Tuna, Mercury? Bad for you?

[gravityhomer]

I thought this was important enough to have its own thread instead of being at the end of another one. What information do people have on Tuna? I've heard that it contains heavy metals (like mercury) and therefore pregnant women and young children shouldn't eat it. But now I have also heard that really no one should eat it too much. Here is an article about it from the CBC http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/12/11...ers/tuna031211
It was the best source I could find on it. I know a lot of people probably eat it because of the protein and its so easy to make.

[Evil Hx Coupe]

I've been eating masive amounts of tuna lately... I hope it doesnt kill me.

[Glamdring]

If tuna were going to kill us, 'The Rock' would already be dead. Well, 'Stifler' said that he was always eating massive plates of tuna, so that's where I'm drawing my assumption from.

[Naytch]

You would have to eat about 7 cans a day for a long time to show any effects of poisoning. That's alot of tuna. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[Evil Hx Coupe]

Originally Posted by Naytch

You would have to eat about 7 cans a day for a long time to show any effects of poisoning. That's alot of tuna. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Maybe if i eat enough tuna I'll become like the badguy in Terminator 2 .

[brownguy]

I already posted this on another thread, but just in case, here it is again

Mercury is not excreted by the body and tends to accumulate over time. That's why fish higher up the food chain will have higher levels of mercury. Health Canada recommends not eating it more than once a week for this reason.

Canned tuna is exempt from this guideline because smaller and younger tuna are usually used. There will still be trace amount of mercury, but not as much.

You might want to limit your shark and swordfish intake to once weekly, but who really eats shark every day?

If you are really concerned, you can eat farmed fish since their water is always monitored.

[gigapower]

How do you guys eat your tuna? right from the can or some other way?

[funtax]

The FDA agrees with Canadian health officials.

The gyst of it is:

1. Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury
2. Levels of mercury in other fish can vary. You can safely eat up to 12 ounces (2 to 3 meals) of other purchased fish and shellfish a week. Mix up the types of fish and shellfish you eat and do not eat the same type of fish and shellfish more than once a week.
3. Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in your local rivers and streams. If no advice is available, you can safely eat up to 6 ounces (one meal) per week of fish you catch from local waters, but don’t consume any other fish during that week.

Currently, it appears that these advisories are aimed at pregnant women, women considering getting pregnant and nursing mothers, though the reommendation to not consume the same type of fish in large quantities is echoed for all consumers:

Fish is an important source of high-quality protein, vitamins and minerals. FDA seafood specialists say that eating a variety of types of fish, the normal pattern of consumption, does not put any one in danger of mercury poisoning. It is when people eat fad diets - frequently eating only one type of food or a particular species of fish - that they put themselves at risk.

So I would say if, as I had been, you are consuming more than a can of tuna per day, consider switching that up a bit. If you're eating albacore, switch to light tuna. If you love seafood, try to rotate the stuff you eat as much as possible. I was eating TONS of tuna (four cans a day or more) because it was so convenient. Looks like I'll be cooking chicken breasts every night from now on instead. It sucks, but mercury poisoning is a real drag and I'd rather not kill myself in the process of trying to get healthy.

A few links:

Federal Warning On Tuna Planned

Current FDA Draft Notice to Pregnant Women

Old FDA Notice on Mercury in Seafood