Let's talk about food

Really? There's that much mercury in the deep ocean?I knew there were issues with whitefish from the great lakes but I didn't realize it was a problem with ocean fish.Hmmm, then farmed is the way to go?

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Well, the interpretation of the dated is being contested. We have the claims of the director of the project being dismissed as not being supported by the data he claims to be basing it on.

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It wouldn't be the first time.

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I don't know where to go from here. Sas might. I don't know why Campbell would claim his data says something different.

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Well, it's a BIG study with many, many data points.

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The Westonprice people only summarize the data. This is some sort of statistic thing that I don't have the know how to sort out.

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I will note that Campbell offers a lot more data in his book than this website offers in its summary.

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Certainly.However, the undeniable fact is that the Okanawans are the healthiest, most long-lived people in the world, and they eat around 200 grams of pork and fish combined every day.And they cook with lard.

There is quite a lot of heavy metals now in ocean sediments as a function of a hundred years of human industry. The problem is bioaccumulation. The concentrations in fish tissues increase as you go up the food chain, so the biggest, longest-lived species can have more than 100 x the concentration of the smaller, bottom-feeders that are actually picking it up from the sediments.In the case of mercury concerns in swordfish perhaps farmed is better, but I don't honestly know about other contiminants it may have. The quality seems quite acceptable to me, but I don't even know where or how they arefarming it. We just don't eat it very often and hope for the best.Of course, in the case of farmed salmon you have probably heard of the increased levels of PCB's and so forth in farmed salmon relative to wild, and wild salmon is sooo much tastier. I buy several large ones when available (like right now), fillet them and vacuum pack these in my freezer. A salmon only lives 2-4 years (depending on species) so it doesn't accumulate as much heavy metal as the longer lived, deep sea fish.

OK, salmon is safe, that's a relief.I eat a lot of it and really love the wild stuff, too.

Yes. So are flounder, sole, turbot, snapper and orange roughy. What many people don't know is that tuna is another fish that accumulates heavy metals and it is one of the most widely consumed in one form or another.

Any oily fish OK too besides salmon? I like the milder fish but I enjoy stronger-flavored fish more.That's a shame about the tuna.

Well the heavy metals are only a problem for the very big deep sea fish, so I would expect mackeral, skate, and dogfish are OK. Certainly herring and anchovies.
Are those 'oily' enough for you ?I would like to see you try my Indonesian swordfish recipe.
I would be interested in your opinion as a professional epicurean.
I also have simple cilantro-flavored rice recipe that is a perfect compliment for it. You can substitute another white fish, but it really calls for steaks from a big fish.

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I would like to see you try my Indonesian swordfish recipe.
I would be interested in your opinion as a professional epicurean.

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Hit me.

Great. I will post it after dinner tonight.

Schrafinator:Thanks, I'm gonna try it (the crab meat stuff) later this week. I'll let ya kno how it went.Also, I did start a thread about pit bulls, but I'm not sure if I did it correctly. I guess we'll know I did if we see it show up in the "Coffee House" soon.

OK - Here we go.Indonesian Halibut (or swordfish) SteaksIngredients listFour fish steaks/fillets — 4-6 oz each
3-4 Key limes (or 1-2 large Persian limes — Key limes better)
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large ‘thumb’ of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1-2 fresh red chile peppers or habaneros, finely chopped
1 medium onion, sliced lengthwise into thin crescents
2/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk
6 oz fresh snow peas
cup of vegetable oil
2 teaspoons tumeric
2 teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon sugar
teaspoon salt
several sprigs fresh cilantro (not required if you serve the cilantro rice)First, place your fish in a shallow dish and rub both sides with the tumeric.
Squeeze lime juice over the fish, turning the pieces, and set aside.Heat half the oil in a frying pan and then slide in 2 of the fish steaks and cook over moderate heat, 4-5 minutes per side, depending on thickness.
Remove and place on paper towels to drain.
Cook the other two steaks tha same. Drain as before and keep warm.Add the remaining oil and heat it, again over moderate flame.
Add the onion and remaining spices and stir fry until onion begins to soften.
Add snow peas and cook 1 minute more.
Add coconut milk, sugar and salt and bring to a boil.
Spoon sauce over fish in a shallow platter (removing paper towels first!)and garnish with cilantro sprigs.This dish goes great with :Peruvian Green Rice (a la EZ)Note: I worked as a cook in Lima for a while back in the early 1980’s and this is one of the great rice dishes I learned to make. Usually it is made with many vegetables and chicken cooked in with the rice, but this is a very simplified version I developed that is a great compliment to other meat and fish dishes.Select a small saucepan with a good fitting lid — this is important.
An aluminum, non-stick pan works best — high quality copper pans conduct too much heat. When we cooked this on a flame or gas stove, we used to put an extra layer of tin between the pan and the lowest possible flame so the rice didn’t stick.Take one large bunch of fresh cilantro (2 if they are small) and place in a blender with 2 cups of water and a dash of salt. Liquify.
Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and heat over medium heat.
Chop one large clove of garlic finely and add to the pan.
Let the garlic sizzle a bit but don’t burn it.
Add the cilantro mixture and continue to heat over medium heat.
As soon as it boils, add 2 cups of rice (I prefer Basmati or Jasmine, but Texas long grain will work just fine). Let the mixture come to a boil, stirring occassionally.
Once the liquid drops to the level of the rice, stir once more and turn the heat down to the lowest setting and cover the pan. Leave for 40-60 minutes, depending on how dry and fluffy you like your rice. You can even leave it for longer and it will just dry a bit more.All rice recipes on the packages in North America *suck* because they call for 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice and this makes for soggy, sticky rice. My way the steam cooks the rice, not the water, and it comes out perfect every time.Enjoy!This message has been edited by EZscience, 06-27-2005 05:54 PM

Yes, but will they be allowed into heaven? Isn't pork forbidden?
Human nuitrition data is so very difficult to analyze. That does seem a huge amount of protein and fat. I wonder what the major causes of death are in Okinawa?lfen

Hi schraf,I know you were concerned, so ...Good news on the pop tarts front:
http://money.cnn.com/...ws/fortune500/kellogg.reut/index.htm See? Kellogg loves us after all! I guess you don't have to worry about me so much any more! Ben

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See? Kellogg loves us after all! I guess you don't have to worry about me so much any more!

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I'd say that Kellogg's loves our money more than they care a whit about our health. However, it is very good that they have made the descision to improve pop tarts.Now, if I could only get you to eat fruit instead of a pop tart...

Hey, I love pop tarts! They're a great energy boost at about mile 50 or so of a century ride.