How much seafood is too much?

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zacberm1
zacberm1 Posts: 5 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all,

I love seafood and use it quite frequently in my diet. It such a great source of low calorie protein. I am afraid of mercury poisoning. Not sure if four times a week is too much. Thoughts??

Replies

  • Onaughmae
    Onaughmae Posts: 873 Member
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    I eat a lot of seafood really. Fish, tuna, shrimp...several times a week. It hasnt caused me any trouble so far.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Hi all,

    I love seafood and use it quite frequently in my diet. It such a great source of low calorie protein. I am afraid of mercury poisoning. Not sure if four times a week is too much. Thoughts??

    It would depend on what kind of seafood and how much you're eating of it each time as seafood is pretty broad
  • tpittsley77
    tpittsley77 Posts: 607 Member
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    http://fishcooking.about.com/od/howtochoosefreshfish/bb/mercury_fish.htm

    Here is a list of fish high and low in mercury.
  • fit4lifeUcan2
    fit4lifeUcan2 Posts: 1,458 Member
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    I think it would depend on what kind of seafood your eating. Larger fish like Tuna are higher in mercury than most and then the shell fish are high in cholesterol. I eat mostly salmon, cod and flounder. I used to eat a lot of shrimp but then I had high cholesterol. Cut out all shell fish and my cholesterol is normal now. I was eating it at least 2x's a week. Don't eat shell fish much at all anymore. As long as your blood work is fine I wouldn't worry too much about it.
  • SeasideOasis
    SeasideOasis Posts: 1,057 Member
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    I eat seafood...all...the...time. I'm not a huge 'meat' fan. I have eaten some form of seafood (fish, crab, shrimp, raw, cooked...you get the idea) days on end without a problem. I also grew up in Southwest Florida and had something from the water literally every single day.

    I'm pretty sure few people eat more seafood than I do and I have no Mercury problems....
  • sraffel
    sraffel Posts: 66 Member
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    I've been pescatarian for over ten years, and therefore eat a lot of seafood. I limit myself to a few cans of tuna per month, and don't buy mahi mahi for home cooking (which effectively limits consumption to once a month, if that). Otherwise, most of the seafood I eat is low in mercury anyway. If you're worried about tuna consumption, canned salmon is a good low-mercury alternative.

    The FDA has the mercury concentration of a bunch of different seafood listed, if you're interested in geeking out.

    http://www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/product-specificinformation/seafood/foodbornepathogenscontaminants/methylmercury/ucm115644.htm
  • theCarlton
    theCarlton Posts: 1,344 Member
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    Edited to add: If you look up Seafood Watch in your App store on your phone, there's a free one that is regularly updated.

    This website has a little printable thing to keep with you.
    http://apps.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=1521

    Also tells your which fish are overfished.
  • MsPudding
    MsPudding Posts: 562 Member
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    I love seafood.....unfortunately I've inherited some bad genes that makes me prone to gout and seafood is the #1 thing that sets gout off.

    So for that reason only, I limit it to a couple of times a week - and I go for the sustainable stuff.

    For people in the UK, if you don't have a good fish market near you'd i'd try Martin's seafood (it's the #1 result if you Google) as they have their own day boats down in Cornwall and will ship you fresh, seasonal fish and seafood the same day on ice.
  • zacberm1
    zacberm1 Posts: 5 Member
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    Thanks for the info....I guess I don't need to be as concerned considering my four serving a week seems to be on the lower side. My favorite fish is salmon and most other white fish. I don't eat as much shellfish.

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