18-10-2010, 08:33 PM
3
Re: Tuna & Mercury????
Thanks Aerolor, It is bewildering when you hear a 'snippet', but wonder what they mean, and why? And what would be the symptoms or problems relating to mercury????
Friends have commented for a few years that I am a little 'off the wall' - (but I have been eating Tuna for a few years too)!
Rainbow
18-10-2010, 08:49 PM
6
Re: Tuna & Mercury????
Here's some info for you:According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the fish most likely to be contaminated with unsafe levels of mercury are those highest up on the food chain, including shark, king mackerel, tilefish and swordfish. These larger, longer-lived predatory fish feed on the smaller fish and retain in their bodies the contaminants that were in the small fish.
The FDA released a mercury advisory warning in 1994, which advised the public that these fish were safe as part of a balanced diet if eaten no more than once per week. In 2001, the FDA upgraded their advisory, recommending that pregnant women, nursing women or women of childbearing age who may become pregnant, avoid the high-risk fish completely because mercury can harm the nervous system of a developing unborn baby.
According to the FDA, the fish with the least mercury are salmon, trout, catfish, haddock, flounder, crab or shrimp. And what about tuna fish – that classic bodybuilding and fitness staple food?
The FDA says that certain species of large tuna, usually sold as fresh tuna, tuna steaks or sushi, can have mercury levels above the FDA’s danger level of 1 part per million. The smaller tuna species such as albacore and skipjack, have much lower levels of mercury (that’s why canned tuna is less likely to be contaminated with mercury than fresh tuna).
In a recent report on tuna and mercury published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), they recommend the equivalent of only 1 can of white (albacore) tuna per week or 2 cans of light tuna. However, they added that men, older children or women beyond childbearing age could probably safely consume 2 to 3 times these amounts. (This would increase their recommended limit to just under a can a day).
|
|
