Will Farmed Salmon Up My Cancer Risk? After hearing about all the health benefits of eating fish, I vowed to have it twice a week. I always go for salmon since it’s low in mercury, but a pal just told me farmed salmon is packed with cancer-causing toxins. I’ve been eating farm-raised fish, so I’m worried. Could my new dinner habit be harmful?
Here’s the scoop: Due primarily to their diet, farm-raised salmon have higher concentrations of 13 pollutants (including polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs) than wild salmon. Some experts theorize that these pollutants can accumulate in the human body, increasing the risk of immune-system dysfunction. On the flip side, salmon is one of nature’s richest sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which deliver a range of health benefits such a blood sugar regulation (to prevent weight gain) and protection against heart disease. So while opting for wild salmon might give you peace of mind, I believe the benefits of eating any salmon outweigh the potential risks. What’s more, simply removing the skin and grilling or broiling the fish on a rack (to let the fat drip off) can greatly reduce your toxin intake since most contamination accumulate in the skin and the fatty layer just beneath it.
