Is Smoked Fish Dangerous To Your Health?

Smoking remains a popular food preservation method in this part of the world. Smoking develops a lot of flavours in fish that many people have forgotten that smoking should be for preservation, they just want to get that characteristic smoked fish flavour in their mouth.

What is Food Smoking?

Smoking can be simply defined as the process of flavouring, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning materials. The material most commonly used is wood.

Wood contains three major components — cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, that are broken down in the burning process to form smoke. Typical smoking of fish is either cold (28–32°C) or hot (70–80°C). Hot smoking is what is prevalent around here.

Smoking in this article, refers to the traditional, common smoking process using smokes from burning woods or wood shavings. Smoking was originally carried out on food (including fish) to preserve them. However, since the advent of freezing and other preservation methods, smoking is now mostly done to develop the unique taste and flavour imparted by the smoking process.

So, is the smoking of fish dangerous to human health?

Honestly, there is no straight answer to this caution and one has to tread the line of caution when advising people. One cannot just say smoked fish is dangerous to health. No.

The main potential danger associated with smoking of fish and other foods is PAH. When wood is burned, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH)—a class of carcinogens—are formed. These are deposited on foods and are known to cause cancer. 

However, when people talk about whether smoking food is dangerous or not, some forget to consider the dose. Yes, PAHs are dangerous, there is no doubt about that but the dose that we take in will determine if it will lead to the onset of cancer or not.

Generally, foods smoked commercially in a manufacturing facility have been found to contain lower levels of PAHs compared to those smoked in noncommercial settings. An example of the latter is those we buy in many open markets, displayed in the open and wrapped in nylons or papers when we purchase. There is no way to determine the level of PAHs in this unless the necessary tests are carried out.

Since we cannot test those fishes before buying them, we cannot determine if they contain low or the level of dose that is harmful to experimental animals.

It is advisable to eat smoked fish with caution. If you are someone that only enjoys an occasional smoked fish meal—and are not a daily consumer—then PAH from smoked fish and other foods is most likely not a health concern for you.

HEALTHY HEART COULD BEAT COVID-19, SAY EXPERTS

Health experts have reiterated that COVID-19 could be beaten through preventing heart diseases and change of lifestyle. As a result, they emphasise the need to shun such risk factors as smoking, alcohol intake, excessive consumption of fatty foods and salt, as well as sedentary lifestyle, among others. In their stead, people should embrace proper management of such debilitating diseases as hypertension and diabetes, eat healthy food with low salt, low fat and high fibre, maintain a healthy body weight and exercise regularly, at least 30 minutes twice weekly.

In addition, they urged Nigerians to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, fibre-rich whole grains and fish, preferably oily fish, at least twice a week, nuts, legumes and seeds, as well as eating some meals without red meat. They also recommended low-fat dairy products and skinless poultry.

This call was made at an event organised by Cardiac Community, sponsored by Three Crowns Milk to commemorate the World Heart Day titled: Heart Dialogue 2020, held at Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

Deputy Director, Non-communicable Diseases Control, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Abimbola Oshinowo, explained that heart disease refers to a disorder of the heart, and is part of cardiovascular diseases.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are disorders of the heart and blood vessels, and include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and rheumatic heart disease, among other conditions.

She said: “Heart disease is a form of non-communicable disease, which results from damage to all or parts of the heart, damage to the blood vessels of the heart (coronary arteries), or a poor supply of nutrients and oxygen to the heart. Some heart diseases are genetic, developed because the person has genes that make him/her susceptible to the disease, while some are congenital, which means the person is born with the heart defect.”

Consultant Cardiologist at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Dr. Akinsanya Olusegun Joseph, said heart failure, sometimes known as congestive heart failure, occurs when the heart muscle does not properly pump blood, as it should. “Certain conditions, such as narrowed arteries in the heart, coronary artery disease or high blood pressure gradually leave the heart too weak or stiff to fill and pump efficiently,” he said.

Olusegun stated that this year’s theme: ‘Be a heart hero, make a promise’ is a global call for individuals to make a promise that they would live healthy lifestyle and also educate those around them on the importance of healthy lifestyle to ensure that heart-related diseases are reduced in the society.

“Not all conditions that lead to heart failure can be reversed, but treatments can improve the signs and symptoms of heart failure and help the individual live longer,” he said.

He explained that one of the ways to avert heart failure is by preventing and controlling conditions that cause heart failure, such as coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity.

He stated that heart failure signs and symptoms include, shortness of breath, when the individual exerts himself/herself or when lying down, fatigue and weakness, swelling in the legs, ankles and feet, rapid or irregular heartbeat, reduced ability to exercise, persistent cough or wheezing with white or pink blood-tinged phlegm, increased need to urinate at night, swelling of abdomen ascites, very rapid weight gain from fluid retention, lack of appetite and nausea, difficulty concentrating or decreased alertness, sudden, severe shortness of breath and coughing up pink, foamy mucus and chest pain, if the heart failure is caused by heart attack.

Olusegun advised people to see their doctors, when they have signs or symptoms of heart failure. However, these signs and symptoms may be due to other possible causes, which include life-threatening heart and lung conditions.

He said: “If you have a diagnosis of heart failure and if any of the symptoms suddenly gets worse or you develop a new sign or symptom, it may mean that existing heart failure is getting worse or not responding to treatment. This may be also the case, if you gain 5 pounds 2.3 kg or more within a few days. So, it is important to contact your physician immediately.”

#STUDY: HOW EXERCISE REDUCES CANCER RISK

New research has suggested that people who exercise early morning may have a reduced risk of developing cancer than those who exercise later in the day. The research, appearing in the International Journal of Cancer, may help inform future research into the timing of exercise as a potential way of reducing cancer risk.

Research has shown that doing recreational exercise can reduce a person’s risk of developing many different cancers. This information is important because of the high number of people who develop cancer and the significant number who die of the disease. For example, in the United States, scientists estimate that by the end of 2020, 1,806,590 people will receive a diagnosis of cancer, while 606,520 people will die from the disease.

Given the large numbers of people who develop cancer, even a change as small as changing the time a person exercises could make a significant contribution to reducing the impact of cancer across the whole population.

As of 2018, 46.7 per cent of adults in the U.S. did not meet the minimum aerobic physical activity guidelines. Increasing physical activity and optimizing when it is most effective might be a possible way of reducing the prevalence of cancer in society.

There is also evidence that a person’s circadian rhythm may have links to their chance of developing cancer. The phrase circadian rhythm refers to the biological processes that affect a person’s sleep-wake cycle.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified the level of evidence linking night shift work that disrupts a person’s circadian rhythm as “probably” carcinogenic to humans.

In particular, researchers have linked night shift work to an increased risk of breast cancer. The evidence for prostate cancer remains unclear. Scientists have shown that exercise also has a relationship with a person’s circadian rhythm. According to 2019 research, exercising during the day may help improve a person’s circadian rhythm and lessen the adverse effects of disrupted sleep patterns.

Given that exercise can potentially reduce the risks of cancer and improve circadian rhythms and disrupted circadian rhythms can increase cancer risk, the authors of the new research hypothesized that the timing of physical activity might affect cancer risk.

To test this hypothesis, the researchers behind the present study analyzed the data from 2,795 participants. The participants were a subset of the Spanish multi case-control study (MCC-Spain), which set out to understand factors causing common cancers in Spain and how to prevent them.

From 2008–2013, researchers interviewed the participants to find out their lifetime recreational and household physical activity. An average of 3 years later, researchers assessed the timing of when people exercised.

The researchers looked in particular at the 781 women who had breast cancer and also responded to the questionnaire about their physical activity and 504 men who had prostate cancer and provided data about the timing of their exercise.

The researchers chose the controls in the MCC-Spain study randomly from general practice records. The researchers matched them to people in the study with cancer who were of the same sex and similar age. The controls in this study also responded to the follow-up questions about physical activity and its timings.

The researchers found that physical activity between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. had the strongest potential beneficial effect at reducing breast and prostate cancer.

About seven per cent of the people with breast cancer and nine per cent of people in the control group undertook most of their exercise in the early morning. About 12.7 per cent of people with prostate cancer and 14 per cent of the control group did early morning exercise.

The researchers developed a model that showed that the odds of developing breast cancer were potentially 25 per cent lower due to exercising in the morning compared with not exercising.

However, the statistical confidence of this estimate ranges from a 52 per cent reduction to a 15 per cent increase in risk.

The results show a similar picture of prostate cancer. The model predicted that those who exercised in the early morning had a 27 per cent reduced chance of having prostate cancer than non-exercisers. However, the range went from a 56 per cent reduction to a 20 per cent increase.

People who exercised in the evening, between 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., had a 25 per cent reduced risk for developing prostate cancer. However, as with the early morning findings, the evidence is not statistically significant.

The researchers suggest that any beneficial effects of early exercise for breast cancer risk may have links to estrogen. High estrogen levels have associations with an increased risk of breast cancer, and exercise can lower estrogen levels. Further, estrogen production is most active at around 7:00 a.m.

Melatonin may also be a factor. Researchers have shown that melatonin may protect against cancer risk and that exercise later in the day or at night can delay melatonin production.

MEANWHILE, another study has shown that people with cancer who exercise generally have a better prognosis than inactive patients. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found a likely explanation of why exercise helps slow down cancer growth in mice: Physical activity changes the metabolism of the immune system’s cytotoxic T cells and thereby improves their ability to attack cancer cells.

The study is published in the journal eLife.

“The biology behind the positive effects of exercise can provide new insights into how the body maintains health as well as help us design and improve treatments against cancer,” said Randall Johnson, professor at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, and the study’s corresponding author.

Prior research has shown that physical activity can prevent unhealthy as well as improve the prognosis of several diseases including various forms of cancer.

Exactly how exercise exerts its protective effects against cancer is, however, still unknown, especially when it comes to the biological mechanisms. One plausible explanation is that physical activity activates the immune system and thereby bolsters the body’s ability to prevent and inhibit cancer growth.

In this study, researchers at Karolinska Institutet expanded on this hypothesis by examining how the immune system’s cytotoxic T cells, that is white blood cells specialized in killing cancer cells, respond to exercise.

They divided mice with cancer into two groups and let one group exercise regularly in a spinning wheel while the other remained inactive. The result showed that cancer growth slowed and mortality decreased in the trained animals compared with the untrained.

Next, the researchers examined the importance of cytotoxic T cells by injecting antibodies that remove these T cells in both trained and untrained mice. The antibodies knocked out the positive effect of exercise on both cancer growth and survival, which according to the researchers demonstrates the significance of these T cells for exercise-induced suppression of cancer.

The researchers also transferred cytotoxic T cells from trained to untrained mice with tumors, which improved their prospects compared with those who got cells from untrained animals.

To examine how exercise influenced cancer growth, the researchers isolated T cells, blood and tissue samples after training sessions and measured levels of common metabolites that are produced in muscle and excreted into plasma at high levels during exertion.

Some of these metabolites, such as lactate, altered the metabolism of the T cells and increased their activity. The researchers also found that T cells isolated from an exercised animal showed an altered metabolism compared to T cells from resting animals.

In addition, the researchers examined how these metabolites change in response to exercise in humans. They took blood samples from eight healthy men after 30 minutes of intense cycling and noticed that the same training-induced metabolites were released in humans.

“Our research shows that exercise affects the production of several molecules and metabolites that activate cancer-fighting immune cells and thereby inhibit cancer growth,” said Helene Rundqvist, a senior researcher at the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, and the study’s first author. “We hope these results may contribute to a deeper understanding of how our lifestyle impacts our immune system and inform the development of new immunotherapies against cancer.”

CORONAVIRUS

What is Coronavirus?

The coronavirus is a member of the family Coronaviridae and resembles a spiked ring under the electron microscope. Scientists have named it coronavirus, due to the presence of innumerable crown-like projections forming a halo-like structure. Upon detailed investigations, scientists could establish that the virus uses the spikes to bind to host cells and start reproduction. Structurally, this virus consists of a strand of RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) and can cause both severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) like symptoms. The physician and scientist community across the globe have become highly concerned about the outbreak of this infection. Between November 2002 and July 2003, a SARS outbreak in Southern China infected 8098 cases and caused death to 774 individuals. Similarly, a MERS outbreak in September 2012, infected about 124 patients and resulted in 52 deaths in Saudi Arabia

From where did the Coronavirus originate?

Most people speculate that the deadly Coronavirus originated at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan. It is a popular market selling fishes, processed meat products, and other living animals including chicken, donkey, goad, snake, etc.

Since coronavirus is zoonotic(i.e. it can be transmitted between animals and humans), it is common among animals. However, in some rare circumstances, it can even transmit to human beings. Bat is the common origin of source. but this time it may be originated from snake as per recent evidences from genetic code analysis. But controversy is there for this outbreak.

What are the different types of Coronavirus?

Until now, scientists have documented six different strains of Coronavirus causing infections in human beings.

229E (alpha coronavirus)

NL63 (alpha coronavirus)

OC43 (beta coronavirus)

HKU1 (beta coronavirus)

MERS-CoV (causing MERS or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome)

SARS-CoV (causing SARS or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

The first four types of Coronavirus produce mild symptoms, while the last two can cause severe symptoms which can even lead to complications.

But this time it is named as 2019-nCoV by World Health Organization (WHO) for its novelty.

What are the symptoms of Coronavirus?

The coronavirus affects the upper respiratory tract of human beings and causes common-cold like symptoms. Infected people experience a runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever, and headache. However, if MERS-CoV or SARS-CoV cause infection, then the symptoms become more severe.

Patients experience very high temperature, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, and exacerbated asthma in these cases. There are also chances of developing complications like pneumonia, bronchitis, and kidney damage. The mortality rate of MERS-CoV is also much higher than the Novel Coronavirus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around three to four individuals out of ten patients succumb to this infection.

How does Coronovirus spread from infected patients to healthy individuals?

Coronavirus is a zoonotic virus originating primarily in animals like bat. However, it can also get transmitted to human beings if they come in direct contact with infected mediator animals. Human-to-human transmission of this virus can occur by contacting the secretions of infected individuals. Cough droplets, sneeze, handshake, or touching clothes and utensils of patients are some common mode of contracting the virus.

Is there any treatment for Coronavirus?

Currently, there is no specific treatment for Coronavirus. In most cases, patients notice an improvement in their conditions on their own. Drinking plenty of fluids, rest, and pain-relieving drugs can soothe the symptoms. However, if symptoms become severe, then doctors can prescribe medications to control the situation based on symptoms. 

How can you prevent the spread of Coronavirus?

Here are some of the ways of limiting the spread of Coronavirus:

- Cleaning hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

- Covering mouth and nose while coughing and sneezing with a clean cloth.

- Infected person(s) should avoid direct contact with healthy people.

- Cleaning hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds