Annotated Bibliography of Selected Papers Dealing with the Health Benefits and Risks of Fish and Seafood Consumption

Abstract

A descriptive annotated bibliography is presented of recent selected publications dealing with the reported health benefits and risks of fish and seafood consumption; fish and seafood including farmed and wild-caught finfish, crustaceans, mollusks, and seaweeds. The bibliography is presented in four parts, namely (1) review papers dealing with both the health benefits and risks of fish and seafood consumption, (2) specific papers dealing with health benefits related to: antioxidants; bone health; brain and mental health; cancer prevention; diabetes prevention; elderly and senior adults; fermentation; heart health and hypertension; immune response and allergies; infant and child health; lipids, fatty acids and sterols; minerals and trace elements; obesity and overweight reduction; polysaccharides; pregnancy and gestational health; proteins, peptides and amino acids; and vitamins and bioactive compounds; (3) specific papers dealing with health risks related to: algal blooms and shellfish biotoxins; antibiotics use and residues; cancer risks; chemicals; chronic kidney disease; microbial quality and safety; microplastics; minerals and heavy metals; parasites and pathogens; pesticides and persistent organic pollutants; public perception and media; seafood allergy; and smoking risks; and (4) supporting papers dealing with consumption advisories and dietary guidelines; improved decontamination and processing methods; and fish, food and nutrient security. A total of 552 papers are presented together with their annotated summaries. On the basis of the papers presented in this review, it is believed that the higher nutritional value and health benefits derived from increased fish and seafood consumption far out-way the potential negative risks to human health, and as such fish and seafood represent a valuable and much healthier alternative than processed fast-foods and many terrestrial animal food products in the global fight against heart disease and related health ailments.

Keywords:

• Fish
• seafood
• shellfish
• seaweeds
• health benefits
• health risks
• human nutrition

Acknowledgements

This work was conducted under the objectives of the Problem Oriented Research Nucleus “Fish for Health – improved nutritional quality of cultured fish for human consumption,” a Science for Development Center supported by FAPESP (The São Paulo Research Foundation, Brazil; 2020/06830-9). The Research Nucleus is hosted by the University of São Paulo (USP) with support of the Fisheries Institute of the São Paulo State (Brazil) and is a consortium of public and partners with the mission to promote and increase fish consumption as a healthy alternative to consumers.