Tuna, does it really unsafe to eat alot? or is that just overhyped?

I always hear you shouldnt eat more than like 2 servings of tuna a week or random things like that.  The reason given is always because of mercury levels in the fish.

However some questions I have:

1. How much tuna is considered safe per day / week or whatever time interval you decide to you.  I ask this because I keep hearing different numbers of servings per week is safe to eat, but how much is a 'serving'?  Isnt that dependant on the can its printed on? :P

2. Is it really 'that' unsafe?  I ask this because I'd think if it was truely as unsafe as I always hear the hype to be, wouldnt there be advisories printed on the labels? 

Side note:  I ate 2 whole cans of solid white very low sodium albacore tuna today ;) thats 5 servings, think I got me a good dose of mercury today?

Dunno, but I went through a tuna craze faze when I ate tuna every day for something like 2 weeks.

I'm still kicking.

I never really heard about the so called dangers of tuna until recently. My family LOVES. TUNA.

I love tuna too, I love it plain, I love it with relish, I love everything tuna.

If I could afford it, the 'very low sodium' kind is kinda expensive, I'd eat 5 cans a day :P Easy lowfat, and the fat that is there is good fat, protein, low sodium if you get the low sodium cans,  and tastes awesome without cooking.

Makin me stare down my 3rd and last can left in the kitchen...

I remember watching a 'credible' news special on TV about a woman who ate a lot of tuna for a long period of time and has had some major health issues because of it.  I believe she ate it daily for over a year and for multiple meals a day.  I will look around for it and see if I can find it online.

Well, I was gonna say it is not nearly as bad as some folks would have you believe -- unless you are pregnant or have a suppressed immune system -- but the white/albacore tuna really is the worst of the bunch and "they" recommend no more than two servings per week -- this is what I "googled"

http://www.mercurypolicy.org/new/documents/Ca nTheTunaReleaseFinal061903.pdf ;

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/babies-kid s/child-safety/food/mercury-in-tuna/tuna-safe ty/overview/0607_tuna_ov.htm

http://www.tunafoundation.org/tunascience/fac tsvsfiction.html ;

 Welp looks like guys are pretty much safe. *walks towards his last can of tuna*

The Mayo Clinic has a great article on the merits and dangers of eating fish ... http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-and-nut rition/NU00292

=^..^= MOLLY

Original Post by mollymouser: The Mayo Clinic has a great article on the merits and dangers of eating fish.. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-and-nut rition/NU00292

=^..^= MOLLY

 Oh, man. I wish I didn't click on that. ;-)

"Some types of fish may contain significant amounts of contaminants, such as mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins or other chemical pollutants. Fish acquire these toxins from pollutants in lakes, rivers and oceans. Bacteria, viruses, parasites or other disease-causing organisms also can infect fish in the same way that poultry and meat can be infected."

Oh, yummy.  

My husband worked in a lab with a professor who was studying mercury in fish.  He said that some people seem to pass it through their systems and others seem to really hang on to it. 

Personally, I avoid Tuna and most ocean fish.  If I'm going to eat fish it's wild salmon or lake fish (and those I eat in small quantites). If you see cheap, packaged fish at the grocery store, check to see if it's a "product of china".  Most of it is, and there's no way I'm eating anything from there. 

From the EPA website: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fishadvice/ad vice.html

1. Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.
2. Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.
3. Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.
4. Another commonly eaten fish, albacore ("white") tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your two meals of fish and shellfish, you may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna per week.
5. Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in your local lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. If no advice is available, eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) per week of fish you catch from local waters, but don't consume any other fish during that week.

Ooooft, looks like I'm doomed. I generally eat about 5 cans of tuna a week...

whole foods actually has a really nice pamphlet that explains the chemistry problem with tuna.  one of the many joys of polluting the oceans seems to be that fish like tuna absorb mercury into their muscle.  when you metabolize the mercury, it does bad things.  it's especially bad for pregnant and nursing women because babies have a much lower body mass and can handle much less mercury.  as usual, i think some of the guidelines are overzealous, but you should certainly be careful about how much tuna you eat :o)

Sooo... I'm so not going to end well... I eat an average of 2 cans of tuna a week (and none low sodium), 2 meals of any fish available in the house twice a week, shrimps and crab on the weekends....

And that without counting my occasional sushi, salmon and trout...

-_-