One morning, Maryam Khalil walked into her office at Forman Christian College and came face-to-face with one of the most amazing creatures she’d ever seen.

“I saw a beautiful owl near my cubical,” Khalil told The Dodo. “One of my colleagues had him in his hand. It was the most adorable thing we’ve ever witnessed in an office environment.”

Source: Maryam Khalil

The baby owl had wide, yellow eyes and a downy coat of gray and brown feathers. Khalil had come across plenty of birds during her morning and evening walks on campus, but she’d never been so close to one before.

The little owl had fallen from his nearby nest during a heavy thunderstorm, and Khalil’s colleague scooped him up and brought him inside to dry off. Since it was summer, the office air conditioning was on full blast, so they wrapped the baby bird in a soft cloth to keep him warm.

Source: Maryam Khalil

Soon, the little owl was the talk of the office, and everyone forgot about work. But despite the hubbub the owl had created, he seemed perfectly calm.

“I put him in a box in my lap when he started looking around with his captivating eyes,” Khalil said. “He slept for a while, and we fed him during the day.”

Once the workday was over, Khalil and her colleagues found the owl’s nest and returned him to his mom.

For two years, Khalil didn’t see another wild animal in her office until an adult owl surprised everyone by flying into a lecture hall during an evening class. There was something about this owl that seemed familiar to her.

Source: Maryam Khalil

“This wasn’t a baby owl, but he looked charming while winking at us,” Khalil said.

She wasn’t sure if it was the same owl, but she’d like to think the little baby she helped so long ago is still out there living his best life.

 

Remarkable Health Benefits of Tilapia

Lean white and delicious, tilapia is a fish that offers a long list of remarkable health benefits. Tilapia benefits the hair, bones, brain, and immune system, and people who have arthritis, or are obese. It boosts hair health, fortifies bone formation, prevent or delay cognitive decline, toughens the immune system, inhibit arthritis, helps in weight loss and fights obesity, lowers the levels of triglyceride, causes various severe diseases unlikely to develop, hastens the body’s overall growth and repair, prevent cancer, improve metabolic activities, and reduce aging signs.

What is Tilapia?

Tilapia is a term or name that implies a wide array of fish. In fact, there is a hundred and beyond species of it. However, they actually take a cichlid form of fish, which is among those with many fish varieties in the world. In recent years, tilapia became more important. Now, in America, it is the 5th most consumed and popular fish. Farming the mild white tilapia fish is simple, at the same time, it is also cheap and affordable. Tilapia also does not have what lots of people sometimes do not like when it comes to seafood which is the undesirable “fishy” taste.

According to experts, this fish will eventually become century’s most significant fish food product as it also becomes more important when it comes to human consumption. Tilapias only live for a short time and are also lean. Unlike other fish, tilapias contain trace amounts of toxins such as mercury, which is another strongest argument that backs up its consumption.

People of ancient Egypt paved the way for the discovery of the health benefits and attractive taste of tilapia. As a matter of fact, they actually made a hieroglyph depicting the tilapia fish. These important fishes originated from North Africa and the Nile. However, there has been an extensive farming of tilapia all over Asia as well. Now, tilapias are a “worldwide” species.

More About Tilapias

Tilapias are not only highly adaptive, but they can cause fragile ecosystems to unbalance as well when introduced accidentally. Thus, certain other countries regard tilapias as invasive kinds of fish. In 2005, the United States alone farm and harvest tilapia for over 1,500,000 tons, which, according to prediction, would increase twofold by 2015.

Tilapias are natural toxic and waste material scavengers in their habitat. Thus, although rather controversial, tilapias are a highly valuable food. Not to mention, tilapia benefits the environment as well. They reduce waste of oxygen and cleans water, which is sometimes a bad thing as a culinary attribute. Thus, it is important to purchase tilapias from reputable and established sellers who raise these fish in healthy and clean environments.

There are various soups and dishes incorporated with tilapia to eat.  Since tilapias are quite well-known worldwide, they also became a vital culinary attribute of various cultural food recipes. So, what do tilapias possess, particularly its nutritional components, that make these fish such a beneficial element to a diet?

Nutritional Value Of Tilapia

Because of the many health benefits of tilapia, it is a highly valuable source of seafood.  It is rich in minerals such as selenium, potassium, and phosphorous. The vitamins abundant in tilapias include pantothenic acid, niacin, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12. Significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids and protein are also present in tilapias. Below are the details explaining the health benefits that these invasive kinds of fish can offer.

Tilapia Benefits and Health Gains

There are so many health gains to expect out of consuming tilapias; the fact that tilapia benefits:

1. Weight Loss

Fish such as Tilapias are not like other animal products. They possess low levels of fats and calories and are amazingly rich in protein. Meaning, eating tilapia for any meal is a great way to decrease the intake of calories. At the same time, the body still receives all the essential nutrients that it requires to be in working order.

Tilapia benefits people who want to shed some weight. Fish is an excellent dietary choice for individuals wanting to lose some extra pounds without having to suffer from starvation because of following crash diets.

2. The Skin

The antioxidant selenium can stimulate or rejuvenate vitamin C and vitamin E, which are both able to enhance the skin’s health and quality. As a result, tilapia can provide more than 20 percent of daily selenium requirement. Thus, tilapia is an excellent food source to enhance skin appearance and health by preventing the damaging effects of free radicals. Thus, there is a decrease in age spots, sagging, wrinkles, and other aging signs.

3. Growth & Development

The impressive levels of protein found in tilapias also contribute to many health-promoting effects. One serving of tilapia can provide more than 15 percent of the daily requirement of protein. A diet offers more health benefits when added with foods rich in protein, especially animal proteins. Remember that breaking down protein enzymatically yields composite amino acids, which are then re-formed into proteins that the human body can use. There is a direct connection between protein and the development and growth of muscles, cells, membranes, and organs. It is extremely important for children to consume the needed protein amounts for proper development. Proteins are also essential for proper metabolism of various organ systems, muscle growth, and cellular repair.

4. The Bones

Tilapias contain phosphorous, one of the most essential and prominent minerals for overall health. Phosphorous plays a pivotal role in bone growth and development. Not to mention, it’s also an important mineral in maintaining healthy nails and teeth by making them durable and strong as people age. In addition, phosphorous also helps in preventing the deterioration of the mineral density of bones due to aging, also known as osteoporosis.

5. The Brain

This important fish contains omega-3 fatty acids and potassium, which contribute to improving neurological activities and brain power. Potassium helps the brain receive more oxygen. This mineral is vital to appropriately balance the fluid level in every part of the body. Therefore, the consumption of tilapia can help in facilitating the proper distribution of nutrients to all body parts and regulating nervous response. Thus, tilapia benefits the brain!

6. The Prostate Gland

The high selenium content present in tilapias offers impressive health benefits owing to the mineral’s antioxidant effects. According to research, the intake of selenium can help reduce the risk of developing cancer in the gland of the male reproductive system known as prostate. Thus, Tilapia benefits the prostate gland. Not to mention, eating tilapia can also help reduce the likelihood of developing various cardiovascular disorders.

There are more studies investigating the effects of selenium found in tilapias on other forms of cancer. The capability of reducing the activities of free radicals in the body is what made antioxidants, including selenium, beneficial. Therefore, tilapias can reduce the risk of subjecting the entire organ systems to oxidative stress and converting healthy cells to cancerous ones.

7. Thyroid Function & Immune System

The health benefits of selenium also cover the health of the immune system. In that case, since tilapia contains selenium, therefore, tilapia benefits immune system health as well.

Selenium helps in boosting white blood cell activities. By the way, white blood cells are the main line of defense against foreign bodies and toxins. Furthermore, thanks to selenium, tilapia can also contribute to regulating the thyroid gland. By the way, the thyroid gland is responsible for managing many hormone-related functions. Keeping the thyroid glands healthy and working properly ensures a proper metabolism and well-balanced chemical reactions and organ function all over the body.

8. The Heart

The significant amount of omega-3 fatty acids found in tilapia contributes to decreasing the levels of triglyceride and cholesterol in the cardiovascular system of a human body. By the way, rendering the effect of omega-6 fatty acids ineffective is what omega-3 fatty acids do.

In general, some controversy exists regarding the abundance of the harmful LDL aka “bad” cholesterol present in tilapias. However, according to research, the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids overwhelms the side effects of omega-6 fatty acids present in tilapias. Omegas-3s help in preventing strokes, atherosclerosis, and heart attacks.

Tilapia contains potassium, which is a vasodilator that is responsible for reducing blood pressure, thus giving heart health an extra boost.

Precautions

Tilapias are natural toxic and waste material scavengers in the water where they live and can absorb some toxins. Therefore, it would be best to buy tilapias from sources that follow a strict rule of farming quality fish.

Furthermore, tilapias contain an impressive content of omega-6s. Therefore, excessive consumption of tilapia can be detrimental to people who suffer from heart ailments.

Otherwise, enjoy these delicious, lean white fish!