Mercury Poisoning Symptoms
Mercury toxicity is one of the more common food toxics that are hazardous to human health. Mercury contamination of fish has been an issue.
Fish and shellfish are important to heart health, and children's growth and development due to their high-quality protein, low-saturated fat, and other essential nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids. A well-balanced diet including a variety of fish and shellfish is indispensable to optimum health.
However, nearly all fish and shellfish contain some traces of mercury because they get the mercury from the waters they live in.
What is mercury?
Mercury is a toxic metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures. Mercury toxicity, often aggravated by industrial pollution, affects the environment through accumulative deposits into streams and oceans. Exposure to methyl mercury in the water is harmful to human health, in particular pregnant women and young children. Most of our exposure to mercury comes from our diet, especially from fish.
Mercury contamination of fish may be a health problem, irrespective of where the fish have come from - in streams or deep oceans - because they absorb the methyl mercury as they feed in these waters, and so mercury toxicity builds up in them.
However, the mercury buildup may vary according to the types of fish, especially their size, and also on what they eat. Given that mercury toxicity builds up over time, the rule of thumb is to buy smaller fish with less contamination, rather than bigger ones with more accumulative mercury toxicity. Sardines are excellent due to their omega-3 fatty acids, and they are small in size with relatively little or no mercury contamination. Other fish and shellfish that are low in mercury include shrimp, catfish, salmon, and tuna. On the other hand, shark, swordfish, and king mackerel may contain much higher levels of mercury due to their size and hence more exposure to mercury contamination.
If you think the risk from mercury contamination of fish is not a major health concern, the choice is yours. On the other hand, if you have concern about the safety of eating fish, you can follow the guidelines of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the levels of mercury in various type of fish.
Fish may give you certain nutrients that are not readily available in other foods. However, mercury contamination of fish is real. The advice is: eat a variety of fish and shellfish; choose smaller fish; avoid farm-raised fish, which are often contaminated with chemicals and which are more prone to disease to than the wild ones; and eat fish only once or twice a week.
