour imparted by the smoking process.

So, is smoking of fish dangerous to human health?

Honestly, there is no straight answer to this caution and one has to tread the line of caution when advising people. One cannot just say smoked fish is dangerous to health. No.

The main potential danger associated with smoking of fish and other foods is PAH. When wood is burned, Polycylclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH)—a class of carcinogens—are formed. These are deposited on foods and are known to cause cancer. You would recall I mentioned this in this article.

However, when people talk about whether smoking of food is dangerous or not, some forget to take the dose into consideration. Yes, PAHs are dangerous, there is no doubt about that but the dose that we take in will determine if it will lead to the onset of cancer or not.

Generally, foods smoked commercially in a manufacturing facility have been found to contain lower levels of PAHs compared to those smoked in noncommercial settings. An example of the latter is those we by in many open markets, displayed in the open and wrapped in nylons or papers when we purchase. There is no way to determine the level of PAHs in this, unless the necessary tests are carried out.

Since, we cannot test those fishes before buying them, we cannot determine if they contain low or the level of dose that has been found to be harmful to experimental animals.

If you ask me, I’d say you should enjoy your smoked fish with caution. If you are someone that only enjoys an occasional smoked fish meal—and are not a daily consumer—then PAH from smoked fish and other foods is most likely not a health concern for you.

Tags Fish, PAHs, Smoking

Food & Body

Foods That Help To Clear Acne, Pimples, Blackheads

Post author By Ahmed Ogundimu
Post date 15 July, 2016
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In one of our previous articles, we talked about food that could contribute to development of acne and pimples. We mentioned that different foods could lead to pimples for different people. With that said, did you know that there are foods that can help you fight and get rid of pimples too? If you didn’t know, let me tell you there are foods that do help.

Acne is a very common skin disease characterized by pimples on the face, check and back. We cannot overstate the importance of healthy diet. It may interest you that good and healthy diet is also the key to acne-free skin.

Some Foods That Will Help Clear Acne, Pimples, Blackheads

Okay, here are some foods (and supplements) that can help you to get rid of pimples on your face;

Stay Hydrated — Drink a lot Water

This might appear like, who doesn’t know that? Yes, but did you know it could help in getting rid of your acne? Water is regarded as the foundation of healthy and clear skin, so aim for 8 glasses of water every day.

Water will keep your skin hydrated and will help in flushing out acne-causing chemicals.

Drink Green Tea To Clear Acne

Catechins is a type of natural phenol and antioxidant. These substances help get rid of free radicals and also act as anti-inflammatory. Green tea is a great source of these anti-oxidants.

Drinking a cup of green tea every day will go a long way in clearing your face of acne. It will help with the redness, puffiness, and soreness of acne.

Foods Rich In Selenium

In one of our previously published article, we mentioned how selenium really helps in improving sex drive. We also mentioned foods that contain them. Well, that’s not the only thing it does — Selenium can also help clear out acne.

Whole grains like rice, corn and foods with whole grains, like cereals, breads, and pastas, are good sources of selenium. As well as helping to clear acne, Selenium also helps prevent it.

Fish, Walnut, Flaxseed Help With Acne

In short, we are talking about foods that are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. Eating more omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in fatty fish, walnuts, flaxseed, and the like, can help suppress the development inflammation and improve acne breakouts.

Food Supplements

Sticking to a diet plan is usually difficult for many people. That is why food supplements come in for people who cannot stick to the plan and desire faster results compared to when using diet.

There are supplements made from fruits, foods and herbs that can help get rid of acne. If you however, already have pimples on your face and will like to get rid of those fast, using some external skin care products is very important. A lot of people, all over the world have made use of these supplements with great success.

If you are interested in getting these supplements, you can easily send an email to foodsng2015@gmail.com and you will be pointed to the right direction. You can also call this number 08183430780 but you will get a better and detailed response via email.

It is important to note that you cannot use supplements and eat whatever you like. It doesn’t work that way. You need to observe and identify the foods that cause acne on your face and eliminate them.

ALSO SEE: Does Chocolate Cause Acne (Pimples Breakout)?

Tags Fish, Food Supplements, Green Tea, Omega-3, Selenium, Water

Food & Health

You Think Fresh Fish Is Better Than Frozen Fish, See This

Post author By Oluwafemi Ajayi
Post date 5 June, 2016
1 Comment on You Think Fresh Fish Is Better Than Frozen Fish, See This

Fresh Fish vs Frozen Fish: Which Is The Healthier Option? — People have always asked which is better between fresh fish and frozen fish. There is this general belief that fresh foods are always healthier than their preserved form. This is also true for sea foods like fish. A lot of people I asked this question before writing this article believed that fresh fish is always healthier than frozen fish.

I am going to discuss in this post, why fresh fish may not always be healthier than frozen fish.

Caught fish begins to spoil and deteriorate in quality immediately after death. This process is a gradual one that starts from development of undesirable flavors to softening of the flesh and eventually substantial losses of fluid containing protein and fat. At this point, the fish may start to smell. Therefore, one could say it’s safer to start preservation of fish immediately.

How Freezing Is Used To Preserve Fish?

Before I go into details of this, let me explain how freezing is used to preserve fish. About 60-80 percent of fish is water depending on the species. By reducing the temperature of the dead fish (refrigeration or freezing), deterioration can be slowed down.

If the temperature can lowered and maintained low enough, spoilage can be almost stopped. Fast freezing is used to preserve fish immediately they are captured and therefore, the water composition of the fish is made into fine ice crystals. This preserves the fish as well as protect the tissues from damages.

So, Is Fresh Fish Healthier Than Frozen Fish?

I wouldn’t say yes to that. Unless you are absolutely sure it’s high-quality and fresh fish, your best option is to go for frozen fish. Because fish is flash-frozen immediately after being caught, little or no spoilage occurs and the nutrients in the fish are preserved. After thawing the fish, the fish should still have quality and be as near as healthy as when they were caught.

Fresh fish that was never frozen may have spent a number of days on fishing ships. Their qualities would have reduced during this period and they would no longer be as healthy. If I have to answer the question of which is better or healthier between fresh and frozen fish, i would say that you should only trust fresh fish that you killed yourself.

We should strive to eat healthy fish for a number reasons — It lowers blood pressure, cuts the risk of irregular heartbeats, and drops the risk of fatal heart disease by 36%.

ALSO SEE: Is Catfish Truly Toxic To Your Health?

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Tags Fish, Frozen Foods

Food & Body

Foods That Help You Get A Good Night’s Sleep

Post author By Ahmed Ogundimu
Post date 30 July, 2015
No Comments on Foods That Help You Get A Good Night’s Sleep

Sleeplessness is a condition that is fast becoming common in the lives of many and a whole lot of the people struggling with these are completely unaware that foods can actually be helpful in triggering drowsiness or sleepiness. The unhealthy thing about this condition which is technically called insomnia is that it affects the entire body function and activities.

Tiredness, sluggishness, and moodiness could become your daily expressions. It has even been reported based on various researches that certain minerals are critical in the remedy of insomnia.

Ask a few of your friends or colleagues – How was your night? Did you sleep well? I bet many of them will tell you that they had a difficult time sleeping. Usually, so many factors are involved but foods can be a good remedy especially if you consume the foods at dinner. Let’s check some of the foods that can help induce sleep.

1. Herbal Tea:

Herbal Tea is one of the foods that has been helpful in making people get some sleep for many decades. In fact, there are many tea varieties that make people be more sleepy. These teas are known to put the body in a relaxed state. A popular herbal tea known to be effective is chamomile tea.

A cup of tea before bed will help you relax and fall asleep faster. Lemongrass tea is also known for helping you fall asleep. Caffeinated teas should be avoided as you all know they work in the opposite direction.

2. Yoghurt:

Dairy products are loaded with calcium and yogurt can be helpful in removing the stress out of your body and this helps you fall asleep more easily. Calcium helps the brain make use of a certain amino acid called tryptophan to manufacture a sleep-inducing substance called melatonin.

This explains why dairy products, which contain both tryptophan and calcium, are one of the top sleep-inducing foods. It is not advisable to consume whole milk products because they are not better tolerated at bedtime compared to healthy bacteria loaded yoghurt.

When taking Yoghurts, go for the quality brands that produce real yoghurt. See how to know those good yoghurts here (opens in new tab).

3. Banans:

Banana is a super night snack particularly for those hoping to gain few pounds of flesh. Asides this, research has shown that a certain mineral such as magnesium is effective as a natural remedy for insomnia.

A lack of this mineral may cause you to wake up after a few hours and not return to sleep. Other magnesium-rich foods include spinach, nuts, seeds, fish and whole grains. Fortunately, it is one of the foods you can healthily snack on at night.

4. Fish

We have said so much about fish before. As a person, I prefer fish to meat. They contain more nutrients and the fats in many of them are the healthy type and more beneficial. There is no way we want to look at it, eating fish is better than eating meat.

Most fish—and especially salmon and tuna—have a significant amount of vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 is needed to make melatonin – a sleep-inducing hormone triggered by darkness. This has also been confirmed by an article published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

5. Almonds and nuts rich in Magnesium

Almonds contain tryptophan and magnesium. These two components help to naturally reduce muscle and nerve function while also steadying your heart rhythm. You would note that many of the foods we have mentioned above too either have magnesium or tryptophan.

Other nuts and seeds that are rich in magnesium include, almonds, sunflower seeds, Brazil nuts, cashews, pine nuts, flaxseed, and pecans.

You may want to add these nuts to your diet. They are even easy to snack on at night before you go to bed. They will relax you and help induce a good night sleep.

6. Sound Night Sleep? Eat Cherries!

I have heard and read uncountable times that the best way to get a good night’s sleep is to increase your melatonin intake. We talked about this melatonin under yoghurt as a sleep-inducing substance. Some other foods foods other than yoghurt contain it too.

Cherries, along with nuts and oats, are a natural source of melatonin and, when eaten regularly, can help regulate your sleep cycle. I guess this is why some people would ask that you add coffee to their oat when they take it as breakfast – they don’t want to be sleeping about.

People have reported that alcohol and milk chocolate help them sleep but I wouldn’t recommend that. Alcohol makes you wake up with a hangover and you don’t want to eat chocolate just before going to bed.

7. Honey

It has been found that honey contains glucose, which tells your brain to shut off orexin. Orexin is the chemical that is known to trigger alertness. So, when glucose tells your brain to stop the supply of orexin, you become less alert (somewhat dull) and feel sleepy.

When you are taking honey for this purpose, you should not overdo it. One tablespoon for a good night’s sleep is more than enough. Make sure you get the real honey though. See how to identify real honey.

Please note, you should avoid eating heavily at night particularly close to bed time as it will affect your sleepiness. Other foods that I find to be effective in inducing sleepiness include garri, potatoes and some other carbohydrate loaded foods.

Understand the saying “different strokes for different folks”. What works for someone might not work for the other. So, we would like to hear from you to share foods that you eat which triggers sleepiness.

Tags Almonds, Banana, Cherries, Fish, Honey, Magnesium, Tea, Yoghurt

Food & Body

Foods That Suppress Appetite And Make You Less Hungry

Post author By Ahmed Ogundimu
Post date 24 June, 2015
No Comments on Foods That Suppress Appetite And Make You Less Hungry

Whether you are on a weight loss mission or you are fasting and want to resist the urge to eat by suppressing your appetite for food, you should know that there are some foods that you can add to your diet in order to achieve this. Some of these foods are foods that we see and eat often for their taste but they have other functions we may have not noticed; others, many people don’t like to eat because of their taste.

The objective of fasting (not for religious reasons) and weight-loss plan is to make you eat less and burn more calories than you consume, therefore, you cannot afford to eat large quantities of foods.

So what now happens when you get hungry?

When your body needs food, it produces a hormone called ghrelin that causes hunger — it signal hunger to the brain when it gets secreted. You start having some elevated level of appetite — this you can suppress by eating some of the foods listed in this article.

Foods That Help To Curb Hunger & Appetite for Foods

When you add these foods to what you eat in the right manner, you won’t get hungry like you usually would.

1. One piece of Apple can do the magic

Of course you know the saying that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”. This is very true and one of the ways it is true is that eating an apple before or after a meal helps keep you full faster and for a longer period.

It has been reported that the pectin in a piece of apple can keep you full for 1-2 hours. So, why don’t you just eat apple before and after your food. It tastes great and even contributes to whitening of teeth amongst other benefits.

2. High-Water, High-Fiber Foods help curb hunger

These type of foods that are high in water and fibers give us the feeling of being full and prevent us from eating too much. Example of such foods is the vegetable family — they fill the stomach, and helps digestion. These foods, even when you eat large volumes of them, are usually low in caloric density. Therefore, they help you shed weight without feeling like you’re on a restrictive diet.

Often when we want to lose weight, what we do is to eat less foods. But what if you could cut calories, yet still eat plenty of food, and not be feel hungry? This is the dream of any dieter and these type of foods should be incorporated into your diet.

These vegetables, for example Lentils, Lima beans, Spinach, etc., will help you through your diet plan and not make you give up when it matters most. You are often full, less hungry and cutting on your calorie intake. These high fibre foods also help prevent constipation and relieve it in case we have it.

Barbara Rolls, PhD, and some of her colleagues at Pennsylvania State University have done extensive research on the “volumetric” theory of eating more low-calorie, high-volume foods.

They have this to report; ”We have found in numerous studies that when you allow people to eat as much as they want of foods that are high in volume yet low in density (calories), they eat less at the meal or during the day.”

3. Lean Protein Helps To Reduce Hunger Too

If you are wondering about what lean protein is, here is a quick description; many proteins are high in saturated fats that contribute to cardiovascular disease, so it is better to consume lean proteins. These lean proteins are described as a 1-ounce serving that has 2 to 3 grams of fat.

There is evidence of the ability of lean protein from foods such as lean meat, fish, poultry (chicken, turkey, for example), soybeans, and eggs, to help with fullness and weight loss. The white meat from chicken and turkey are especially good sources of lean protein. Fish provides lean protein together with omega-3 fatty acids that lower cholesterol and inhibit inflammation.

Wayne Campbell, PhD, a professor of Nutrition at Purdue University said “You are most likely to feel fuller after eating protein than other nutrients, including fiber, and one of the theories behind why higher-protein diets work well with weight loss is because it helps you not feel hungry.”

It may also interest you to know that even though you can add lean protein at any meal you want to take, research has shown that adding it to your breakfast may be better than other meals in the day. A research that was conducted on this theory revealed that when people eat foods like eggs that rich in protein for breakfast, they tend to eat less during the day compared o when they eat foods that are rich in carbohydrates.

With this knowledge in your head, you can actually start your weight loss diet by including these foods in your meal. If you are going to fast for religious or health reasons (fasting has a lot of health benefits), you can also ad these foods to those that you eat in the morning as they make you full without adding calories to your body. It is not surprising that breakfast is regarded as the most important meal of the day.

Tags Apple, Chicken, Fasting, Fish, Hunger, Meat, Omega-3, Vegetables