too much tuna can cause mercury poisoning?

[RogerAgness]

Was talking with a guy at the gym today and he said you shouldn't eat tuna more than twice a week or you can get mercury poisoning from the mercury, etc. that accumulates in the food chain.

Fact or fiction?

Anyway, I only eat the quality mercury that comes in Chicken of the Sea and Starkist.

[snorkelman]

Dude at the gym was correct for a change. It is recommended to limit your intake of canned light tuna to 12 ounces per week from a mercury standpoint, but canned WHITE tuna should be limited to 6 ounces per week.

[Spanishdream]

It's a crying shame really that you can't just have it by the bucket load. It's just packed with protein, cheap and tinned so you can buy it and it won't go off.

[Chuck2600]

But I eat about 2-3lbs per week...

[desslok]

Dude at the gym was correct for a change. It is recommended to limit your intake of canned light tuna to 12 ounces per week from a mercury standpoint, but canned WHITE tuna should be limited to 6 ounces per week.

If I had a nickel for everytime Snorkelman has answered this question....

[bertostare]

i just want to make clear.. ive eaten over 2 canned tuna every day, for a quite few months, without any poison noticing or w/e.. (canned tuna was cheap and i had a hard time with financial)

[foodandfitness]

Dude at the gym was correct for a change. It is recommended to limit your intake of canned light tuna to 12 ounces per week from a mercury standpoint, but canned WHITE tuna should be limited to 6 ounces per week.

Agreed.

But also, IMO, if you don't eat tuna on the reg, then having more than 2 cans in a week isn't bad.

*Edit: But watch out if you think you're preggers

[jakefurfaro]

I usually have 2-4 cans per week, just because its easy, fast, and taste good. A couple weeks ago I had two cans in one day (made a huge sandwich), and I had the worst burps that tasted like metal/lead for the few hours after I ate. Not sure if this had anything to do with the mercury, but it tasted disgusting.

[Noviceplus]

In theory you can. In practice you likely won't. Yes, there's (methyl)mercury in fish. But, you'd have to eat a sick amount in a short amount of time for it to affect you in a seriously negative way. (Exception for those in a sensitive state.)

[dontburstmy]

much much better to eat Sushi Tuna instead....

Was talking with a guy at the gym today and he said you shouldn't eat tuna more than twice a week or you can get mercury poisoning from the mercury, etc. that accumulates in the food chain.

Fact or fiction?

Anyway, I only eat the quality mercury that comes in Chicken of the Sea and Starkist.

[drandall90]

Was talking with a guy at the gym today and he said you shouldn't eat tuna more than twice a week or you can get mercury poisoning from the mercury, etc. that accumulates in the food chain.

Fact or fiction?

Anyway, I only eat the quality mercury that comes in Chicken of the Sea and Starkist.

The bigger danger may be the polychlorinated biphenyls in all fish rather than the mercury. Much bigger risk to your health.

Fish are not going to kill you per se, but I wouldn't make them the cornerstone of your diet day in and day out. Moderation is totally fine.

[WrestlingFan123]

No, just no.

[AlonPerel]

Can't post a link so nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/guide.asp --> add 3xw at beginning

[drandall90]

No, just no.

No in response to?

[icerugby]

Apparently the selenium in the tuna makes it difficult for the body to absorb the mercury.
I eat tuna pretty much every day, so hope it's true
I can't post links, but there's lots of articles. Google "selenium tuna mercury"

[wrkoutfrq]

The bigger danger may be the polychlorinated biphenyls in all fish rather than the mercury. Much bigger risk to your health.

Fish are not going to kill you per se, but I wouldn't make them the cornerstone of your diet day in and day out. Moderation is totally fine.

i agree that moderation is fine, but PCB's aren't really much of an issue when it comes to deep water fish due to their short half lives in water... they break down too easily to remain benthic, and deposit in the soil quickly. yes there is some magnification across trophic levels, but not enough in that system (freshwater is a different story, however)

Apparently the selenium in the tuna makes it difficult for the body to absorb the mercury.
I eat tuna pretty much every day, so hope it's true
I can't post links, but there's lots of articles. Google "selenium tuna mercury"

i'm not so sure that it's the selenium that is keeping the mercury from being absorbed... yes it has a high affinity for mercury and binds to it forming an inactive mercury selenide, but they both have a high affinity for cysteine-rich proteins and can cross the blood brain barrier easily. so the odds that most of the mercury is being bound by selenium is low. not to mention that high doses of selenium are toxic as well, causing neuropathies as well as "rice water stools", which is where your organs begin to deteriorate and slough off and out your poo.

all in all i'd say moderation, but keep in the back of your mind that too much of a good thing is in fact bad

[trumpz]

is it correct that skipjack has the lowest mercury content of all the tunas?