Why do people always think that scaleless fish is hair? Is there any scientific basis?

Whether you grew up in the countryside or lived in the city for a long time, you will hear some elders say that some things can't be eaten, but some people call it health preservation, and some people directly say that eating them will lead to serious consequences. Just like some people think that eating fish without scales will make people relapse. So, is there anything special about scaleless fish? Is there any reliable scientific basis for eating less of these fish and animals?

What common fish do scaleless fish live in?

First of all, not all animals classified as scaleless fish have no scales, but some species look less conspicuous. According to the different growth environment of scaleless fish, the sea area with a depth of more than 500 meters is the natural habitat of marine scaleless fish, such as sea eel, sea eel, etc., which is actually one of the main species of eel.

Similarly, there are some common species of scaleless fish in fresh water environment. Many people personally caught eel and loach when they were young, and some fish species such as catfish and river eel felt strange. It's just that in my memory, animals such as loach and eel are never fish. For a long time, I thought they were special animals, and even thought they were very similar to snakes. I mistakenly thought they might be related.

The reason why not all scaleless fish really have no scales is, of course, because there are many fish with fine scales in this species. Take the scaleless fish living in the sea as an example. In addition to eel, eel and ankang fish just caught, fish species such as tuna, pomfret and hairtail all have scales that are not easy to be directly observed. Therefore, it is not accurate to equate all kinds of scaleless fish with fish animals with natural scaleless structure.

Is there a scientific basis for eating less scaly fish?

First of all, it can be said for sure that as long as it is not a special group who needs to follow the doctor's advice, eating scale-free fish in moderation will not have any impact on the body. For example, special people who need to avoid foods with relatively high cholesterol content, such as eels that everyone likes to cook, only 100 grams of eel meat contains about 2 156 milligrams of cholesterol.

However, it is obviously untenable to directly regard the scaleless fish as hair and think that eating it will lead to the recurrence of old diseases and even aggravate the current condition (except for special people). From the point of view of nutrition, there is not much difference in nutritional value between scaleless fish and scaly fish, but there are some differences in the types and magnitudes of nutrients contained. The biggest difference that ordinary people can feel when eating is the taste.

Moreover, in real life, not everyone thinks that scale-free fish is not suitable for eating, especially catfish, loach, eel and diced yellow pepper, and even can be said to be the main fish ingredients on some family tables. For example, catfish not only has fewer thorns, but also tastes fresh and tender, and the taste of fish is particularly rich. Catfish is rich in nutrients such as protein, which is deeply loved by many people, and it is also the best choice for the infirm to supplement nutrition.

Why are fish scales useless?

For fish and animals, the main function of fish scales is to avoid the rapid loss of water in the body and protect the skin well. Just now, I have explained in detail which fish are scaleless fish and what kinds are there in seawater and fresh water. Next, it is best to know why the fish scales that most of us directly remove are not useless. Because, although there are many kinds of fish scales, most of them contain many colloid and trace elements that our human body needs to ingest, such as unsaturated fatty acids, rich protein and vitamins.

As long as it is a fish with scales, the hardness of the outer scales is much higher than that of the inner scales. Even if the scales of this fish are thin, it is enough to help it resist the sudden attack of many aquatic animals. The scales on cartilaginous fish are shield scales, while those on bony fish are hard scales. Primitive cyprinid fishes have round scales, while bony fishes such as Perciformes have scales.

I believe that anyone who has caught fish knows that people who don't catch fish are often caught off guard by the existence of fish scales, and always slip away quickly when they think they want to catch fish. At other times, the ability of fish scales to refract and reflect light can also make scaly fish animals hide themselves better. In fact, collagen with high content in fish scales has long been regarded as a natural biological resource and widely used in food, chemical industry and other fields. In a word, fish scales are of great significance to scaly fish and animals, and to us human beings. Scaleless fish is not what some people think, let alone a hair that causes old diseases.