Another Food Poisoning Attack, Is Salmon Fish Poisonous?

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Sometime ago, I wrote about my food poisoning experience and the reaction it had on me, that was the very first time I had a food poisoning attack and I was wondering what in the food I prepared properly myself could have caused a serious reaction with my body like that, since my friends came over the following day and they eat the same meal that gave me a food poisoning attack and nothing happened to them, and besides I was fine after a couple of hours, I discarded the feeling.

This week however, I got the same type of fish and after eating this fish, I encountered the same food poisoning attack, this time, the feeling lasted for days and at the time of writing this post, I am still recovering from fever, then I concluded that the fish might either not be good one for me or there is something in the fish that does not sit well with my body. The funny part of this story is that, other people also eat from the same pot as me but I was the only one who consistently vomited all through the night. What could be in this fish that is making me throw up consistently every time I consume it, let’s find out together in this publication.

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How I got to know about Salmon.

I was writing an article about the health benefits of some fish and Salmon was one of the fish with a very high nutritional quality, just two days after writing that article, I went to the market to purchase fish and I was introduced to salmon fish, this was the fish I just had so much great information about, I didn’t waste any time before purchasing the nutritious fish, certainly this fish had something against my body because few minutes later I began throwing up profusely.

Associated health benefits of salmon fish (the reason why I bought it).

• Salmon fish has a great nutritional value, either it is farm or the wild type, they are so great. It contains an average of 22-25grams of protein, 182-206 calories, 8-1grams of fat,20-21% of the DV phosphorus, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6, selenium and Niacin are as well packed full in this fish is significant amount.

• Salmon fish is very rich in omega-3 fatty acids: If salmon is consumed at two servings within a week, the individual consuming it would have attained the required amount of omega-3 fatty acid in the body for the week. Taking in required amount of omega-3 fatty acid has been discovered to be a great way to help reduce blood pressure, reduce inflammation as well as reduce the possibility of having other diseases.

• Rich in high quality protein: Protein is extremely essential in every diet, amongst the several benefits of protein in the body are; it serves as a means of bone protection, it helps to maintain muscle mass when there is weight loss or during age advancement, it also helps to protect the bone. According to nutrition research experts, each consumed meal contain a minimum of 20-30 grams of protein that is available in high quality.

• Extremely rich in B vitamins: Vitamin 12, Riboflavin, Niacin, and Pantothenic acid are all found in significant quantity per serving of salmon fish. These vitamins cannot be undervalued because they are responsible for the conversion of consumed food into energy, they are responsible for the creation and repair of DNA, they are also responsible for the reduction of chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation in the body can result in serious health breakdown.

• Great source of potassium**: Potassium helps in managing blood pressure and of course, reduce the possibility of getting a stroke. Potassium in the body significantly reduces level of blood pressure especially when mixed with sodium, there comes a great regulation of fluid balance.

• Packed full with selenium: Selenium is a trace mineral, this means that our body only requires very little quantity of the mineral, regardless selenium in our diet is extremely important and necessary. Selenium in the body functions by protecting the bone health, reducing the risk of some cancer types.

Filled with Astaxanthin: Astaxanthin is a type of antioxidant, it is a member of the carotenoid family. It helps to lower the risk of getting a heart disease by reducing the levels of bad cholesterol and increasing the levels of good cholesterol in the body. Astaxanthin in the body acts as an antioxidant that improves skin elasticity, protect the skin against every form of cell damage and improves skin elasticity, with this antioxidant in the body, skin damage is prevented and a younger and radiant look is guaranteed.

• Helps in the maintenance of a good eye sight: The presence of Vitamin A, astaxanthin in Salmon helps in preventing certain eye defects and disorders which includes eye fatigue, degeneration of the eye muscle which is age related and cataracts.

• Supports the bone: The bone is a significant source of Vitamin D. Vitamin D is a micronutrient responsible for the increase in health bone. Salmon contains phosphorus, phosphorus in the body is a certain nutrient type important for the maintenance of bone strength.

• Helps improve mental health: The presence of omega-3 fatty acids would help reduce the risk of depression.

• Salmon has a delicious taste, if there is one thing I love salmon for, it is the taste and the texture, the fact that the fish can also be re-created in so many ways is a great addition it can be smoked, it can be grilled it can be steamed and even poached.1.

With all the listed health benefits of Salmon fish, tell me why anyone would not want to consume it on a regular note, but my body has decided not to sit well with my body and I decided to find out why, of course I got my answer, it is because Salmon fish could be affected by scombroid toxin.

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Scombroid Poisoning.

This poison attack is usually associated with fish, when there is an improper storage of fish, bacteria's grow within it, the grown bacteria produces a toxin known as scombroid toxin. This toxin however does not affect everyone that consume it, this explains the reason why my friends were not affected even after we both consumed the same meal. Proper cooking actually kills bacteria found in the affected fish, but the toxins still remain in the tissues and after food consumption, the toxins can still be absorbed by the body. Some examples of fish usually associated with scombroid toxin are; Bluefish, salmon, bonito, sardines, wahoo, anchovy, Australian etc.2

This poisoning attack usually takes around 30 minutes to an hour after the infected food has been poisoned, some of the symptoms of this toxin poison are; Vomiting, flushing, nausea, diarrhea and headache, body weakness amongst others. This discomfort could either last for a few hours or days.
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Salmon also contains a significant amount of mercury which could greatly affect the body if consumed in large amount.
While growing the fish on the farm, they are treated with antibiotics, these could result in antibiotics resistant at the long run in humans who consume the fish. 1

The result of my research showed that, I am not the only one who has this experience after consuming salmon fish, this made me proceed with my findings on other possible reasons behind the experience of food-poisoning after consuming salmon fish.
The reason why the toxins in fish affect some and has no effect in others is simply as a result of the difference in immune system. Some people have fish-allergy which could begin at any point and then extend for a life time. Fish allergy is when the body completely rejects the intake of fish, a protein type commonly found in fish known as parvalbumin

Fish intolerance on the other hand, can appear at any point in life and disappear as quickly as they come. An upset stomach, headaches and nausea are symptoms of fish intolerance. The best way to identify the presence of allergies and intolerance is to seek the help of medical experts and get tested. 4

Conclusion

Salmon is a very good and healthy fish, but the toxin found in the fish might not sit well with everyone depending on the individual's immune system, some people may also have fish allergy and the best thing is to stay off fish until their body adjusts or live like that forever, from my own end, I have decided to stay off salmon fish because I hate being sick, until I come your away again, I am @oluwatobiloba.

REFERENCES.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/salmon-nutrition-and-health-benefits

https://www.emedicinehealth.com/wilderness_scombroid_poisoning/article_em.htm

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/food-poisoning-signs-symptoms#TOC_TITLE_HDR_7

https://homecookworld.com/why-does-eating-salmon-make-me-sick/

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Hi, I am Tobi a writer, speaker, relationship blogger, and lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people. Want to hear me speak on relationships and general life issues, you can find my podcast channel Here and I also have a youtube channel where you can listen and watch any of any episode for free, do not forget to subscribe and share with friends. I sincerely appreciate every love I get from members of the community and do well to keep them coming.



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6 comments
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The Wikipedia Page for Scombroid said:

Fish commonly implicated include tuna, mackerel, mahi mahi, sardine, anchovy, herring, bluefish, amberjack, and marlin.[2] These fish naturally have high levels of histidine,

If this was the problem then the disease was related to the way it was harvested and stored and not the species. Wikipedia did not mention salmon specifically. I wouldn't list it as unique to salmon.

Salmon does have problems. Since salmon feed on other fish they can concentrate mercury or other heavy metals as you mentioned.

There are several places that farm salmon. Reports claim that farmed fish are less healthy than wild caught fish. Environmentalists say salmon farms are rather toxic.

There are several web sites that list sustainable fish. I suspect that the list of sustainable fish differs by region. I do not know where you are located.

A fish that is good in one location may not be good for another location.

The best approach is to find a list of the best fish for your locality.

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Hi @irivers, thanks for taking the time to read my article.

If you read this part of my article,

This poison attack is usually associated with fish, when there is an improper storage of fish, bacteria's grow within it, the grown bacteria produces a toxin known as scombroid toxin. This toxin however does not affect everyone that consume it, this explains the reason why my friends were not affected even after we both consumed the same meal. Proper cooking actually kills bacteria found in the affected fish, but the toxins still remain in the tissues and after food consumption, the toxins can still be absorbed by the body. Some examples of fish usually associated with scombroid toxin are; Bluefish, salmon, bonito, sardines, wahoo, anchovy, Australian etc

You will see that I mentioned other fish types that could come up with the same storage problem, the article is not in any way to devalue salmon fish as stated here;

Salmon is a very good and healthy fish, but the toxin found in the fish might not sit well with everyone depending on the individual's immune system, some people may also have fish allergy and the best thing is to stay off fish until their body adjusts or live like that forever.

I am located in Nigeria, the issue is my immune system not the fish because my friends eat from the same pot as me and they were just fine as described in the post, the aim of the post is to describe my allergy with salmon fish and make people understand the possible reason why they may experience a food poisoning attack after consuming a certain fish type. Thanks

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I am located in Nigeria,

I admit, I was trying to bring up the issue of region. One should expect to see different fish in different regions.

The term "salmon" is usually refers to an order of cold water fish. One can find salmon the Atlantic. Historical documents note that the "Atlantic Salmon" was not found in the Mediterranean or Southern Hemisphere.

The most abudant salmon is found in the Pacific Northwest ... which is essentially on the opposite side of the world from Nigeria.

Nigeria has warm waters.

So, I decided to look up common fish in Nigeria. There is a species of ray-finned makerel in Nigeria in the Scombridae family. This fish is sometimes called Titus. Apparently some people in Nigeria call it "salmon" as it looks a bit like salmon.

This report from the FDA says that scombrotoxin poisoning is due the high level of histamine in the Scombroid order of fish. Please note, the disease is named after the type of fish.

This report from the World Health Organization examines the histamine levels of fish in the Salmon family.

The report from WHO says: "scombroid fish [...] have
free histidine levels ranging from approximately 5 000 mg/kg to 20 000 mg/kg." The report then says "most species in the Salmonidae family have less than 1 000 mg/kg histidine. Thus most members of the Salmonidae family have somewhere between 10 and 200 times less free histidine than scombroid fish."

This forum post confirms that people in Nigeria call the Titus makerel "salmon." Titus is a Scombroid so it is is a likely source of scombroid toxin. Since salmon is a cold water fish there should be no local name for it.

It is possible that you got Scombrotoxin poisoning from eating Salmon; however, since there is a makerel sold in Nigeria as "salmon," it is possible that you had a Scombroid fish that was misidentified as salmon.

You could tell by learning the region of the fish. Was the fish caught in the North Atlantic or Pacific. If it was locally caught it most likely was a Titus (a member of the scombroid family) and was not a salmon.

I aslo asked if it was farmed raised. Salmon are not well suited to farms and are more prone to diseases than wild caught salmon.

BTW, people in the United States are notorious for mislabeling foods. We call bison "buffalo," we call sweet potatoes "yams." We call juniper "cedars" and so forth. This problem shows up a lot in international forums. Whenever a discussion about food arises, one has to be careful to report the region.

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This is mysterious stuff indeed. Makes one despair of ever finding a universal human diet.

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