Is canned tuna healthy?

SummerFun2011
SummerFun2011 Posts: 105
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I eat it every single day, sometimes twice. It is very very cheap and easy yummy protein. But is it safe with the mercury risk? I have been getting mixed answers from google :grumble:
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Replies

  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
    Tuna has a mercury risk, but you have to eat an obscene amount of tuna every day to have any problems. Solid White Albacore has more mercury than Chunk Light according to the National Institutues of Health.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15364590

    Even so, you really have to eat alot of it. If you have a can a day, you're fine.
  • kit_katty
    kit_katty Posts: 992 Member
    I've been trying to incorporate tuna into my diet for protein, what do you do with it? Everything I've tried has turned out awful! Thanks!
  • BaileyBoo13524
    BaileyBoo13524 Posts: 593 Member
    I eat it almost everyday as well and honestly the mercury content has never crossed my mind. I think you would have to eat a lot more than one can or less per day to make it count! Otherwise, enjoy! It's such a healthy meal! :)
  • NikohlMariee
    NikohlMariee Posts: 30 Member
    I get the Starkist low sodium tuna in water. I get the stuff in the flavor fresh pouch and it's the healthiest tuna I've found at my store
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
    Eat the white albacore. Don't worry about the mercury. You gotta die of something.
  • SummerFun2011
    SummerFun2011 Posts: 105
    Tuna has a mercury risk, but you have to eat an obscene amount of tuna every day to have any problems. Solid White Albacore has more mercury than Chunk Light according to the National Institutues of Health.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15364590

    Even so, you really have to eat alot of it. If you have a can a day, you're fine.

    Good to know! Because I am really broke at the moment I was thinking about bumping it up to 2 cans most days of the week. Is that too much?

    And what I do with it. Just eat it out of the can usually! Or sometimes ann dome mayo and make a tuna salad. One of my fav foods really
  • InvidiaXII
    InvidiaXII Posts: 315 Member
    Eat the white albacore. Don't worry about the mercury. You gotta die of something.

    Bahaha, true.
  • Leiki
    Leiki Posts: 526 Member
    If you aren't pregnant, you should be fine.
  • albinogorilla
    albinogorilla Posts: 1,056 Member
    yes for you..........not so much for the tuna
  • successiswithinme
    successiswithinme Posts: 91 Member
    oh yes, I agree with right out of the can.....sooo good
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    oh yes, I agree with right out of the can.....sooo good

    Me too! I usually eat a can a day too. I have been wondering on the mercury content. 50 cents a can, i want to eat 2 a day too! Cheap :O
  • pumalama
    pumalama Posts: 140 Member
    A better and less contaminated option is to eat small fish from the other end of the food chain like sardines, capelin, anchovies and herring. Sardines, for instance, come in a variety of flavours, water or oil, contain calcium if you eat the bones and are as cheap. These small fish are also a much more environmentally friendly meal.
  • kryptonitekelly
    kryptonitekelly Posts: 335 Member
    I eat it every single day, sometimes twice. It is very very cheap and easy yummy protein. But is it safe with the mercury risk? I have been getting mixed answers from google :grumble:
    High mercury, but it's only bad if you eat lots and lots...you eat two cans a day, maybe a little bit high....higher mercury in your body than most people anyways
  • LilacDreamer
    LilacDreamer Posts: 1,364 Member
    A better and less contaminated option is to eat small fish from the other end of the food chain like sardines, capelin, anchovies and herring. Sardines, for instance, come in a variety of flavours, water or oil, contain calcium if you eat the bones and are as cheap. These small fish are also a much more environmentally friendly meal.

    ...eat the BONES? :o
  • Savyna
    Savyna Posts: 789 Member
    A better and less contaminated option is to eat small fish from the other end of the food chain like sardines, capelin, anchovies and herring. Sardines, for instance, come in a variety of flavours, water or oil, contain calcium if you eat the bones and are as cheap. These small fish are also a much more environmentally friendly meal.
    I love Sardines from the King of Poland brand (or at least I think that's what its called...i forgot). The one that is in the Mediterranean style is very tasty and flavorful.
  • kryptonitekelly
    kryptonitekelly Posts: 335 Member
    Careful if youre preggos though!
    Cos methylmercury damages embryos and can also make you a bit delusional

    Studied Tox last year! Spesh enviro tox...

    You know plastic bottles? Reusing em is bad, cos of the PCBs and dioxins! You'd get more damage from those most likely!
  • Zarienz
    Zarienz Posts: 60
    Quick and easy, great source of protein, inexpensive, goes great with a salad. Too many benefits. Love it also.
  • juicygurl1
    juicygurl1 Posts: 195 Member
    i guess it's ok, just watch so u don't get heartburn
  • kryptonitekelly
    kryptonitekelly Posts: 335 Member
    A better and less contaminated option is to eat small fish from the other end of the food chain like sardines, capelin, anchovies and herring. Sardines, for instance, come in a variety of flavours, water or oil, contain calcium if you eat the bones and are as cheap. These small fish are also a much more environmentally friendly meal.

    they are less harmful, cos the mercury doesnt store in their fats as much as bigger fish...cos they have to eat a lot more. So it accumulates higher concentrations
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    Hmm considering uping my tuna intake now :D
    My roomie might hate me xD
  • KeriA
    KeriA Posts: 3,353 Member
    My neice was a pescatarian and living in Africa for a year. She started losing her hair. It turned out that canned tuna was one thing she could find to eat there. It was mercury poisoning. She got tested at a Drs office and her mercury was high. So yes everyday is too much. I have heard from others that 3 times a week is OK. I try to only have it once a week max. My son is pescatarian and he too stays away from eating too much tuna and fish. We love wild Salmon but avoid it more than once a week too even though wild salmon is lower in mercury than farm. Hope this helps. She was not eating an obscene amount either. Probably a can a day. She is slim and about 5'3". Yes this is antedotal not a scientific study but I would be cautious.
  • sweetnessandlighter
    sweetnessandlighter Posts: 24 Member
    A better and less contaminated option is to eat small fish from the other end of the food chain like sardines, capelin, anchovies and herring. Sardines, for instance, come in a variety of flavours, water or oil, contain calcium if you eat the bones and are as cheap. These small fish are also a much more environmentally friendly meal.

    they are less harmful, cos the mercury doesnt store in their fats as much as bigger fish...cos they have to eat a lot more. So it accumulates higher concentrations

    This is true. Sorry to be the one naysayer, but eating tuna daily means exposing yourself to high levels of mercury. You should limit yourself for your own safety to a couple of times a week. Here is a chart:

    http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/tuna.asp
  • ruffalicious
    ruffalicious Posts: 779 Member
    i eat the light tuna in water.. 50 calories per serving.. its healthy according to health magazine
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    If you are worried about the mercury eat a lot of coriander or cilantro as its known in USA.
  • luckygirl007
    luckygirl007 Posts: 68 Member
    Just had tuna for lunch. I whip out the food processor throw in some red, orange bell pepper, red onion, fresh ginger and a bunch of cilantro with two cans of tuna. Top it off with a couple teaspoons of apple cider vinegar. Yum!
  • kryptonitekelly
    kryptonitekelly Posts: 335 Member
    Just be careful really. Having 2 cans a day is a lot!

    Fish with high mercury:
    Shark, tuna (Albacore and yellowfin!) , Swordfish, Makeral, marlin and the orange roughy which I did my project on a few months back!!

    Fish with low mercury: Catfish, Salmon, white fish like pollock, haddock etc, Tilapia, trout.

    Shell fish can have a lot too...



    Btw...i study marine and freshwater biology..this stuff is interesting
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    Just had tuna for lunch. I whip out the food processor throw in some red, orange bell pepper, red onion, fresh ginger and a bunch of cilantro with two cans of tuna. Top it off with a couple teaspoons of apple cider vinegar. Yum!

    Sounds yum! Do you just eat as is or spread it on bread?
  • Kristinemomof3
    Kristinemomof3 Posts: 636 Member
    I usually just eat one pack a week, I like the Starkist Tuna Creations and got a bunch of free packages that last time Meijer had a sale with .50 coupons that I had. We have about 40 pkgs of Tuna in our cabinet, dh and I are the only ones that eat it.
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    Calculator on the following page tells what percentage of the EPA limit you get by eating different amounts of different fish every week.

    http://gotmercury.org/article.php?id=1034
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    Spesh enviro tox...
    Just a tip: it is hard to take you seriously when you talk that way.
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