Health
It would seem that everyone knows that seafood is good for health. However, experts report that regular excessive consumption of certain foods that contain low mercury content as part of the diet can not only reduce the positive effect of antioxidants, but when accumulated in the body, they also cause serious harm to health.
Essentially, antioxidants, which are widely used as dietary supplements, can prevent the development of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. But it is known that antioxidants, which play a key role in protecting cells, can also, under certain conditions, harm these cells or even cause them to die. This phenomenon, which is called oxidative stress, is linked to many diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, and others.
It is impossible to trace the effect of regular consumption of mercury-containing foods on human health throughout life. However, researchers at Fairbank University in Alaska, USA (University of Alaska Fairbanks) were more cunning. Scientists have studied several groups of husky dogs from different hymns, which are located in four different villages in Alaska. For the study, dogs with similar ancestry, the same sex and even an age that is very old by dog standards were specially selected.
As you know, Alaska natives can leave their homes for a long time to go hunting with their dogs. At the same time, dogs are essentially exposed to the same environmental risk as humans. And they eat almost the same food — meat and salmon. Thus, using the example of a generation of dogs, it is much easier to see the effect of such a diet on the body. As the study showed, all dogs from different groups showed the same signs of aging, impaired immune function, cognitive disorders and even levels of toxins in the body.
Professor Kriya Dunlap, who led the study, said: “According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the amount of mercury in salmon is lower limits harmful to the body. It is obvious that the benefits to the body from consuming this food are much greater than from the consumption of processed foods. However, it is necessary to continue to monitor the situation to know what reaction the accumulation of mercury in the body can cause during life. Evidence suggests that the health index (a measure of several components of a single organism's health) may decrease as mercury levels increase. In addition, it would be useful to study the offspring of these animals.” Obviously, scientists hope that it will be possible to draw an analogy between animals and humans, and draw definite conclusions about the global benefits (or harms) of seafood consumption throughout life.