Something Fishy
Once in a while you read an article in a parenting magazine that scares the &*% out of you. Last month’s Today’s Parent had an articleby William Sears that discussed NDD, nutritional deficit disorder. He essentially said that if your child is not getting enough Omega 3, they could have difficulties in school and show signs of ADD.
He went on to say that Omega 3 from flax is probably not good enough, it should be from either fish oil or wild salmon. Now, I love the Sears familythey have popularized a loving and thoughtful approach to parenting. But hello? Trying to get kids to take fish oil is a close-to-impossible task without some major tears and/or promises of video games daily. I still have the bottle of lemon-flavoured fish oil in the cupboard from years ago, I couldn’t force it down either. And I like fish.
As for eating lots of wild salmon, that isn’t happening on a weekly basis either. I have one kid who will have one bite when we talk him into it, and another who likes smoked salmon but then I am left with the guilt of knowing she is most likely eating nasty farmed Atlantic salmon which is a whole other issue.
Incorporating fish into your diet is really,really tough if you are a conscientious shopper. Due to poor seafood management, there are many, many species of fish whose stocks are dangerously low. On top of that, the warnings about the mercury levels in some fish (especially tuna) makes me consider never eating fish again.
It would be a lot easier to know what to do if the information was consistent but there is so much conflicting information out there that it is hard to know what to do when wild doesn’t necessarily mean better. It can seem a lot easier to walk by the seafood counter instead of figuring out which fish is good for you and not in danger of going the way of the Triceratops.
One thing I have done is carry around a little chart from the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California that divides seafood into three categories: Best Choices, Good Alternatives and Avoid. The aquarium monitors fish stocks and fishing practices around the world and has become an advocate for safe seafood. They also have action cards that you can leave behind at restaurants or fish counters when they are stocking fish on their “alert” list. I have never given out one of the cards but whenever I see Chilean Sea Bass on a menu I do let the chef know that what I think.
If you want to get down and dirty on the topic than Barry Easterbrook at www.politicsoftheplate.com is a great resource, but be warned it is dirty out there in the oceans and you may never eat farmed salmon, shrimp or many, many other foods again (I haven’t bought another Florida tomato, thanks Mr. Easterbrook).
Once you have the most politically-correct fish that is low in mercury and other contaminants then what? You enjoy it with your husband and hope that the kids see that smile on your face and want to join in. Short of that, you could try: frying it in a cornmeal crust; or dousing it with teriyaki sauce or throwing it in a taco or burger bun.
And if the kids don’t eat it, don’t despair. I met a 90-year old woman the other day who grew up in Siberia. She ate bread and potatoes for 30 years straight and she is 90, and healthy and happy and can’t understand why we parents get all twisted up about these things. My guess is that there weren’t any parenting magazines in Siberia.
