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Shark liver oil does, however, serve as a lubricant in certain popular over-the-counter hemorrhoid creams. Fitzgerald said chemically contaminated shark and other fish oils, such as cod liver oil, could be particularly toxic when consumed as supplements, since HBCD, PCB's, dioxins and other chemicals concentrate in shark organs, especially the liver. According to the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, which also found HBCD in porpoise and dolphin blubber, the flame retardant "disrupts the thyroid function and the functioning of the nervous system in mammals." Jan Boon and his team studied the bodies of marine mammals stranded off the coasts of Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and northwest Spain. Together with the Japanese data and prior HBCD studies, the research suggests contamination from the chemical is extremely widespread -- possibly affecting waters, fish and marine mammals across the globe. Sharks appear to be among the most susceptible to chemical contamination since they are high on the food chain, where chemicals can "bio-accumulate," gradually increasing in concentration as they are passed from the tiniest plankton to small fish and onward up the chain. "Sharks are ocean apex predators," Fitzgerald explained. "A lot of animals in the ocean wind up in a shark." He advises that if a consumer still wishes to purchase a fish oil, the individual should look for fish "body oils" instead of "liver oils," since they probably contain fewer contaminants and usually come from smaller fish. Such a purchase would also be better for fish populations, since sharks, which often produce few pups later in life, are "very vulnerable to fishing pressures," he said. As for HBCD, several countries have initiated studies of the chemical, but thousands of tons of it continue to circulate in products worldwide.
Jennifer Viegas' blog: Born Animal |
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