Tilapia worse than bacon? Oh please!

Today’s consumer is more concerned about the benefits of the different options available to fulfill its dietary needs.  It is true that there is huge amounts of information available on the internet to help us understand what those options are, but is it also true that a lot of this information comes from sources of shaky reputation, or simply from cutting and pasting what someone read in another web site, without verifying its validity.

A typical example is a study published by the University of Wake Forest in 2008.  Despite having looked for it, I haven’t been able to find the original study, only a press release by the University where they mention the study

(http://www.wakehealth.edu/News-Releases/2008/Wake_Forest_Researchers_Say_Popular_Fish_Contains_Potentially_Dangerous_Fatty_Acid_Combination.htm). Unfortunately, the sensationalist tone of this press release has caused it to be mentioned in several articles on newspapers, TV programs and, of course, blogs on the internet.  If you perform a Google search for “wake forest tilapia worse than bacon”, you should get about 3,750 hits, including the press release mentioned above.

If you read that press release, it indicates that the study it refers to concludes that eating tilapia is worse than eating bacon.  The basis for this conclusion is that a portion of tilapia has a high content of omega-6 (nu-6) and a low content of omega-3 (nu-3) fatty acids.  It is interesting that the press release reaches this conclusion and then proceeds to compare the content of omega-3 and omega-6 in tilapia with that of other seafood products, like salmon and trout, but never with that of bacon.  Remember that what makes this press release stand out is its assertion that eating tilapia is worse than eating bacon!

If you take the time to investigate the nutritional properties of these products, for instance, by visiting web sites like www.nutritiondata.self.com, you would conclude that a 4 oz portion of tilapia contains 270 milligrams of omega-3 and 336 milligrams of omega-6.  Also, the same 4 oz portion of bacon contains 238 milligrams of omega-3 and 5,036 milligrams of omega-6.  Nevertheless, if we take the Wake Forest press release at face value, it is the high content of omega-6 in tilapia that makes it worse than bacon, but on a portion of the same size, bacon has 15 times more omega-6 than tilapia!  Definitively the Wake Forest press release is sensationalist and full of contradictions.

Now, if we want to have a more balanced view on this topic, we need to do more research.  Despite some controversy, it is recommended to have a diet with a nu-6/nu-3 of 6, or to consume 6 times more omega-6 than omega-3.  Also, we need to take into consideration that this target should be achieved over a certain period of time, say a week, and not in each individual meal that we eat, since later would be close to impossible.  Studies show that in the diet of the occidental world the average consumption of nu-6/nu-3 is between 10 and 20, well above the recommended ratio of 6.  This means that if the ratio of nu-6/nu-3 of our average diet is between 10 and 20, we need to eat food with a ratio of nu-6/nu-3 of less than 6, so that we can lower our current ratio and bring it closer to the recommended 6.

What is the nu-6/nu-3 ration of tilapia? 1.25.  What is the nu-6/nu-3 ratio of bacon? 21.  This means that every time we eat tilapia we help ourselves brining our consumption of nu-6/nu-3 closer to the recommended ratio of 6, whereas each time we eat bacon our average gets closer to the high end of the current average of our population of 20.  Does this mean we should eat more tilapia? Definetively.  Does this mean we need to stop eating bacon? Not necessarily, if we are willing to stick to a balanced diet over a period of several days.

In addition to all this, if we go back to comparing the nutritional quality of tilapia and bacon, beyond the nu-6/nu-3 issue, which we now know is baseless, we can look at other parameters.  For instance, for the same 4 oz portion, tilapia offers us 143 calories and bacon 512, tilapia offers us 2.8 grams of total fat and bacon 50, and tilapia has 1,2 grams of saturated fat, versus 16.8 of bacon.

If after reading this you still believe that eating bacon is healthier than eating tilapia, be my guest.  After all, each one of us is responsible for our own nutritional options.

(Follow this link for the spanish version of this article:Tilapia peor que tocineta? Por favor!!)

Tilapia peor que tocineta? Por favor!!

El consumidor de hoy en día se preocupa más y más en entender los beneficios de las opciones que tienen disponibles para suplir sus necesidades de alimentación.  Si bien es cierto la gran cantidad de información disponible en Internet ayuda a muchos a entender mejor estas opciones, también es cierto que mucha de la información disponible proviene de fuentes de dudosa reputación, o de copiar lo que alguien leyó en otro lugar, sin verificar su validez.

Un ejemplo típico es un estudio publicado por la Unviersidad de Wake Forest en el año 2008. A pesar de que lo he buscado intensamente, yo no he podido encontrar el artículo original, solo un comunicado de prensa de la universidad donde hace referencia al contenido del estudio (http://www.wakehealth.edu/News-Releases/2008/Wake_Forest_Researchers_Say_Popular_Fish_Contains_Potentially_Dangerous_Fatty_Acid_Combination.htm). Desgraciadamente el tono amarillista de este comunicado de prensa ha ocasionado que este estudio sea mencionado en muchos otros artículos en prensa escrita, noticias televisivas y, por supuesto, blogs en Internet.  Si usted realiza una búsqueda en Google utilizando “wake forest tilapia worse than bacon”, debería obtener 3,750 resultados, incluyendo el comunicado de prensa mencionado anteriormente.

Si usted lee el comunicado de prensa, este indica que el estudio al cual hace referencia concluye que comer tilapia es peor que comer tocino o tocineta (bacon).  La base de esta afirmación es que una porción de tilapia tiene un alto contenido de ácidos grasos omega-6 (nu-6) y un bajo contenido de ácidos grasos omega-3 (nu-3).  Lo curioso es que el artículo hace esta afirmación y luego compara el contenido de omega-3 y omega-6 de la tilapia con otros pescados, como salmón y trucha, pero nunca lo compara con el tocino o tocineta, pero recuerden que en el fondo lo que hace que este artículo haya sido nombrado tantas veces en los diferentes medios es el afirmar que comer tilapia es peor que comer tocineta.

Si usted se toma el tiempo de investigar las características nutricionales de estos alimentos, por ejemplo visitando sitios como www.nutritiondata.self.com, puede concluir que una porción de 4 oz de tilapia tiene 270 miligramos de omega-3 y 336 miligramos de omega-6.  Por otro lado, la misma porción de 4 oz de tocineta contiene 238 miligramos de omega-3 y 5,036 miligramos de omega-6.  Sin embargo, si hacemos caso al comunicado de prensa de Wake Forest University, es el alto contenido de omega-6 lo que supuestamente hace que la tilapia sea una mala opción alimenticia, comparada inclusive con la tocineta, pero la tocineta tiene 15 veces más omega-6, en una porción del mismo tamaño, que la tilapia!  Definitivamente el comunicado de prensa es amarillista y no ofrece ninguna evidencia válida para esta afirmación.

Ahora bien, si tratamos de formarnos una opinión más balanceada sobre este tema, tenemos que hacer más investigación.  Resulta que, a pesar de que aún existe controversia sobre este tema, se considera recomendable tener una dieta con un consumo de n-6/n-3 de 6, es decir, consumir 6 veces más omega-6 que omega-3.  Por otro lado, tenemos que tomar en cuenta que esta relación se debe alcanzar en el consumo de un período de tiempo determinado, digamos una semana, y no en cada una nuestras comidas, ya que esto sería imposible.

Estudios muestran que en la dieta del mundo occidental, el promedio de la relación nu-6/nu-3 oscila entre 10 y 20, muy por encima de la relación recomendada de 6.  Esto significa que si la relación promedio de nuestra alimentación oscila entre 10 y 20, tenemos que ingerir alimentos con una relación nu-6/nu-3 por debajo de 6, para poder bajar el promedio actual y llevarlo a un valor más cercano a 6.

Cuál es la relación nu-6/nu-3 de la tilapia? 1.25.  Cuál es la relación nu-6/nu-3 de la tocineta? 21.  Esto significa que cada vez que comemos tilapia ayudamos a llevar nuestro consumo de nu-6/nu-3 a un valor más cercano al recomendado de 6, mientras que cada vez que consumimos tocineta, incrementamos nuestro promedio y lo llevamos más cercano al rango alto del promedio actual de 20.  Significa esto que deberíamos de comer más tilapia? Definitivamente.  Significa esto que tenemos que dejar de comer tocineta? No necesariamente, si estamos dispuestos a tener una dieta balanceada cuando tomamos en cuenta lo que comemos en un plazo de varios días.

Sin embargo, si volvemos a la comparación de la calidad nutricional entre la tilapia y la tocineta, más allá del tema de nu-3/nu-6, la cual ya refutamos, podemos revisar otros parámetros.  Por ejemplo, de nuevo, para porciones de 4 oz, la tilapia contiene 143 calorías y la tocineta 512, la tilapia contiene 2.8 gramos de grasa y la tocineta 50, la tilapia contiene 1.2 gramos de grasas saturadas y la tocineta 16.8. 

Si después de leer esto aún considera que consumir tocineta es más saludable que consumir tilapia, pues pase adelante.  Al final de cuentas, cada uno de nosotros es responsable de nuestras propias decisiones alimenticias.

(La version en Ingles de este artículo la puede encontrar aquí:Tilapia worse than bacon? Oh please!)

The day before Thanksgiving

“Francisco, have you ever had cancer?”

The voice came through the intercom and it caught me by surprise.  The question came from 8 year old Aref, who was sitting in one of the back seats of the plane, next to his mom, Liliana.  Aref’s 10 year old sister, Shaddi, was sitting in the co-pilot’s seat next to me.

This was the day before Thanksgiving.  Some days before that, I had received an email from Angel Flight Southeast, an organization for which I do volunteer work as a pilot.  They had several missions at risk of being canceled and wanted to know if there were volunteers able to fly them.  I don’t usually fly missions on weekdays due to my job responsibilities, but I decided to work late the day before so I could clear my schedule for the day of this particular mission.  Having an 8 year old that had just undergone 2 months of radio therapy riding in a car for 6 or 7 hours between Jacksonville and the Miami area did not look right to me.

The Abdala family with the author

The departure out of North Perry Airport in Hollywood, Florida was done under patches of rain, but quickly turned to clear skies and beautiful weather.  I was on my way to Craig Field in Jacksonville to pick up my passengers.  The leg northbound was uneventful and by the time I arrived there, the Abdala family was already waiting for me at the airport lobby.

Aref’s dad, Anuar, had driven the day before from South Florida to Jacksonville, so that they could vacate the room they were using at the Ronald McDonald’s house.  Because of the long stay that Aref needed in Jacksonville at the Proton Therapy Institute, they had a lot more belongings than what would had fit in a Cirrus, the plane we were using to fly Aref back home for Thanksgiving.

Aref getting ready for his trip back home

I knew this was going to be an interesting trip when Liliana told me that there was a twist to the story.  Shaddi had been told that she was not going to be riding in the plane with Aref and his mom, but that instead, she had to ride back in the car with his dad.  The fact is that the plan since the beginning called for Shaddi to ride with us in the plane, but Aref wanted to surprise her and boy… was she surprised!  When she was told at the last minute that she was flying with Aref and Liliana, her gorgeous eyes grew wide in disbelief, and she started chasing Aref around the airport ramp to hug and kiss him.

Shaddi in her duties as co-pilot

We took off from Craig Field northbound and the JAX controllers quickly turned us back southbound.  Flights under an IFR flight plan can get quite busy, even more around areas of heavy air traffic, like Jacksonville and south Florida, so having a very chatty co-pilot in Shaddi made it specially challenging.  Of course, I could use the isolate function in my intercom to talk to air traffic controllers without interruptions from my passengers, but I used it as little as possible in this trip because I really wanted to enjoy having these two young kids in my plane.

During the leg southbound I heard about how they enjoyed the Homestead Air Show, which took place just a couple of weeks ago, and about how fantastic the Blue Angels are.  Having been to that same show with my family I had to agree with them.  They also told me jokes and kept me entertained for the whole trip.

Before our arrival in South Florida I briefed Liliana and the kids in advance that we were going to have to descent through a cloud layer and that they may feel like in a little roller coaster, but that I was not expecting anything significant.  The turbulence turned out to be not bad at all and all my passengers behaved beautifully.  Once on the ground at North Perry Airport we had the opportunity to see a Piper Pawnee plane picking up a sign to tow around the city.

Our route from Craig Field to North Perry Airport

Aref did not complain once during our 1 hour and 40 minute trip from Jacksonville to the Miami area.  Liliana explained to me that the skin in his lower back is burned due to the radio therapy he received during the two months he stayed in Jacksonville.  I was impressed with how brave this 8 year old kid is and how much support he is receiving from his family.

When Aref asked me if I had ever had cancer, I thought it was because of my shaved-of hair style and that he had assumed that I had lost my hair during radio therapy, as it had happened to him.  I was wrong: I asked him why he wanted to know and he said that usually people that have had cancer are the ones that help other people with cancer.  This really left me thinking.

While working on this story a few days after this flight, I went to pick up my son at school because he was not feeling well.  While waiting for him at the school reception I saw a poster in one of the boards that reads:

“If you want to be happy for an hour,

go watch T.V.

If you want to be happy for a day,

go to an amusement park.

If you want to be happy for a lifetime,

go out and help others.”

Aref, you may be too young to understand this, but there are people out there that want to be happy by helping people like you.