Rheumatoid Arthritis Support

Shark fin is incorrectly perceived by some as having high nutritional value and cancer fighting abilities.

Vitamin content of typical shark fin soup is much less than that of typical vegetable soup. It is commonly perceived that shark fin soup is rich in Vitamin A, but in fact it contains almost no Vitamin A at all. Mineral content is also less than that of typical vegetable soup.

There are apparently false claims that shark fins prevent cancer and treat osteoarthritis. No scientific proof supports these claims; at least one study has shown shark cartilage of no value in cancer treatment.

If consumed in extremely large quantities, shark fin soup may cause sterility in men due to mercury content.

Because of its high mercury level, the FDA recommends pregnant women and young children avoid eating shark fins.

Shark fins, in common with other costly east Asian delicacies such as Bird's nest soup and sea cucumber, have very little flavor of their own. Their appeal lies more in their texture and their ability to absorb flavors from other soup ingredients and also for the simple fact of their expense and supposed "rarity", as with many luxury goods.


Adapted from the Wikipedia article Shark fin soup, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki