Among bike riders the world over a difference exists between
those of us who pedal. Some do it for
fun, some do it for pain. The SBT crew
rides for fun and fitness, others--they call themselves cyclists--ride for the
pain. They go for miles at high speeds,
feeling the burn. We all know the
cyclists out there (the Dutch call them “wheel runners”). The SBT crew knows that people ride for any
number of reasons but one thing we all may have in common is trying to eat a
healthy diet. We recently uncovered some
news that may help all bicycling people make a smart food choice.
Protein is good for you. Lean
meats are important. A solid meal rife
with protein provides beneficial amino acids—the building blocks of
muscle. For the protein-conscience eater
the top foods are turkey, fish, beans, tofu, eggs, yogurt and cheese. They are all fairly straightforward meal
choices. Except for one--we raise an
eyebrow of doubt at fish. And the fish
in question is tuna.
The Atlantic
recently covered a report noting the frequent mislabeling of tuna. As it turns out, tuna for all intents and
purposes, is not tuna. It is escolar, a
fish found in most of the world’s oceans.
For quite some time now escolar has been mislabeled as tuna. The
Atlantic researchers discovered that 59% of all tuna consumed in the US is
escolar. According to The Atlantic statistics, grocery stores
mislabel tuna 18% of the time and restaurants get it wrong 38% of the
time. But the biggest mislabeler of tuna
are sushi establishments, 74% of all “tuna” served in sushi restaurants is not
tuna. The Atlantic also noted, “In
Chicago, Austin, New York, and Washington DC, every single sushi restaurant
sampled sold mislabeled tuna.”
Why escolar? That is easy, they are plentiful, tuna not so much. Since 1900 tuna stocks in the Atlantic Ocean have dropped a staggering 83% according to Norwegian researchers.
Sometimes snapper is substituted for tuna but mainly—84% of
the time—it is actually escolar. And
escolar is not exactly safe to consume.
It is an oily fish and that oil can lead to some stomach distress
because the inner workings of humans tend to fight back when oils are
introduced. The condition is known by
the fancy term: keriorrhea which is diarrhea, headaches, cramps and “get me to
the bowl.” The Japanese consider the
fish toxic and it has been banned in the country since 1977. That is saying something because the Japanese
will eat just about anything that comes from the sea. Some
fancy marketing has been developed but don’t be fooled. Much like the Chinese gooseberry became the
kiwi, the escolar is slowly becoming “super white tuna.”
 |
| Not a tuna |
Legislation to ban the catch of the fish in the U.S. has
stalled so the likelihood of the average American consuming escolar is real, especially
those of us who fancy some sushi. Our
best advice may be for our dear readers to revisit our post “Will Ride for
Pizza” from back in December.
If you see someone suffering from keriorrhea point them in
the direction of refuge and get out of the way.
Please visit our website at www.stickybottleteam.net for other
road cycling and bike riding information.
