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Paging Dr. Gupta: Fish Facts

Aired November 07, 2002 - 11:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A diet that includes fish, especially salmon, is often recommended as good for you. But there's a debate over which type of salmon is better for you. Is it farm-raised salmon, or wild salmon? Well, now new research from Canada shows that wild may be the way to go. A study found that farmed salmon had higher levels of PCBs, which are carcinogens, and also lower levels of protein, and higher levels of saturated fat. Here now with the skinny on salmon and to explain what all that study means for fish lovers, from New York we're joined by our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who was with us last hour. And Ruth Kava, director of nutrition at the American Council of Science and Health.
Good morning. How are you?

RUTH KAVA, AMERICAN COUNCIL OF SCIENCE AND HEALTH: Fine, thank you.

HARRIS: Good morning. We've been asking for viewers to send us e-mails. We've got quite a few of them. Let's try to get in as many as we can. Dr. Gupta, this one's for you first. This one's from Julian from Atlanta, "I have been eating for fish for years in an effort to lead a healthier lifestyle. Beyond the fact healthier fats are in fish, what other benefits come from eating fish?"

GUPTA: There's no doubt, lots of benefits from eating fish. First of all, we've become a much more healthful society. We eat about 15 pounds of fish a year on average per adult, but the fish are a great source of protein, they're a great source of something called Omega III fatty acids. And we talked about this a little bit last hour. This is the type of fatty acid that's really a good fatty acid. So good, in fact, that it actually can lower your levels of cholesterol, the bad cholesterol. So fish can be a really good food, they're low in calories as well, typically, compared to a lot of other meats. So there's a lot of benefits, Leon.

HARRIS: Shows how long you've been doing TV. That's what they call a great segue.

Our next e-mail is for you, Ruth Kava.

Now this one is from Peter in Quebec, "Knowing that Omega III oil is very good for cholesterol fighting, do you favor eating fish or simply taking in fish oil?"

KAVA: Well, basically, I favor eating fish, because as Dr. Gupta said, you also get your protein, you get vitamin B-12. There may be other components of fish that make the fatty acids more useful. In fact, the American Heart Association, the National Academy of Sciences all recommend eating a couple of servings of fish a week. They say the evidence on the fatty acids is suggestive, but not conclusive. So to hedge my bets, I eat fish.

HARRIS: All right, Dr. Gupta, here's one for you, "Is shrimp better or worse than other seafood, in terms of cholesterol, fatty acids, mercury, calories, etc.?" We get that from Walter in New York.

GUPTA: Well, I tell you, this is a really important question, because I actually like eating both of these foods. But we actually decided to break that down. We did some research into comparing, actually, salmon versus shrimp. You can look at some of the numbers there. Calories, 122 for the shrimp versus 206 for salmon. Incidentally, This is four ounces of each, a lot less grams of fat actually in shrimp versus salmon, although a lot more cholesterol. Look at that, 221 versus 81. The omega III fatty acids, we were just talking about that, 2.15 grams in the salmon versus the shrimp, so much better there.

My vote goes to salmon. I think it's one of the best nonvegetarian foods you can get. If you're trying to be heart healthy in particularly, salmon is going to be a better food for you. Although, Leon, it's like that scene in "Forrest Gump." You get all different kinds of shrimp, you're dipping it in batter, and buttering it and all that kind of stuff, the shrimp's going to be no good for you.

HARRIS: Baked shrimp, lemon shrimp, shrimp scampi.

Since we brought up shrimp, let me ask you this, and this is totally digressing here, but we talked about my allergy, and a lot of us have had an allergy to shellfish. What is it about shrimp that causes this weird allergic reactions that closes your throat and gives you hives? And some people actually die from all of this. And is there anything you can do about that, to combat it so you can still eat anything like shrimp?

GUPTA: Right. Are you asking me? There are a lot of different -- a lot of allergies to shellfish, in particular. That's because they have a certain protein that some people have a profound allergy to. It's just one of those things. And, Leon, you happen to be one of the unfortunate people that have that allergy. It can be very devastating. You can have your eyes swell up. You can actually close off your throat. It's scary. That can be very scary.

Obviously, you know, common sense piece of advice is to avoid that kind of fish, which I know you do already. But also, if you think you might get some of it in another dish or something, you can take a medication like Benadryl ahead of time to try and suppress your immune thing so you don't have quite the significant allergic reaction. That's about all you can do.

HARRIS: Thank you very much. Thanks for cheering me up, doc.

Ruth, this one's for you. "I enjoy eating sushi once a week with some of my coworkers. I enjoy eating sushi once a week with some of my co-workers. I sometimes wonder if there are certain types of raw fish that would carry more risks than others? My favorite is tuna, but I indulge in several of the other species as well." Thanks, Michael, from St. Petersburg.

KAVA: Well, I think you're wise to mix it up, because variety is more than just the spice of life. It can supply you with a lot of different nutrients, different levels of fat and things like that. I think with sushi, you only want to only get it from a place that uses fish that's been previously frozen, and that's to eliminate the possibility of parasites, and you want it to be super, super clean, the restaurant. Other than that, enjoy yourself.

HARRIS: All right. We enjoy the advice from both of you, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Ruth Kava, appreciate it. Good luck and happy and healthy eating to both of you.

GUPTA: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired November 7, 2002 - 11:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A diet that includes fish, especially salmon, is often recommended as good for you. But there's a debate over which type of salmon is better for you. Is it farm-raised salmon, or wild salmon? Well, now new research from Canada shows that wild may be the way to go. A study found that farmed salmon had higher levels of PCBs, which are carcinogens, and also lower levels of protein, and higher levels of saturated fat. Here now with the skinny on salmon and to explain what all that study means for fish lovers, from New York we're joined by our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who was with us last hour. And Ruth Kava, director of nutrition at the American Council of Science and Health.
Good morning. How are you?

RUTH KAVA, AMERICAN COUNCIL OF SCIENCE AND HEALTH: Fine, thank you.

HARRIS: Good morning. We've been asking for viewers to send us e-mails. We've got quite a few of them. Let's try to get in as many as we can. Dr. Gupta, this one's for you first. This one's from Julian from Atlanta, "I have been eating for fish for years in an effort to lead a healthier lifestyle. Beyond the fact healthier fats are in fish, what other benefits come from eating fish?"

GUPTA: There's no doubt, lots of benefits from eating fish. First of all, we've become a much more healthful society. We eat about 15 pounds of fish a year on average per adult, but the fish are a great source of protein, they're a great source of something called Omega III fatty acids. And we talked about this a little bit last hour. This is the type of fatty acid that's really a good fatty acid. So good, in fact, that it actually can lower your levels of cholesterol, the bad cholesterol. So fish can be a really good food, they're low in calories as well, typically, compared to a lot of other meats. So there's a lot of benefits, Leon.

HARRIS: Shows how long you've been doing TV. That's what they call a great segue.

Our next e-mail is for you, Ruth Kava.

Now this one is from Peter in Quebec, "Knowing that Omega III oil is very good for cholesterol fighting, do you favor eating fish or simply taking in fish oil?"

KAVA: Well, basically, I favor eating fish, because as Dr. Gupta said, you also get your protein, you get vitamin B-12. There may be other components of fish that make the fatty acids more useful. In fact, the American Heart Association, the National Academy of Sciences all recommend eating a couple of servings of fish a week. They say the evidence on the fatty acids is suggestive, but not conclusive. So to hedge my bets, I eat fish.

HARRIS: All right, Dr. Gupta, here's one for you, "Is shrimp better or worse than other seafood, in terms of cholesterol, fatty acids, mercury, calories, etc.?" We get that from Walter in New York.

GUPTA: Well, I tell you, this is a really important question, because I actually like eating both of these foods. But we actually decided to break that down. We did some research into comparing, actually, salmon versus shrimp. You can look at some of the numbers there. Calories, 122 for the shrimp versus 206 for salmon. Incidentally, This is four ounces of each, a lot less grams of fat actually in shrimp versus salmon, although a lot more cholesterol. Look at that, 221 versus 81. The omega III fatty acids, we were just talking about that, 2.15 grams in the salmon versus the shrimp, so much better there.

My vote goes to salmon. I think it's one of the best nonvegetarian foods you can get. If you're trying to be heart healthy in particularly, salmon is going to be a better food for you. Although, Leon, it's like that scene in "Forrest Gump." You get all different kinds of shrimp, you're dipping it in batter, and buttering it and all that kind of stuff, the shrimp's going to be no good for you.

HARRIS: Baked shrimp, lemon shrimp, shrimp scampi.

Since we brought up shrimp, let me ask you this, and this is totally digressing here, but we talked about my allergy, and a lot of us have had an allergy to shellfish. What is it about shrimp that causes this weird allergic reactions that closes your throat and gives you hives? And some people actually die from all of this. And is there anything you can do about that, to combat it so you can still eat anything like shrimp?

GUPTA: Right. Are you asking me? There are a lot of different -- a lot of allergies to shellfish, in particular. That's because they have a certain protein that some people have a profound allergy to. It's just one of those things. And, Leon, you happen to be one of the unfortunate people that have that allergy. It can be very devastating. You can have your eyes swell up. You can actually close off your throat. It's scary. That can be very scary.

Obviously, you know, common sense piece of advice is to avoid that kind of fish, which I know you do already. But also, if you think you might get some of it in another dish or something, you can take a medication like Benadryl ahead of time to try and suppress your immune thing so you don't have quite the significant allergic reaction. That's about all you can do.

HARRIS: Thank you very much. Thanks for cheering me up, doc.

Ruth, this one's for you. "I enjoy eating sushi once a week with some of my coworkers. I enjoy eating sushi once a week with some of my co-workers. I sometimes wonder if there are certain types of raw fish that would carry more risks than others? My favorite is tuna, but I indulge in several of the other species as well." Thanks, Michael, from St. Petersburg.

KAVA: Well, I think you're wise to mix it up, because variety is more than just the spice of life. It can supply you with a lot of different nutrients, different levels of fat and things like that. I think with sushi, you only want to only get it from a place that uses fish that's been previously frozen, and that's to eliminate the possibility of parasites, and you want it to be super, super clean, the restaurant. Other than that, enjoy yourself.

HARRIS: All right. We enjoy the advice from both of you, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Ruth Kava, appreciate it. Good luck and happy and healthy eating to both of you.

GUPTA: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com