Halo concerned viewers and welcome to Healthy Living. Today we present part two in our two-part series on seafood poisoning, which is caused by consuming fish or shellfish tainted with toxins.

In the US seafood poisoning is the primary cause of foodborne illness. Typical symptoms of the condition include nausea, vomiting, gastroenteritis, muscle aches, and in the most serious cases, death. With globalization making it possible for contaminated marine life to be sold in markets around the world, no one who consumes seafood is free from this dangerous threat.

Last week we covered a number of well-known types of seafood poisoning, including ciguatera, the most common form of fish poisoning in the world.

Ciguatoxins are resistant to heat and cold, so cooking, smoking, refrigerating, freezing and/or curing the contaminated fish cannot protect a consumer from becoming sickened. It is also undetectable as the toxin is odorless and tasteless.

With something like ciguatera, one of the things that people do need to understand is that it’s a mobile toxin. It’s taken up by fish; those fish can travel long distances and they can travel long distances by swimming or being put on a ship or a plane and being transported elsewhere. The barriers are breaking down and seafood is being moved around the world at an extraordinary rate.

In the last 200 years, scientists worldwide have identified five or six types of ciguatoxin, which accounts for only half of the various types of ciguatoxin. The constituents of the rest still can’t be analyzed by modern technology. From this you know that ciguatoxins are very mysterious and complex. There are still some toxins that we do not know about.

Some of these toxins are water-soluble, and some fat-soluble. They are mainly found in the coral reefs. The toxins may originate from bacteria, algae, or plankton algae in the coral reefs. The macroalgae residing in the coral reefs are eaten by the fish and the toxins thus stay inside the bodies of herbivore and carnivore fish and are subsequently consumed by humans.

Ciguatera poisoning cases that occur in China or Hong Kong are always very serious, because the fish are usually the bigger ones weighing about 100 kilograms each. In Hong Kong, the restaurants usually buy the whole fish and serve it all at the same time to about 50 to 100 people. So, all these people would suffer from the poisoning at once.

Some sea species self-produce toxins for protection. For example, the skin and organs of the Pufferfish are extremely dangerous as they have tetrodotoxin, a substance which is 10,000 times more potent than cyanide. Consequently handling or eating a Pufferfish can be fatal. Fishing is another activity that can lead to death as physical contact with hazardous marine species is a possibility.

The toxins of some marine animals are not only fatal through ingestion, but also by contact. As there are poisonous snakes on land, there are poisonous snakes in the sea and they are just as deadly. In addition to poisonous snakes, lots of animals in the sea are very poisonous.

It is common knowledge in Formosa (Taiwan) that the Stingrays are the most deadly, followed by the Striped Eel Catfish. The third most poisonous is a kind of squid called Rockfish, and the fourth kind is what we call “Stink Belly Fish,” which is in the north and in the south we have the Spotted Scat Fish.

These are the five main kinds of poisonous fish in Formosa (Taiwan). If stung by the first two or three kinds, it could be fatal because their toxins are the same as poisonous snakes. They could kill you by dissolving your hemoglobin, resulting to hemolytic symptoms.

A bacteria called vibrio parahemolyticus is found worldwide in areas with brackish saltwater and is from the same bacterial family that causes cholera. If one eats seafood contaminated with vibrio parahemolyticus, gastroenteritis may occur. These bacteria can enter the body by touching marine life as well.

People who fish for Elops (ladyfish) can get stung by the fish, and their hands would swell terribly. The records of the Mackay Memorial Hospital show that they have treated more than a dozen such victims and five or six of them died. However, their death was not caused by the fish toxin. Scientists discovered that it was due to a kind of bacteria called vibrio parahemolyticus in the sea.

The symptoms of this kind of infection resemble that of tetanus. Together with the fish toxin, the bacteria enter the blood and then the muscles, and then the brain, causing meningitis. The victims would die in two or three days. At present there is no antibiotic available for the treatment of vibrio parahemolyticus. Once infected, the victim would die in two to three days. So we must be very careful. Don’t take a fish sting lightly.

Some take fish liver oil supplements, thinking it is good for the eyes. This is an incorrect notion, as the supposed vision-improving properties of the oil have not been scientifically proven.

About fish liver oil, at our clinic, many parents ask us if they should feed their children fish liver oil to help improve the health of their eyes, as fish liver oil contains vitamin A. Why don’t we recommend eating fish? It’s because our entire ocean is polluted now, including our fresh waterways.

The pollution is very severe. There is a lot of mercury and environmental hormones in the water, so all the fish have accumulated a lot of heavy metal pollutants and environmental hormones.

In fact the belief that eating fish is good for our eyes has no scientific basis.

If we want our children or ourselves to have good eyes, we can get the necessary nutrients from plants. These food sources are safer because they have less contaminants. This is what we recommend for eye care.

Usually, the most poisonous fish are the bigger ones, weighing more than three or five kilograms. The toxin is usually in the liver. They could also be carrying a concentrated amount of vitamin A, such as in the case of tuna or muraeninae fish, and thus capable of causing vitamin A poisoning.

Actually, plants are very rich in vitamin A. The vitamin A in veggies is in the form of beta carotene, which can be transformed to vitamin A by our body. So, if we eat veggies that contain beta-carotene and let the body transform it into vitamin A, this is a safer way to get this vitamin. Why so? If we get vitamin A directly from foods, the excessive amount will accumulate in our bodies, because vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin. When we accumulate too much, it will cause symptoms of poisoning.

Most consumers are not aware that they have been poisoned, so they don’t go to see a doctor. The symptoms are similar to influenza, so doctors often misjudge and treat it as influenza. Usually it takes a week for doctors and patients to figure out that it is vitamin A poisoning caused by eating fish liver when rashes appear and the skin starts to peel.

Some consume fish oil supplements, which are derived from the tissues of oily fish, in the mistaken belief that they are beneficial to the heart as the oil contains omega-3 fatty acids.

Several experiments, including the DART-2 (Diet and Reinfarction Trial) study in the US have shown that those who take such supplements actually fare worse in terms of heart health as compared to those who do not take such products. Dr. Liu Teng-Chieh says that plant-based sources are superior to fish oil for acquiring DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), an omega-3 fatty acid.

We can also get DHA from seaweed. Actually, our bodies can make DHA. For example, if we consume alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is an essential fatty acid, our bodies can convert it into DHA. What kinds of food are rich in ALA?

Examples of ALA-rich foods include soybeans and nuts such as cashews and walnuts, etc. Flaxseeds also contain a lot of essential fatty acid ALA, which can be transformed into DHA by our bodies. So, if you want your children to have better eyes and strong and healthy bodies, you can feed them seaweed, nuts, soybeans, etc.

Dioxins are toxic substances that cause reproductive and developmental disorders, cancers and immune-system damage in humans. The World Health Organization says more than 90% of dioxin exposure in humans comes from consuming animal products, including eggs, fish and shellfish.

Dioxin pollution can be found on land and in the ocean and it happens all over the world, not just in Formosa (Taiwan). Similarly, dioxins can contaminate fish through bioaccumulation. Dioxins can stay in our bodies for a long time. They stay in a fish’s body for almost all of its life. So once we humans or fish consume dioxins, they stay in the body.

Dioxins are a primary cancer hazard. They can cause cancer and immune system disorders. One of the most famous cases regarding dioxin contamination happened a few years ago. It was found that farmed salmon contained especially high levels of dioxins. Only a few cases like that have been exposed and there may be others that have not been exposed.

To conclude today’s program, we feature someone who experienced shellfish poisoning who shares how the event totally changed her life.

About 10 years ago I had an allergic reaction to eating oysters and my face became swollen and red. I sought treatment from doctors at various hospitals: China Medical University Hospital, Jen-Ai Hospital, Kuang Tien General Hospital, and Tungs’ Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital… I also tried small clinics but my condition didn’t improve. For more than one year I went to different places, for two or three months each, but nothing helped me.

Finally, after some thinking, I prayed to the Buddha. I said, “From now on, I am not going to take any medicine or apply any ointment. Please help me and let my face recover. I will begin to be a full vegetarian.”

Indeed, after I embarked on the vegetarian diet the redness on my face vanished. I have been a full vegetarian for 10 years now. My skin is fine and my health is good. I feel very light and nice.

We sincerely thank Doctors Lyndon Llewellyn, Hwang Deng-Fwu, Yang Chen-Chang, and Liu Teng-Chieh for sharing their expert opinions on the issue of seafood poisoning and the toxins hidden in marine animals. To avoid the health conditions we’ve covered in our two-part series, please embrace the healthful, organic vegan diet which provides all the necessary nutrients needed for lifelong strength and vitality.

For more details on the experts featured on our program, please visit the following websites
Dr. Hwang Deng-Fwu www.Toxin.NTOU.edu.tw
Dr. Liu Teng-Chieh www.PULIVH.gov.tw
Dr. Lyndon Llewellyn www.AIMS.gov.au
Dr. Yang Chen-Chang www.VGHTPE.gov.tw

Thank you for joining us on today’s episode of Healthy Living. Coming up next is Science and Spirituality, after Noteworthy News. May we always enjoy the highest of spirits and everlasting well-being.