fish

[bntnemenz]

I was recently told that it isn’t good to eat fish more than once a week….however, on my menu, I’ve got different types of fish appearing three and four times, sometimes even more, in a week’s time….is this okay to eat this much fish? I like fish, so i’m fine with it, just don’t want it to be harmful due to mercury levels or whatever the case may be….kind of defeats the purpose of eating healthy! I thought maybe there were just certain types of fish that were higher in mercury that should be limited??

Thanks

[Ossie-Sharon]

Hi, bntnemenz. The concern with fish does indeed have to do with contamination from toxins, as well as certain farmed fish with significantly higher omega-6 than omega-3 fatty acids. The following are guidelines from Harvard University:
1. Don’t eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish (sometimes called golden bass or golden snapper) because they contain high levels of mercury.
2. Fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury: fhrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.
3. Albacore (“white”) tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. So limit your intake of albacore tuna to once a week.

Note also that a good intake of selenium may be protective – selenium is found in fish themselves, as well as Brazil nuts and some legumes.

[Ossie-Sharon]

Also note that fish lower on the food chain are low in mercury – these include cod, herring, pollack, and sardines.

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