HEALTH - Avoid eating fish with mercury
What the Heck CAN You Eat?
A recent study from the University of North Carolina confirmed that fresh fish can be toxic.
The study found that one in five women of childbearing age tested had high enough levels of mercury to cause neurological damage in babies. The fish that these women had been eating were poisoned by mercury that ended up in lakes, streams, and oceans.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) recommends that you avoid fish with the highest mercury levels (for example, swordfish, shark, grouper, king mackerel, marlin, and tilefish). And pregnant women should be especially careful. Their report can be found at http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/guide.asp .
According to the NRDC, mercury-safe fish include catfish, freshwater trout, wild Alaskan salmon, sardines, flounder, tilapia, and shellfish like shrimp.
One health expert, Jon Herring, writes, "Mercury accumulates in the tissues over time, and is highly toxic, even in small amounts. There are enough fish that are safe to eat that it only makes sense to enjoy those, and avoid the ones that are known to be contaminated."
You can test the mercury levels in your body with a $25 hair-sampling kit from the Sierra Club. Their information can be found at http://www.sierraclub.org/mercury/get_tested/ .
By Michael Masterson [Early to Rise, Copyright ETR, LLC, 2004]
Submitted by Atlanta Federal Safety & Health Council
A recent study from the University of North Carolina confirmed that fresh fish can be toxic.
The study found that one in five women of childbearing age tested had high enough levels of mercury to cause neurological damage in babies. The fish that these women had been eating were poisoned by mercury that ended up in lakes, streams, and oceans.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) recommends that you avoid fish with the highest mercury levels (for example, swordfish, shark, grouper, king mackerel, marlin, and tilefish). And pregnant women should be especially careful. Their report can be found at http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/guide.asp .
According to the NRDC, mercury-safe fish include catfish, freshwater trout, wild Alaskan salmon, sardines, flounder, tilapia, and shellfish like shrimp.
One health expert, Jon Herring, writes, "Mercury accumulates in the tissues over time, and is highly toxic, even in small amounts. There are enough fish that are safe to eat that it only makes sense to enjoy those, and avoid the ones that are known to be contaminated."
You can test the mercury levels in your body with a $25 hair-sampling kit from the Sierra Club. Their information can be found at http://www.sierraclub.org/mercury/get_tested/ .
By Michael Masterson [Early to Rise, Copyright ETR, LLC, 2004]
Submitted by Atlanta Federal Safety & Health Council
posted by Fedsafe at 9:36 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home