Fishy Gourmet Treats for Pescatarians
Food Hazards in Animal Flesh and By-products from All-Creatures.org Vegan Health Articles

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From

NotMilk.com
June 2014

Thus when used as food, fishes bring disease and death on those who do not suspect the danger.

In many places fish become so contaminated by the filth on which they feed as to be a cause of disease. This is especially the case where the fish come in contact with the sewage of large cities. The fish that are fed on the contents of the drains may pass into distant waters and may be caught where the water is pure and fresh. Thus when used as food they bring disease and death on those who do not suspect the danger.
- Ellen G. White, Ministry of Healing

Definition: A pescatarian is a self-professed vegetarian who eats neither red meat nor chicken, but eats ocean dwellers, incorrectly reasoning that sea creatures such as the cephalopod sea squid, cherrystone clam, and Patagonian toothfish (Chilean bass) feel no pain. Gourmet pescatarians give colorful names to such animals such as fried calamari, vongole oreganata, and blackened Chilean sea bass.

Today's scientific review was written by Spanish and Tunisian microbiologists and oceanographers and appears in the June 25, 2014 issue of Veterinary Microbiology.

Abstract (Unedited):

Fish are always in intimate contact with their environment; therefore they are permanently exposed to very vary external hazards (e.g. aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, viruses, parasites, pollutants). To fight off pathogenic microorganisms, the epidermis and its secretion, the mucus acts as a barrier between the fish and the environment. Fish are surrounded by a continuous layer of mucus which is the first physical, chemical and biological barrier from infection and the first site of interaction between fish's skin cells and pathogens. The mucus composition is very complex and includes numerous antibacterial factors secreted by fish's skin cells, such as immunoglobulins, agglutinins, lectins, lysins and lysozymes. These factors have a very important role to discriminate between pathogenic and commensal microorganisms and to protect fish from invading pathogens. Furthermore, the skin mucus represents an important portal of entry of pathogens since it induces the development of biofilms, and represents a favorable microenvironment for bacteria, the main disease agents for fish. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current knowledge of the interaction between bacteria and fish skin mucus, the adhesion mechanisms of pathogens and the major factors influencing pathogen adhesion to mucus. The better knowledge of the interaction between fish and their environment could inspire other new perspectives to study as well as to exploit the mucus properties for different purposes."

AND

In Michigan and several other areas, Diphyllobothrium latum, the fish tapeworn, has been identified in man. Opportunity for infection occurs when undercooked fish is eaten. A 51-year-old man passed a long, whitish string which he took to his physician. He had had no bowel complaints, but reported a fishing trip to the Northwest area eleven months before.
 
The fish tapeworm normally lives in the small intestine of fish in subarctic and temperate regions. It is the largest tapeworm found in man. It competes with the host for nutrients, which is the major cause for disability produced in man. Especially notable is megaloblastic anemia due to vitamin B-12 deficiency since the tapeworm inhabits the parts of the small bowel where B-12 is absorbed. Numbness of the extremities is the most common complaint, along with fatigue, weakness, and dizziness. All of these are vague and non-specific complaints and can go on for years before the appropriate diagnosis is suspected.
- Agatha Thrash, M.D.

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We began this archive as a means of assisting our visitors in answering many of their health and diet questions, and in encouraging them to take a pro-active part in their own health.  We believe the articles and information contained herein are true, but are not presenting them as advice.  We, personally, have found that a whole food vegan diet has helped our own health, and simply wish to share with others the things we have found.   Each of us must make our own decisions, for it's our own body.  If you have a health problem, see your own physician.