You don't necessarily need to avoid tuna due to mercury, but you should eat it in moderation, choosing lower-mercury types like canned light tuna (skipjack) more often, while limiting higher-mercury types like albacore, yellowfin, and bigeye tuna, especially if you're pregnant or a young child, as excessive mercury harms the developing nervous system. For most adults, 2-3 servings of fish per week are recommended, which can include tuna, but be mindful of varieties and portion sizes.
A common question that has been asked frequently about tuna is whether it is safe to consume. Tuna consumption may pose health risks due to mercury exposure, as mercury is a toxic metal found in nearly all seafood. However, the mercury level varies by species, parts of fish consumed and habitat (where the fish lives).
While you shouldn't eat tuna every day because of its mercury content, you can still safely enjoy canned tuna as a regular part of your healthy eating plan. It's really healthy, tuna is an excellent source of selenium, vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B12, vitamin B6, and protein.
Like most foods, it's okay to eat tuna in moderation. “According to the FDA, the average adult can safely eat about six to nine ounces of tuna per week,” says Dr. O'Neill. “That typically works out to one to two cans, depending on the size.”
Researchers say it may take decades and very strict environmental policies to start nudging those levels down. Tuna is one of the most popular seafoods worldwide. But this protein-rich fish can build up high levels of methylmercury from feeding on contaminated prey, like smaller fish or crustaceans.
Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology have come up with a novel approach to packaging canned tuna infused in the water-based solution of amino acid cysteine. It was shown to remove up to 35 percent of the accumulated mercury in canned tuna, significantly reducing human exposure to mercury via food.
Tuna: if you are trying for a baby or are pregnant, you should have no more than 4 cans of tuna a week or no more than 2 tuna steaks a week. This is because tuna contains higher levels of mercury than other fish. If you are breastfeeding, there is no limit on how much tuna you can eat.
Initial signs and symptoms, such as fever, chills, shortness of breath, metallic taste, and pleuritic chest pain, may be confused with metal-fume fever, which is caused by cadmium exposure. Other possible symptoms include stomatitis, lethargy, confusion, and vomiting.
To limit mercury intake from tuna, here are the guidelines: Best choice: Eat 2 to 3 servings per week of canned light skipjack tuna. Good choice: Eat 1 serving per week of yellowfin tuna or white albacore tuna. Choice to avoid: Don't eat bigeye tuna.
Canned tuna is the only seafood in some people's diets. So that's why mercury contamination is such a concern in this particular fish. Mercury is a known neurotoxin. Too much of it is harmful to children, whose bodies and brains are still growing.
If you're concerned about limiting the amount of mercury you consume, and if you've eaten no other fish during the week, Consumer Reports says up to 12 ounces a week of Bumble Bee Chunk Light, Chicken of the Sea Chunk Light, Safe Catch Wild Elite, and StarKist Chunk Light tunas are the safer choices among the products ...
Omega 3s
These are the good fats that keep your heart happy and healthy. Tuna is brimming with two types of omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA, which have been linked to reduced inflammation, improved brain function, and a lowered risk of heart disease.
A Peer-reviewed Independent study of Light Tuna on store shelves shows mercury levels that range over 1.00 ppm mercury*. Safe Catch only uses fish that are tested and pass the strict limits defined below: 0.1 ppm for Safe Catch Elite which is 10x lower than the FDA limit of 1.00 ppm.
Fish that contain high levels of mercury include shark, ray, swordfish, barramundi, gemfish, orange roughy, ling and southern bluefin tuna.
Once in a lake or river, mercury is converted to methylmercury by bacteria and other processes. Fish absorb methylmercury from their food and from water as it passes over their gills. Mercury is tightly bound to proteins in all fish tissue, including muscle.
Mackerel
Mackerel is a guilt-free substitute for tuna. This mild-tasting, meaty fish is lower in mercury and sustainably sourced. Mackerel's texture and delicate flavor make it as versatile as tuna. The fish is flaky, moist and soft.
Choose fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury such as salmon, trout, tilapia, cod, sole, sardines, shrimp, oysters, and other shellfish.
The recommended shelf life for canned tuna is 2–5 years, as long as the can is in good condition. Damaged or swollen cans of tuna could indicate that the contents are no longer safe to consume.
Other mercury removal options include home remedies such as eating a nutrient- and vitamin-rich diet, increasing fibre intake, and drinking more water to flush out mercury from the body.
The key is to decontaminate the patient as soon as possible to prevent further absorption of mercury. The outcomes of patients with mercury poisoning depend on the presence of neurological deficits, which in many cases cannot be reversed.
The most commonly accepted methods of assessing mercury exposure are to test urine or blood. Both tests usually measure levels of total mercury (elemental, inorganic and organic). Elevated mercury in urine usually indicates exposure to an elemental or inorganic source of mercury, such as from a job that uses mercury.
Some tuna cans that say do not drain because they don't add oil, water, fillers, preservatives, and GMO soy broth. Cans that say do not drain contain only tuna or sometimes salmon. They only have natural occurring fish oils and juices and those are rich in omega threes.
You would have to eat around 25 tins (at 95g a tin) of it a week before you hit the maximum tolerable intake of mercury. For pregnant people (or people trying to get pregnant), the limit would be around 12 tins (at 95g a tin) a week. It is unlikely many consumers will reach these limits.