Use Caution When Eating What Sea Offers

The Brunswick News

Eating healthy in the South is one of those things that's easier said than done, but if your taste buds lean more toward what's good for you than what makes you just plain feel good, then the entire ocean is at your fork tip.

It's another one of those sad facts of life, though, that seafood, like most things, should be enjoyed in moderation, at times.

Especially if you're prone to food allergies.

Shellfish -- shrimp, lobster, oysters, crawfish, mussels, scallops, clams, squid -- are notorious for triggering frightful allergic reactions in some people.

The culprits are iodine and glycoprotein, according to Lauren Giczewski, a registered dietitian for the Southeast Georgia Health System in Brunswick.

That's why it's vitally important to be tested to determine whether allergies triggered by shellfish are due to the iodine or the protein it contains.

If it is iodine, then other allergic reactions can be triggered by iodine exposure from other sources, such as medical procedures, Ms. Giczewski said.

To manage a shellfish allergy, it's important to avoid such overt exposures, but one also should be aware of inadvertent risks as well. "You need to be aware that some restaurants use the same oil to fry shellfish that they do [other foods]," Ms. Giczewski said. "Then you have to be careful of imitation shellfish, which still may contain some [real] crabmeat, for example."

If allergies have never been a problem and seafood is a passion, there are other precautions to be aware of before casting for supper in some local waterways.

Water pollution, though less of a concern in Georgia than in other states, still affects certain local waterways.

Hence, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have developed guidelines for how often certain species of fish can safely be eaten. Those guidelines govern consumption of blue crabs, shrimp, clams, mussels, oysters, flounder, red drum, black drum, croaker, spotted seatrout, striped mullet, Southern kingfish (whiting), king mackerel, largemouth bass, channel catfish, flathead catfish, silver perch (yellowtail) and redbreast sunfish caught in area waters.

DNR and the EPA recommend restricting consumption of those species to once a week or once a month to limit exposure to harmful contaminants.

In some cases, the restrictions are based on the size of the fish.

The only species declared off-limits in certain cases are blue crabs and shellfish -- shrimp, clams, mussels and oysters, primarily. The primary contaminants that precipitated the advisories are toxaphene and related compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and mercury, according to the DNR. On inland waterways, rivers and creeks, the advisories are site-specific.

As long as consumers follow government recommendations for target species, seafood will remain one of the healthiest menu options around, particularly given the amount of polyunsaturated, omega-3 fatty acids they contain, Ms. Giczewski said.

These so-called fish oils are believed to ward off a range of psychiatric and cardiovascular disorders, as well as cancer.

"I want to say there's a minimum amount of food that contain these minerals. Fish and shellfish in general contain the most," Ms. Giczewski said.