Who says all fish are healthy to eat? Not true! A prime example is the pangasius, also known as the slimy catfish or the Basa fish, which has an extremely dubious reputation, and its impact on our health has been proven harmful.

What's the deal?

Wild pangasius is incredibly rich in vitamins D, B12, selenium, omega-3 fatty acids... Pangasius is valued for its moderate fat content and high-quality protein. However, this only applies to wild pangasius, not to fish from fish farms.

Today, it's practically impossible to find wild pangasius, but the world has been flooded with industrial pangasius, which were literally created in Chinese laboratories years ago. The original purpose was to genetically engineer a fish that would feed on toxic wastewater, bacteria, and microorganisms from dead fish. The basic purpose of pangasius is to clean water polluted by industry and animal farms.

But wait, there's more!

When the Chinese succeeded in creating such a creature that literally cleansed poisoned water, they didn't stop experimenting in the lab. They managed to extract a hormone from dehydrated urine that they give to pangasius to make them grow faster, and their flesh fluffier. With this, pangasius secured a place on our plates, along with all the toxins and bacteria that the unfortunate fish ingested.

And to make the problem even bigger, today we only get pangasius from farms in Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand... Analyses have shown that such fish practically lack nutrients but still have high levels of industrial toxins. In Europe (including Slovenia), most of the fish in stores come from the dirty and polluted Mekong River in Vietnam, where all industrial waste ends up, including the feces of a 90-million-country.

And we need to warn about one more vicious cycle... Retailers like to sell pangasius because sellers eagerly buy them back. Fish that have expired or couldn't be sold, the remains of dead fish are dried, ground, packaged in bags, and become food for new pangasius.

Pangasius are not randomly called sanitary fish, but how successful these fish are in cleaning water is unknown.