Children of Israel-SHARK IS UNCLEAN
|
Leviticus 11:9-12
9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.
Deuteronomy 14:3 Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.
Deuteronomy 14:9-10
9 These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:
10 And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.
Dangers of eating Shark
Shark meat has been shown to carry levels of toxic metals such as mercury that far exceed what is allowable for human consumption. A recent article demonstrates that sharks can also carry the dangerous and often fatal marine toxin ciguatoxin. Eating a single piece of ciguatoxin-contaminated fish can be lethal for humans, and in the case described in this paper it caused the death of 11 people in Madagascar who ate the meat of a contaminated bull shark.
Ciguatoxin is produced by certain types of algae, which are consumed by fish and then become concentrated in higher levels of the food chain. The disease that results in humans is called ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP). Large predatory fish that eat ciguatoxin-contaminated prey can carry extremely high levels of the toxin, and tens to hundreds of thousands of human poisonings each year come from contaminated reef fish such as mahi-mahi, grouper, snapper and others. Ciguatoxin is not destroyed by heat, so contaminated fish remain toxic even after cooking. Symptoms of CFP are initially gastrointestinal (nausea, vomiting), and neurological (tingling of the lips and fingers), and eventually cardiac (irregular heartbeat, heart failure). In survivors of the initial poisoning, the neurologic symptoms can persist for months.
Shark should be added to the watch-list for CFP. In the Madagascar incident, 97 people became sick after eating the meat or liver of a bull shark. Eleven of those who became sick eventually died. Genetic analysis of remaining samples of the meat consumed showed that it all came from a single bull shark. Mass spectrometry analysis was used to show the presence of ciguatoxin in the meat of the shark, and very high levels in the stomach. To confirm the potency of the toxin as the cause of death, mice injected with an extract from the remaining shark meat samples died within hours.
What other toxins can be found in shark meat & how do they affect consumers?
Methylmercury:
Although mercury can naturally occur in the ocean it is heavily released from our industrial pollutants. As it accumulates it becomes methylmercury and is absorbed by marine life.
Methylmercury bioaccumulates, staying in the consumer’s system, whether the meat is fresh or frozen.
Toxicologist Dr. Hermann Fruse of the University of Kiel in Germany stated that mercury is “one of the most biologically active and most dangerous poisons to humans.”
What can methylmercury do to average consumers?
headaches
tremors
cognitive dysfunction
serious birth defects
damage to the central nervous system
memory problems
depression
kidney damage
cancer
brain damage
Lead:
Even lead has been found in shark meat in high levels!
Lead poisoning can cause:
headaches
pain
seizures
coma
Arsenic:
Jann Gilbert of Southern Cross University in Australia presented findings of dangerous levels of arsenic found in shark meat as well. Gilbert studied Sandbar, Dusky, Great White, Whale, Dwarf Pygmy, and Hammerhead Sharks. They were all found to have levels of arsenic way beyond recommended consumption standards. Gilbert stated that the consumption of these species can be extremely dangerous and should be avoided at all costs.
This is because when consumed, arsenic can cause:
damage to the lungs
skin damage
kidney damage
liver damage
heart attack
stroke
cancer
death
Urea:
Another reason to rethink eating shark meat is high levels of urea which is secreted from shark skin. Urea being the chief nitrogenous waste from marine mammals. It is the non-toxic nitrogen-containing substance which humans excrete in their urine which keeps the fish from drying out in salt water.
After sharks are killed and left out of the water, decomposition occurs which means high amounts of ammonia are produced. When the shark dies the urea deteriorates back to ammonia, so the meat will taste and smell like ammonia. In order to hide the smell, markets will drench unprocessed shark meat in milk to reduce the strong odor.
