Too much Fish?

nataliefallbach

I just read an article saying you can overdose on too much fish???? I know that their are articles out there for everything, don't do this, don't do that but I hear this all the time. Mercury poisoning from tuna, don't eat farm raised salmon, only wild caught! Any thoughts?

This is what the article says....

1. Most of these problems are always related to farmed fish. Stick to wild fish for the healthiest possible choices.

Besides farmed fish sometimes being tainted with harmful chemicals, farmed fish is many times fed an un-natural diet (fish are NOT meant to eat soy and corn pellets), and this reduces the nutritional value of the fish, and distorts the omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio, making farmed fish less healthy for you.

2. Even if you stick to wild fish instead of farmed (which will help avoid many of the chemicals mentioned in the video), you can still overdose on mercury if you eat certain types of fish too often... fish that are high on the food chain accumulate the most mercury... so that would be large predatory fish such as tuna, swordfish, shark, grouper, king mackeral, tilefish, striped bass, etc... these types of fish bioaccumulate more mercury from pollution than smaller fish.

By the way, when it comes to canned tuna... white tuna (albacore) has higher levels of mercury than "light" tuna.

This doesn't mean that you should never eat these fish (after all, I'm a sushi lover myself!)... your body can handle some levels of mercury in fish eaten on occasion (2-3 times per month), and if you're healthy and eat a very clean diet with lots of detoxifying veggies, herbs, spices, and teas, your body can slowly eliminate the low levels of mercury. However, keeping these large predatory fish to 2-3 times per month max is a good idea. Note: pregnant women should consult their doctor for the entire list of fish to avoid during pregnancy.

3. Wild fish that are lower on the food chain can still be very healthy, but will have MUCH lower levels of mercury. This can include wild salmon (one of my favorite meals), pollock, trout, sardines, herring, and many types of shellfish.

Also, keep in mind that fish such as salmon, trout, sardines, and herring are super-rich in healthy fats, including omega-3 fatty acids (great source of DHA and EPA components)

Anyways, I am constantly trying to figure out the crap from the truth.

tross0924

http://www.howmuchfish.com/

At 200 lbs I'd have to eat almost 4 lbs of canned tuna per week, or 10 lbs of wild salmon per week before mercury might become an issue.

Personally, I don't eat that much, so I don't worry. :-)

nataliefallbach

Thanks, I love fish. I love smoked salmon on my salads or tuna. I eat fish a few times a week and this article suggests 2-3 times a month, that seems pretty crazy to me

DL121004

Personally, I don't worry about it. I love seafood -- eating it five or six times a week (this past week I had salmon, catfish, trout, mahi-mahi and red snapper).