Should you eat raw herring?

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Eating raw herring is a delicious dish, because of its high nutritional content and now dishes from raw herring have been popular in the meals of some Vietnamese families. However, there are many reasons people cook herring before eating it, rather than simply eating it raw. So should you eat raw herring or not?

1. Should you eat raw herring or not?

Herring can be eaten raw through a number of handling and processing methods, including pickling. Pickled herring is a dish that is consumed all over the world, but it is especially popular in the Scandinavian and Nordic regions. Herring is found throughout the North Atlantic Ocean from Main Bay to St. Lawrence, around Iceland and in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean from the Barents Sea to the English Channel and the Celtic Sea.
Most of the salted herring consumed in the United States is caught from the Atlantic Ocean off the east coast from Maine to North Carolina. Herring salting is a traditional way of preserving. To salt herring, producers or housewives use a two-step process.
First, the fish is soaked in salt, removing all the water. Then remove all salt and soak herring in brine mixed with vinegar, salt and sugar. The second step is to add flavorings depending on the needs or preferences of the user. Popular flavoring options include: Pepper, onion, mustard, dill, wine.... In the industrial production of salted herring. Manufacturers often salt the fish and pack it into small boxes for easy transportation and storage. Pickled herring contains many beneficial nutrients, especially heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Nutrition facts a quarter cup of pickled herring contains:
Energy: 92 calories Protein: 5 grams Fat: 6 grams Carbohydrates: 3 grams Fiber: 0 grams Sugar: 3 grams Pickled herring is a source Provides relatively abundant Vitamin B12 and iron. In addition, pickled herring is also an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which provide some significant health benefits.

2. The health benefits of raw herring

Eating foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids like raw herring that has been pickled can help reduce the risk of many chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure.... Health benefits. Other potentials of eating pickled herring include:
Reduced risk of metabolic heart disease : New research on the link between omega-3 fatty acids and heart-related diseases is revealing more promise. Researchers have found that omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, especially coronary heart disease, by reducing the risk of abnormal heart rhythms that can lead to stroke. Cardiovascular death, lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood, reducing the growth rate of plaques that can clog blood vessel walls, and by preventing inflammation and the formation of blood clots. All of the above factors can contribute to an increased risk of developing heart-related diseases. Supports essential bodily functions: Vitamin B12 in pickled herring supports many functions in the body, including brain function, and protects and maintains a healthy nervous system. Together with folate (vitamin B9), it helps the body make red blood cells. Prevents anemia: The iron in pickled herring helps the body produce hemoglobin, a substance found in red blood cells that helps the blood carry oxygen around the body. When the body doesn't get enough iron, it can't make enough hemoglobin to do its job well, leading to anemia. Anemia can make people feel tired, dizzy, short of breath, and have headaches.
As with fresh herring, pickled herring is an excellent natural source of both vitamin D3 and omega-3 fatty acids. It is also a good source of selenium and vitamin B12. Just 100 grams of pickled herring can also provide 680 IU of vitamin D, equivalent to 170% of the body's daily needs, as well as 84% ​​of the body's daily needs for selenium and 71% of the body's needs. for vitamin B12.

3. Potential risks when eating pickled herring

Pickled herring is high in sodium, which can contribute to high blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart attack.
Pickled herring is rich in tyramine, so it should be avoided in the diets of people being treated with the antidepressant monoamine oxidase inhibitor. This organic compound has also been linked to headaches, so migraine sufferers should be careful when consuming pickled herring.

Nowadays, people are paying more attention to the overfishing of herring as well as the excessive mercury content causing adverse health effects. However, consumers can rest assured about the mercury content in some types of fish, including herring and sardines. Herring has a low level of mercury compared to most fish, only 0.04 milligrams of mercury per kilogram of fish. The US Centers for Disease Control allows the maximum considered safe level of mercury to be 0.3 milligrams, which is also a much more conservative level than the World Health Organization standards.
The sustainability of herring is also closely monitored. This fish is not farm-raised and is mostly caught in the wild, so consumers don't need to worry at all about the risk of losing their high omega-3 acid value, a common problem. when eating farmed fish. Herring is not a potentially allergenic food, but there have been cases of histamine toxicity reactions from poorly stored and refrigerated herring. This “fish poisoning” can cause red, swollen and blotchy skin, headaches, and painful gastrointestinal symptoms.

If you are concerned about the high sodium in pickled herring, you can try smoked herring, which is much lower in sodium, or raw, untreated or smoked herring.

4. Things you may not know about raw herring

Commonly pickled raw herring has been around for quite some time and they even appear in various works of art throughout the centuries, including paintings painted in the 1890s.
The beating Catching and pickling herring began in the Middle Ages and is still practiced throughout Europe today. Herring is also available in the United States, but is much less common and not a regular part of the diet of most Americans. Depending on the state in the United States, people eat pickled herring in very different ways.
The Dutch have a very special way of enjoying herring when they can put a whole large piece of herring in their mouth. However, people in Russia, Poland or Ukraine have a different way of enjoying it, they cut the fish up and eat it with beets and mayonnaise. In Scandinavia, it is more common to enjoy pickled herring on rye bread, and many New York City Jews tend to enjoy large, fatty fish.
Because of its popularity in the Jewish community, pickled herring can often be found at social and religious gatherings as well as on the menus of diet restaurants. Residents of Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine serve pickled herring as a Christmas Eve specialty. Scandinavians love to enjoy it on New Year's Eve.

Herring is a small, wild-caught fish popular in European cuisine. This fish is in the same family as sardines. It is considered a healthy fish with very low toxicity. Herring contains large amounts of important nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and selenium. These are important for fighting and preventing heart disease, as well as certain types of cancer. Many mood and mental disorders show promising results when treated with omega-3 rich foods like herring. Fish with omega-3s can also prevent age-related problems, inflammation, and chronic pain. Salted herring is commonly served in Europe, where it is considered a staple, as well as a dish served on specific holidays. You can buy pre-packed cans of salted herring to eat or pickle your own.
Most of the dishes from herring are very easy to make, the nutritional content of herring is also suitable for many ages. Therefore, you can buy herring for processing to make family meals more complete and delicious with this fish.

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