Fish provides vitamin B to the body as well as fluoride, iodine, and also iron. Even if you have a fatty cut of fish it is still less fat and cholesterol than most cuts of red meat. Individuals often complain that it is difficult to choose a healthy or safe fish to eat. Here are some healthy fish guidelines to help.

Inland lake fish are built on agricultural lands, which may contain high levels of pesticide residues and other contaminants, so beware!

Most chemical contaminants will concentrate in the fatty tissues of fish. Fatty fish are salmon and swordfish. So if you eat salmon or swordfish chose young, small ones. Choosing leaner varieties of fish such as cod, flounder, haddock, Pacific halibut, ocean perch, and pollock and sole are healthier choices.

Up to 85% of all seafood poisonings come from raw shellfish. The shellfish can sit in polluted estuaries and are often exposed to viruses, bacteria and other disease-causing microorganisms, some of which can be destroyed by proper cooking. To decrease your risk, cook fish properly, especially oysters, and clams should be well cooked in a stew or baked, and not eaten raw or on the half-shell.

Good healthy ocean fish has a mild ocean smell and fresh inland fish smells like cucumbers. If your fish has a strong fishy or ammonia odor it may be spoiled.

If the fresh fish has eyes, they should be clear (except walleyed) and they should have bright red, moist gills. When you press on the skin there should be an indentation.

When picking fish from a market, choose the well-wrapped fish that has packaging that has no tears. Avoid anything that looks like it has frost on it, which would indicate long storage or thawing and then refreezing.

When out shopping always pick up your seafood last, so that it stays cold. Once home, remove the fish from the wrapper, rinse it in cold water, pat it dry and store it immediately in the coldest part of the refrigerator. You should always use fresh fish within one day of purchase. If thawing frozen fish, do so in the refrigerator and not at room temperature.

Fish needs to be cooked well so that it looks opaque and flakes easily with a fork. You should boil clams and oysters for four to six minutes or steam them for six to eight minutes.

Pregnant women and nursing moms should be especially careful when choosing fish because mercury contained in contaminated fish can be harmful to fetuses and newborns. Big fish contain more mercury usually because they live longer. The fish that usually contain the highest levels of mercury are:

Bluefish

Grouper

Sea Bass

Tuna (canned albacore, yellowfin)

Marlin

Orange Roughy

Shark

Swordfish

Tilefish

Tuna (Ahi)