The following portion is taken with permission from Tom Venuto's Inner Circle The Latest News On Tuna Fish And Mercury: Is Our Favorite "Healthy" Fish Still Safe to Eat? By Tom Venuto www.BurntheFatInnerCircle.com 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 fish/seafood containing the least mercury are salmon, trout, catfish, haddock, flounder, sole, herring, tilapia, pollock, crab, clams, scallops or shrimp.
And what about tuna fish -- that classic bodybuilding and fitness staple food? That depends on the type of tuna. In 1994, the FDA said that certain species of large tuna, usually sold as fresh tuna, tuna steaks or sushi, were likely to have mercury contamination above the danger level of 1 part per million. The smaller tuna species (usually sold as canned "chunk light" tuna), have much lower levels of mercury (averaging about 0.17 ppm).
Albacore tuna was brought to widespread attention in more recent advisories as a potential significant source of mercury as it contains
three times a much as the light tuna. The FDA released its first mercury advisory warning in 1994 called, "Mercury in Fish: Cause For Concern?" This document advised the public that shark and swordfish were high in mercury, and could be consumed safely by most people if eaten no more than once per week, as part of a balanced diet, and only once per month for pregnant or nursing women.
In 2001, the FDA upgraded their advisory, recommending that if you are (1) pregnant, (2) a woman who may become pregnant, (3) a nursing mother, or (4) a young child, you should avoid shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish entirely, but you can eat up to two meals (12 ounces total) a week of low mercury fish and seafood (including light canned tuna and others).
The guidelines were again revised in 2004 when the FDA and EPA jointly issued one set of recommendations that also included guidelines for albacore tuna consumption. Albacore tuna was not listed as a fish to limit or avoid in the FDA's initial advisories in 1994 or 2001. In this update, the two agencies advised that women in the four categories mentioned above should completely avoid shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish, but may safely eat up to two meals a week of low mercury seafood, up to 12 ounces total, 6 ounces of which can be albacore tuna.
According to Marion Nestle, author of "Food Politics" and "What To Eat," the FDA's prior omission of an albacore tuna advisory was an "odd oversight" because while not as high in mercury as shark or swordfish, albacore contains more mercury than the "chunk light" varieties of tuna. She also revealed that industry lobbyists urged the FDA to keep albacore tuna off the mercury advisory list because the tuna industry worried that consumers would interpret the advice to "reduce" or "avoid albacore tuna" as "avoid all tuna."
In December 2005, The Center For Science In The Public Interest (CSPI), published a press release criticizing the FDA even more sharply for this "oversight" and urging the FDA to require easy-to-understand advice about mercury in fish right at the seafood counter, in order to warn the high-risk consumer groups (pregnant women, etc). California already posts warnings, as do (voluntarily) several major grocers, such as Wild Oats.
In July 2006, CPSI released another statement which proposed that even greater distinctions should be made in tuna advisories because the "government's advise is not protective enough for many pregnant women and young children." The reason given was because according to CSPI's sources, imported light tuna from latin America, especially Ecuador, contains unacceptably high levels of mercury. CPSI advised pregnant women and those planning pregnancy to "eat fish, but avoid shark, swordfish, tilefish and king mackerel, and avoid all albacore and light tuna brands that come from Latin America."
This is all a very sad state of affairs as tuna fish has been a favorite of fitness and bodybuilding enthusiasts for decades. I know a lot of bodybuilders who still eat can after can of tuna every day; some literally live on it as their prime protein source. Today, unfortunately, that may be unwise (although it's somewhat unclear whether the risks are overstated in the case of large, healthy, male bodybuilders).
In bodybuilding and fitness nutrition, it's common to become habitual about eating one "favorite" food, such as tuna out of the can. But it's always good general nutrition advice to eat a wide variety of foods (including lean proteins), not only to obtain the variety of nutrients they offer, but to avoid excessive consumption of chemicals they may also contain. Mercury is not the only one.
I'm no alarmist or "food cop", but having been one of those several-cans-of-tuna-a-day-guys in the past, even
I have reduced my tuna intake slightly in favor of more salmon and a wider variety of other fish, I also choose more chunk light when I eat canned tuna today. On a brighter note, chunk light is less expensive. If you've been a 100% canned tuna dependent person, try some canned salmon for variety - it works perfectly for nearly any tuna recipe and is actually higher in omega-3 than tuna.
It would be very prudent to take the mercury advisories seriously, but as with many other nutrition issues, moderation is probably the best advice, rather than total paranoia. The truth is, almost all health organizations continue to recommend eating fatty fish such as salmon, herring, trout or sardines at least twice per week in order to provide the healthy omega-3 essential fatty acids and other nutritional benefits.
The experts also strongly agree that (except for pregnant women), the benefits of fish consumption far outweigh the risks and nearly all the risks can be avoided by following the guidelines established by the various agencies that are outlined above. Bottom line: keep eating your fish, but make informed choices and know which fish species to limit or avoid.
Resource Links: American Heart Association's report, "Fish, levels Of Mercury and Omega-3 fatty Acids":
http://www.americanhear...jhtml?identifier=3013797 Fish Intake, Contaminants and Human Health: Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA):
http://jama.ama-assn.or...content/full/296/15/1885 2004 EPA and FDA advice for women who might become pregnant, women who are pregnant, nursing mothers and young children:
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/admehg3.html Department of Health and Human Services - Mercury Toxicological Profile:
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp46.html Seafood Watch
www.SeafoodWatch.org References Too much of a good thing? Update on fish consumption and mercury exposure.Levenson CW, Axelrad DM. Nutr Rev. 2006 Mar;64(3):139-45. Program in Neuroscience and the Department of Nutrition, Food & Exercise Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4340, USA.
The good, the bad, and the ugly: weighing the risks and benefits of seafood consumption.Morrissey MT.Nutr Health. 2006;18(2):193-7. Oregon State University Seafood Laboratory, USA.
Mercury in seafood: mechanisms of accumulation and consequences for consumer health.Balshaw S, Edwards J, Daughtry B, Ross K. Rev Environ Health. 2007 Apr-Jun;22(2):91-113. Department of Environmental Health, School of Medicine, Flinders University GPO Box 2100 Adelaide, South Australia 5001.
The following portion is taken with permission from Tom Venuto's Inner Circle