January 31, 2008 | Food & drink, Pregnancy
Okay, so there are 2 writers here at Broom Huggers - Kathy (a.k.a., mudlark) and Jeana (a.k.a., well, Jeana). As of right now, Kathy is 7 months pregnant and Jeana is newly pregnant, so forgive us if there’s a sudden wave of pregnancy-related posts. It’s kind of what’s on our minds. And don’t worry - we’ll get it out of our system (and eventually we’ll give birth and raise our families’ carbon emissions too…), but in the meantime, here is yet another post on health during pregnancy.
NPR had a great story this morning on mercury in fish - what to eat, what not to eat, how to get information - the whole shabang. Basically, if you’re not pregnant, and if you’re old enough to be reading this yourself, you don’t need to worry about your mercury levels. Your body can cope with it just fine. But children and pregnant and nursing moms need to use a little bit of caution when choosing fish. That’s not to say you should avoid fish - you’ll find all sorts of nutrients in fish that your body needs. The key is in finding balance. 4 fish to avoid:
- Swordfish
- King Mackerel
- Tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico (why do we have to discriminate against the Latino tilefish?)
- Shark
As for tuna, the canned type is usually best in terms of mercury levels, because they use smaller, younger fish who have less time to accumulate toxins. Still, limit it to 12 oz. a week, and limit albacore to 6 oz. a week. (If you’re anything like me, that won’t be a problem…)
Good choices that are notably low in mercury are mackerel (though not King Mackerel) and tilapia. I was disappointed that the story didn’t cover my 2 favorite fishies - salmon and shrimp. After doing some more research though, I found that my favorites are on the low mercury side as well, to be limited to 12 oz. a week (or the equivalent of 2 meals per week - I think I’m safe since I only have fish once a month or so…). There’s a nice chart here from the FDA that gives more specific information about mercury levels in fish.
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Fish says:
[…] Mercury in fish […]
February 1st, 2008 at 7:54 amLeanne says:
This was a great guide. I’ve avoided tuna for a while…even though I love it! If fish weren’t so expensive it would be my primary choice for protein…
February 1st, 2008 at 8:52 amWe eat a lot of tilapia…which is very versatile and EASY to cook…its also quite inexpensive at Aldi!
When I lived in California, I loved going out for sushi… Its good to know the hidden risks of eating it!
Becky says:
I found the Don’t Panic Guide to Pregnancy to be a great resource about this sort of thing. You won’t find information about how big your baby is or anything like that but it has all sorts of information about which fish are safest, how hot your bath can be, etc. It’s purse sized which makes it great for carrying around for quick reference. Congrats to you both!
February 1st, 2008 at 11:24 am