Be careful! Eating fish the wrong way can lead to fatal diseases
As the saying goes, "Pork is not as good as poultry, and poultry is not as good as fish." Fish has always been a popular food among the public for its delicious taste and nutritional value. When the ancient Chinese created the character for "freshness" (鲜), they placed it under the radical for "fish" (鱼), considering fish the ultimate "freshness," and the ever-increasing variety of ways to prepare it has made fish even more sought-after. The benefits of eating fish are obvious, but improper consumption can also harm your health, and even lead to fatal diseases. Come and learn about a few common mistakes in eating fish to prevent trouble before it happens.
Eating raw fish slices can easily lead to "Clonorchiasis"
Many people love the fresh and tender taste of raw fish slices, but they don't realize that eating raw fish is very harmful to the liver, easily leading to clonorchiasis, and even inducing liver cancer.
According to experts in nutrition and health, clonorchiasis is a parasitic disease mainly affecting the liver and gallbladder. People have a very high chance of being infected by eating raw or semi-freshwater fish and shrimp, or freshwater snails containing live metacercariae of the liver fluke. Currently, in Guangdong Province alone, there are millions of clonorchiasis patients in China, many of whom were infected precisely by eating raw fish and shrimp.
Its clinical symptoms are more common, such as fatigue, upper abdominal discomfort, indigestion, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dull pain in the liver area, liver enlargement, dizziness, etc. In severe cases of late infection, it can lead to cirrhosis with ascites, and even death.
Eating fish gallbladders to detoxify can instead cause poisoning
Fish gallbladder is a traditional Chinese medicine, often used by TCM to treat red and painful eyes, throat obstruction, and sores.
Therefore, it is also a folk remedy that eating fish gallbladders can clear heat and detoxify, and improve vision and relieve coughs. So despite its bitter taste, some people are always eager to try it. Eating fish gallbladders is extremely dangerous and can easily cause poisoning and even threaten life.
Experts point out that fish bile contains highly toxic substances such as water-soluble "cyprinol sodium sulfate," which are not only heat-resistant but also not destroyed by alcohol. Therefore, whether the fish gallbladder is cooked, swallowed raw, or taken with wine, poisoning can occur.
Fish gallbladder poisoning has a rapid onset, a severe condition, and a high fatality rate. Those with mild poisoning may experience symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Severe cases may show symptoms such as an enlarged liver, jaundice, tenderness in the liver area, oliguria or anuria, and tenderness on kidney percussion. If not treated in time, it can lead to liver and kidney failure and death.
The degree of poisoning in patients is generally related to the amount of bile in the fish gallbladder, so swallowing the gallbladder of a larger fish is more likely to cause poisoning.
Eating fish on an empty stomach may lead to "gout"
Today, with the growing trend of dieting, many people like to eat only vegetables and not rice, and it's common to eat fish on an empty stomach. However, this can easily trigger a gout attack. Gout is a disease caused by tissue damage due to increased blood uric acid from purine metabolism disorders.
And the vast majority of fish are rich in purines themselves. If you consume a large amount of purine-rich fish on an empty stomach without enough carbohydrates to break it down, the body's acid-base balance will be disrupted, which can easily induce gout or worsen the condition of gout patients.
Killing and eating live fish can leave residual toxins that 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 the fish's freshness and nutrition. But this is actually a misconception. Whether farmed or wild, fish contain certain toxic substances in their bodies.
When fish are killed and eaten immediately, the toxic substances in their bodies often don't have enough time to be completely eliminated, and the parasites and bacteria on the fish are not completely dead. These residual toxins can be harmful to the body.
In addition, the fish protein in freshly killed fish is not completely broken down, the nutritional value is not fully available, and the texture is not the best.
There is no denying that fish is indeed a very healthy food, but only by eating it correctly can it truly be beneficial to your health.