If I Buy Fish in a Grocery Store How Do I Know What to Look For & What to Avoid?

Hey, it's J.J. here. You know, I've been talking about environmental toxins forever and laundry detergent is a sneaky one. A lot of them contain harsh chemicals like dyes, preservatives, and even UV brighteners. Those brighteners don't actually clean anything. They just coat fabric so your eyes think things look whiter or brighter. That's more chemicals I don't want on my family sheets or skin. And if you've got sensitive skin or allergies around the house, this can be a big problem. That's what got my attention about Earth Breeze. It looks like a dryer sheet, but it's actually laundry detergent. You toss one in the washer and that's it. No pouring, no mess, and no heavy plastic jug. Their packaging is lightweight cardboard, which helps reduce plastic waste. And if you choose the fragrance free option, it's gentle, hypoallergenic, non irritating and non sensitizing. I really like how simple it is and how fresh and clean everything comes out without those unnecessary chemicals. Right now you can try Earth Breeze for up to 40% off with free gifts@earthbreeze.com virgin that's earthbreeze.com virgin for up to 40% off plus free gifts on your first order. Hey JJ here. Every year around this time, I get the urge to make my home feel a little extra special. A space that feels just like the holidays. And Wayfair is my go to for that. Think cozy textures, twinkly decor, warm lighting, and all those little touches that make you want to curl up with a good book and a blanket. You'll usually find my book stacked on a great little end table I got from Wayfair, proof that function and style can coexist. Now, whether you're adding last minute hosting essentials, picking out gifts for loved ones, or refreshing your decor for the season, Wayfair makes it easy with beautiful finds, great prices and fast delivery. And when the holidays wind down, Wayfair has everything you need to tuck it all neatly away. Smart storage solutions for every room from the kitchen to the closet. Plus, with free shipping for any order over $35, that's fast delivery and a total peace of mind. It's the perfect mix of joy and order, bringing the holiday spirit in, then storing it all with EAs ready to make your home feel as good as it looks. Get organized, refreshed and ready for the holidays. For way less, head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. Wayfair Every style, Every home that's W A Y F A I R.com Some people think nature is like this, but.

Actually it's like this.

That's why Columbia engineers everything we make for anything nature can throw at you. Columbia engineered for whatever if I buy.

Fish in a grocery store, how do I know what to look for and what to avoid? This is JJ Virgin, four time New York Times best selling author, celebrity nutrition expert, and Fitness hall of Famer. I've been on a lifelong quest for answers to the toughest health questions and now I'm sharing what I found with you. Welcome to Ask the Health Expert. Scott from Facebook asks, if I buy fish in a grocery store, how do I know what to look for and what to avoid? All right, Scott, I love that you're eating fish and I will be right back with some fishy advice.

Not really. Haha.

Couldn't help myself.

Hey, it's J.J. here. Now let's be honest. The holidays are basically a financial ambush. Travel, hosting gifts, surprise holiday school things. Suddenly you're wondering how December turned into a spending spree. If you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch. It's rated the Wall Street Journal's best budgeting app of 2025. Monarch is the all in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface on your laptop or your phone. What really grabbed my attention is how fast those little holiday expenses pile up with Monarch. Seeing everything in one place makes it a lot harder to accidentally overspend, and honestly, I appreciate anything that keeps me from starting January with a money hangover. You'll love exploring the holiday spending category. Imagine how good it will feel to actually see what's happening before your credit card statement does that whole dramatic reveal thing. Monarch basically shows you exactly where the money is going in real time, and that level of clarity could change everything, right? Don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. You use the code virgin@monarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year. @monarch.com with code Virgin, the holidays are all about family.

But at the Chrysler Wrap of the Year sales event, it's all about you. Enjoy every mile in the most awarded minivan in America, the Chrysler Pacifica. With the most standard safety features in its class. Available stow n go seating and the available stage and vac built in vacuum make the most of the holidays with a great deal. At the Chrysler Pacifica, wrap up the year sales event based on Ward's small van Segment based upon the latest available competitor information. Chrysler is a registered trademark of FCA US llc.

Okay, fish, fish, fish. I'll tell you what, you know, here's the real deal. I've been fortunate to be able to spend time with Randy Hartnell, who created Vital Choice. And he created Vital Choice because he was a salmon fisherman in Alaska. And when all the fish farming started, he was so upset and appalled because, you know, they were like, that was his whole world. And he saw what was happening and so he decided he was going to create a company that would go get all the wild fish and had, you know, sustainable practices and did everything right. So the first thing that I would tell you is if at all possible, you want to buy from a place like Vital Choice where you know they're doing the right things and you know you can trust the source, right, that you've got someone just like that. Here's the thing. Some of these farm raised fish or seafood. And I remember hearing this from one of my expert friends. I think Maybe it was Dr. Mark Hyman was like, some of them may be okay depending on what their practices are. But do you know, you'd have to look at every single one to know if they're farming. Are they feeding it, you know, the right food, not GMO soy and corn. Are they keeping them close captivity or letting them swim around in, I don't know what they swim in. Swimmeries, you know, are they being injected with any kind of herbicides, fungicides, any of that kind of stuff? So that's the first piece of it. Is the farm raised versus wild? Now, it still goes past that because wild doesn't necessarily mean okay. And the other piece you want to look at is what is the size of the fish because. And is it a bottom feeder? Because bigger fish and bottom feeders can accumulate things we don't want in our bodies, right? Heavy metals, et cetera. And so the other piece of this, that's really most probably helpful thing, when you go to the supermarket is number one, see if you can go to a market like where I lived in Palm Desert, we had a fish market there where they literally would go out and they would, you know, go get the local fish. And they knew everything going on. They were like experts on the fish they had. So I trusted them. See if you have that in your area. The other thing is to go to environmental working group and get the list, the fish list of what's going on with the fish, which are the dirty fish, which are the clean fish. Like, I won't eat tilapia. You know, I don't eat swordfish. So I'm going to stay away from the fish that I know are tend to be dirtier fish or bigger fish. I eat small fish that are wild.

Right.

And I tend to do that more at home because then I know I'm getting vital choice. But environmental working group, if you look that up, you'll be able to get the list of the clean fish. Now here's one more piece that's important too. I think that like nowadays, if at all possible, you should have a sauna or if you don't have a sauna, you should have access to a sauna that you can get into. Like we do it every single day. And that's really ideal because you're being bombarded with toxins every single day. But at least a couple times a week, maybe you have a gym that's got a sauna. You really want an infrared. Thankfully they've gotten way less expensive at this point. I use sunlight and sauna. That's the one I have. Shout out Connie, for all of your work. The other thing too is realize that there's some natural heavy metal chelators that can help you as well when you're eating this one of them, I detest it, but it's cilantro. But green drinks can help here. Chlorella can help here. You can take a heavy metal chelator. So that's the other choice is you can also do a little of that when you're eating one of those fish. If you're at all concerned, do it for a couple days too. Just make sure you bump it over with minerals. All right. Most important thing is, is I'm glad that you're eating fish and you're focused on clean fish. And this is also a reason that you're going to want to take fish oil. Because unless you're getting fish like four to five times a week, you probably are going to need more of your omega 3s. And that's where you want to make sure you get a really clean fish oil. Shameless plug mine. And that it's tg. It's in the triglyceride form so it's more bioavailable. And that they've checked it and processed it to make sure it's not oxidized and doesn't have any of the heavy metals.

Okie dokie.

That's it. Keep eating that fish. Take those fish oils. This is JJ with Ask the Health Expert. I answer your questions weekly, plus I interview the top experts in health and wellness. So make sure you never miss a show by going to subscribetoj.com yep, it's that easy. I'll see you next time.

Hello listeners, this is Anne Bogle, author, blogger and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week, I take all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next read. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately, and I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years and and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment. Whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything, you'll learn something about yourself as a reader and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read, with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and Visit our website whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com to find out more.