Fish Sauce - Nam Prik - Is It Good For Us

[Sharpie100]

Hello people,

Can anyone give me an intelligent explanation as to whether Nam Prik / Fish sauce and chilli, which i love is ok for us europeans.

What i mean is, what health benefits are there and what health disadvantages there may be long term....

I use it alot now in the UK, thai curries, noddle and rice dishes.....love it.....but i am concerned that it is bad for blood pressure due to salt content and possibly the heart etc....

I know its very good fo bones, calcium etc....

Please , someone must know some facts about this stuff,

[dumball]

Should you believe that fish allowed to rot for a couple of weeks in the open air with copious amounts of added raw salt , yes , just the smell of the fish rotting gave me my answer , it was a resounding NO . There are more ways than one to spice up your food , that is if you find a need to cover up the original flavours , as apposed to enhancing them with natural herbs .

[misterman21]

Excessive consumption (normal by Thai standards) is thought to cause cancer.

Previous studies have suggested that fermented fish sauce is related to an increased risk for nasopharyngeal, thyroid and gastric cancers and has suspicious carcinogenic and promoting effects in the laboratory

However it could be healthy

[BigSnake]

No not for me. To much salt for my taste.

[Tywais]

If you have hypertension definitely not a good idea.

[toptuan]

Should you believe that fish allowed to rot for a couple of weeks in the open air with copious amounts of added raw salt , yes , just the smell of the fish rotting gave me my answer , it was a resounding NO . There are more ways than one to spice up your food , that is if you find a need to cover up the original flavours , as apposed to enhancing them with natural herbs .

Excessive consumption (normal by Thai standards) is thought to cause cancer.

Previous studies have suggested that fermented fish sauce is related to an increased risk for nasopharyngeal, thyroid and gastric cancers and has suspicious carcinogenic and promoting effects in the laboratory

However it could be healthy

I don't have an answer for the OP, but both posters above are confusing "Nam Prik" (fish sauce with chilis) with "Para" (fermented fish paste). These posters are commenting about the latter, and the information really doesn't apply to the OP's question.

Fish sauce with chilis/Nam Prik (what the OP is asking about) is a clearish-brown liquid looking somewhat like maple syrup although not as thick. It is then mixed with chopped green and red chilis and accompanies a great many Thai foods--most often with rice-based dishes (fried rice, etc.) Without the chilis, it's simply called "Nam Pla." Although fish oil is the primary ingredient, the sauce is surprisingly void of a fishy taste. I can't stand anything slightly fishy-tasting, but Nam Prik has never bothered me.

Fermented fish sauce/Para is a foul-smelling, strong paste (consistency varies from vaseline to watery oatmeal) made from fish combined with salt and spices, left to rot in an earthen jar for several months. For those who don't like a fishy taste, it's your ultimate nightmare to the taste buds. It is often used in Spicy Pappaya Salad (Som-Tam), and usually does quite a number on a foreigner's digestive system the first time around (or in my case, every time). A surprising number of Thais avoid it for the same reasons.

OK, now that we've sorted out the two, anyone out there can help us with the various merits/demerits of Nam Prik? I've often wondered the same as the OP. Sheryl? (Thai Visa Dr. in Residence).

Edited January 10, 2009 by toptuan

[dumball]

toptuan , thank you for the enlightenment , I do not use either of them .

[MisterMan]

Like Soy sauceit probably also has MSG aka flavour enhancer, artificial flavouring ..etc

[mommysboy]

Should you believe that fish allowed to rot for a couple of weeks in the open air with copious amounts of added raw salt , yes , just the smell of the fish rotting gave me my answer , it was a resounding NO . There are more ways than one to spice up your food , that is if you find a need to cover up the original flavours , as apposed to enhancing them with natural herbs .

Excessive consumption (normal by Thai standards) is thought to cause cancer.

Previous studies have suggested that fermented fish sauce is related to an increased risk for nasopharyngeal, thyroid and gastric cancers and has suspicious carcinogenic and promoting effects in the laboratory

However it could be healthy

I don't have an answer for the OP, but both posters above are confusing "Nam Prik" (fish sauce with chilis) with "Para" (fermented fish paste). These posters are commenting about the latter, and the information really doesn't apply to the OP's question.

Fish sauce with chilis/Nam Prik (what the OP is asking about) is a clearish-brown liquid looking somewhat like maple syrup although not as thick. It is then mixed with chopped green and red chilis and accompanies a great many Thai foods--most often with rice-based dishes (fried rice, etc.) Without the chilis, it's simply called "Nam Pla." Although fish oil is the primary ingredient, the sauce is surprisingly void of a fishy taste. I can't stand anything slightly fishy-tasting, but Nam Prik has never bothered me.

Fermented fish sauce/Para is a foul-smelling, strong paste (consistency varies from vaseline to watery oatmeal) made from fish combined with salt and spices, left to rot in an earthen jar for several months. For those who don't like a fishy taste, it's your ultimate nightmare to the taste buds. It is often used in Spicy Pappaya Salad (Som-Tam), and usually does quite a number on a foreigner's digestive system the first time around (or in my case, every time). A surprising number of Thais avoid it for the same reasons.

OK, now that we've sorted out the two, anyone out there can help us with the various merits/demerits of Nam Prik? I've often wondered the same as the OP. Sheryl? (Thai Visa Dr. in Residence).

Good posting. You forgot to mention that it (para) smells like rancid poo.

[Crushdepth]

It has a lot of salt and a lot of histamine in it. So if you are sensitive to either of those, you might not want to use it. But really, its something generally used in small quantities anyway.

[imaneggspurt]

Its salt, and im advised ( as i have high bp ) to leave well alone,

[JimmyTheMook]

it is used in 90% of all Thai cooking, hard to avoid ....

[Nampeung]

Nam Pla has iodine added to it by the health dept

[Nampeung]

Here is an excellent explanation of how fish sauce is made and graded like olive oil etc http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/ingredients/fishsauce.html

[dee123]

nam pla is often used to replace salt in thai dishes,.....therefore the amount of salt using nam pla is likely to be minimal,...compared to adding salt itself,....proceesed foods are the ones to avoid,...i.e tinned and packaged,....on supermarket shelves,....ect

[saneroad]

Well known New York Times food writer "The Minimalist" in his latest story about what's "in" or "out" for the new year says this about fish sauce:

FISH SAUCE You have soy sauce, presumably; this is different, stronger, cruder (or should I say “less refined”?) in a way — and absolutely delicious. Use sparingly, but use; start by sprinkling a little over plain steamed vegetables, along with a lot of black pepper.

Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/dining/0...xprod=permalink

A lot of Thai inspired ideas are "in"....

[Sheryl]

Chilis are, like most brightly colored fruits, full of antioxidants, but the quantity most people ingest is so small that it probably doesn't add that much to the diet.

The nam pla has a tiny amount of protein and some trave minerals but otherwise is basically sodium. One tablespoon is about 1,700 mg of sodium, which is not a small amount.

For people without high blood pressure, heart disease etc this is fine but people with such conditions need to go easy on the stuff.

One alternative is the vinegar and fresh chili sauce, either by itself or with a tiny dash of nam pla, or the same thing but with fresh lime rather than vinegar. Will add spice and flavor without the sodium or, if you go for the dash of nam pla addition, with much less .

[LivinLOS]

Nam prik, as you see on many tables in a bowl with floating chillis is usually a combination of nam bpla (fish sauce), chopped chillis, lime juice and some MSG..

Nam bpla is one of the basic ingredients of nam prick but only one..

Bpla ra is the fermented sauce that can be from a vegamite'esque paste in a jar to a porridge consistency. There seems to be multiple types but as I am not a big fan, and only like it with a somtam I am not really able to specify which one has what in it.

Then you have nam prik grap pii (garlic and others) nam prik bplatoo, nam prik nom, nam prik makham, nam prick goong sot, basically 10's of different sauces have the 'nam prik' moniker..

[Dakhar]

Trouble is, they can use any fish they want to make this nasty stuff with, and this could easily include ESCOLAR.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escolar

If you injest Escolar, you will remember it.

[Tyke]

Excessive consumption (normal by Thai standards) is thought to cause cancer.

Previous studies have suggested that fermented fish sauce is related to an increased risk for nasopharyngeal, thyroid and gastric cancers and has suspicious carcinogenic and promoting effects in the laboratory

However it could be healthy

The easy way to tell is to compare international data for the incidence of different cancers - do a Google search - it is quite easy. The last time I did one, I suspected that maybe chilis may cause or protect against anal/rectal cancers, but not so it seems. I think Thailand comes out quite good on the international scores for most cancers. Garlic is another ingredient in Thai foods that is well-documented to be good for cancer protection and various other conditions. I suspect chili and garlic are good, but fish sauce is not good in the amounts they use so often.

[ClaytonSeymour]

The easy way to tell is to compare international data for the incidence of different cancers - do a Google search - it is quite easy. The last time I did one, I suspected that maybe chilis may cause or protect against anal/rectal cancers, but not so it seems. I think Thailand comes out quite good on the international scores for most cancers. Garlic is another ingredient in Thai foods that is well-documented to be good for cancer protection and various other conditions. I suspect chili and garlic are good, but fish sauce is not good in the amounts they use so often.

Without looking, I strongly suspect that they don't come out good in the scores for liver cancers.

[Wrong Turn]

nam pla is often used to replace salt in thai dishes,.....therefore the amount of salt using nam pla is likely to be minimal,...compared to adding salt itself,....proceesed foods are the ones to avoid,...i.e tinned and packaged,....on supermarket shelves,....ect

Yes, one thing about living in South East Asia is that I rarely - if ever - buy canned food or processed food (e.g. processed meats) in the Supermarket.

These items have a lot of sodium in it. You cannot taste it, but it's there.

[sabaijai]

nam pla is often used to replace salt in thai dishes,.....therefore the amount of salt using nam pla is likely to be minimal,...compared to adding salt itself,....proceesed foods are the ones to avoid,...i.e tinned and packaged,....on supermarket shelves,....ect

Exactly. It's just another way of salting your food, but one that adds a few more vitamins (enough B12 in average 15-30g daily consumption to prevent megaloblastic anemia), minerals (incl iodine and iron), calcium and protein (7.5%DV in average consumption, or 4% per tbsp), not to mention Omega-3 fatty acids.

I have never encountered fish sauce that had msg added and presume most Thais would find the taste unpleasant, even if they appreciate msg as a separate seasoning. Of course like all animal protein sources, including eggs and diary, as well as many plant sources, there is naturally occuring msg in fish sauce.

[junkofdavid2]

It's health benefits are now negligible; but in the future, it will probably have extensive health and virility boosting power when a well known Asian company starts packaging it as

"Brands Essence of Fish" !!!

[Tyke]

Here are some cancers incidence stats for SE Asia for 2002 - looks like this region comes out relatively good for most cancer types;

http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/facts/...worldcancer.pdf