Thus, eating fish, or taking n-3 fatty acid supplements, provides clear benefits it’s the methylmercury in the environment, and subsequently the fish that live in that environment, that’s the problem. One of Hammitt’s studies suggests that if women of child-bearing age avoided all fish consumption for many years (and if men of child-bearing age do as well), the net health harms to adults can offset the benefits of reducing cognitive risk to children if women reduce their fish consumption. In other words, the latter research shows that the advisory was effective at helping pregnant women curb their methylmercury intake, but they continued to reap the benefits. However, other research showed that exposure declined significantly in women of childbearing age who were the most highly exposed to methylmercury, but that their seafood consumption remained similar as before. Some research indicated that households that ate a significant amount of seafood decreased fish consumption by 21%, and that this led to a 17% reduction in exposure to mercury, but there was a cost-a 21% reduction in omega-3 fatty acids. It’s now well-known that there are negative effects on children if their mothers were exposed to high amounts during pregnancy. In 2001, the FDA came out with mercury-in-fish recommendations in relation to women who were pregnant, and cautioned that they should avoid exposure to methylmercury. Specific Recommendations About Methylmercury for Pregnant Women It may be true that there’s value in eating mercury-rich fish, but it would be better to eat mercury-poor fish. There are benefits to eating fish, and there’s nothing good about having methylmercury in them. In other words: eating fish has healthy benefits, and the fear of mercury shouldn’t prevent you from choosing fish as a food source. So, as far as formal advice, one should avoid heavy consumption of those specific species, and instead eat food lower on the food chain that weren’t caught in areas contaminated by high methylmercury levels. It may be true that there’s value in eating mercury-rich fish, but it would be better to eat mercury-poor fish,” says Hammitt. “There are benefits to eating fish, and there’s nothing good about having methylmercury in them. Chronic low-level exposure to methylmercury has also been shown to impair brain function. At very high exposures, this can lead to fatigue, muscle weakness, and dizziness and damage organs like the kidneys and liver. Generally speaking, depending on the amount of consumption, fish like swordfish, shark, and certain kinds of tuna-large fish that eat a lot of smaller fish-have higher levels of methylmercury (the only form of mercury to bioaccumulate in the human body). The FDA has documented which species of fish, on average, have the highest levels of mercury. Omega-3 fatty acids can help protect against heart disease, reduce inflammation, and improve organ health, among other things. In fact, fish are often considered the healthiest protein one can eat, particularly because of nutrients like vitamin D and selenium. The Current FDA Recommendations of Mercury in FishĮating fish has significant benefits. Hammitt, program director of Environmental Health Risk: Analysis and Applications, the risk analysis isn’t as simple as avoiding fish entirely-in fact, people are ultimately missing out on key nutrients when taking that approach. Should you stop, or drastically reduce, eating fish to avoid mercury? Depending on what you read or watch on TV, the answers might be contradictory. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |