Many people love to eat fish. Fish is not only delicious but also nutritious. However, what should you pay attention to when eating fish?
Eating Fish: Taboos
1. Eating Fish on an Empty Stomach—Leads to "Gout"
In today's era of prevalent diet trends, many people prefer to eat only vegetables and skip rice. It's common to eat fish on an empty stomach, but this can easily trigger a gout attack. Gout is a disease caused by purine metabolic disorders, leading to an increase in blood uric acid and subsequent tissue damage.
Moreover, most fish are rich in purines. If you consume a large amount of purine-rich fish on an empty stomach without sufficient carbohydrates to break them down, the body's acid-base balance will be disrupted, which can easily induce gout or worsen the condition of those who already have it.
2. Eating Raw Fish—Risk of "Clonorchiasis"
Many people enjoy the tender and delicious taste of raw fish, but they may not realize that eating it raw is very harmful to the liver and can easily lead to clonorchiasis, and even trigger liver cancer.
According to experts in nutrition and health, clonorchiasis is a parasitic disease primarily affecting the liver and bile ducts. Humans are highly susceptible to infection by eating raw or undercooked freshwater fish, shrimp, or snails that contain live Clonorchis sinensis metacercariae. Currently, in Guangdong Province alone, there are millions of patients with clonorchiasis, many of whom contracted the disease precisely from eating raw fish or shrimp.
Common clinical symptoms include fatigue, upper abdominal discomfort, indigestion, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dull pain in the liver area, hepatomegaly (enlarged liver), and dizziness. In severe cases of late-stage infection, it can lead to cirrhosis with ascites, and even death.
3. Killing and Eating Fish Immediately—Residual Toxens Harm the Body
Most people believe that the fresher the fish, the better, so they prefer to kill and eat it immediately, thinking this ensures its flavor and nutrition. However, this is actually a misconception. Both farmed and wild fish contain certain toxic substances in their bodies.
When a fish is killed and eaten immediately, the toxic substances in its body often don't have enough time to be fully expelled, and the parasites and bacteria on the fish are not completely dead. These residual toxins can be harmful to the body.
Furthermore, the protein in a freshly killed fish has not had time to break down completely, so its nutritional value is not fully unlocked, and its texture is not necessarily at its best.