I'm so confused about fish . . .

[Guest guest]

I'm new to this group, so I apologize if this has already been

discussed to death . . .

I'm really in a quandry about buying fish. I truly believe fish is so

good for us and I do serve it once a week. But, ever since I got

pregnant with my first child 4 years ago, I've limited our fish to wild

Alaskan salmon, sardines, kippers, and herring. It does get a little

boring, but I am very leery of mercury and PCBs since I am nursing and

hope to have more children.

How do I know which websites to trust regarding the mercury content of

fish? It seems like the info on tuna keeps changing. I saw some

beautiful wild, Canadian whitefish at out local store yesterday but I

wasn't sure if it was safe.

Also, FWIW, we don't eat shellfish for religious & health reasons.

Any info is appreciated.

Thanks!

[Guest guest]

--- <lmanske@...> wrote:

> I'm really in a quandry about buying fish. I truly believe fish is

> so good for us and I do serve it once a week. But, ever since I got

> pregnant with my first child 4 years ago, I've limited our fish to

> wild Alaskan salmon, sardines, kippers, and herring. It does get a

> little boring, but I am very leery of mercury and PCBs since I am

> nursing and hope to have more children.

,

I've read that in general, smaller fish have lower mercury levels.

The larger fish accumulate more mercury from being at the top of the

food chain. Also, most farm-raised fish are raised in contaminated

waters (with PCBs) and they are given un-natural diets, including GMO

corn and soy, and antibiotics (just like factory farmed chickens).

So, eat smaller fish that are wild caught to avoid problems. The oily

fish are also supposed to be better than the lean.

I just bought three 12-packs of canned Seasons sardines in water on

Amazon. They were $11.90 per 12 cans. Fresh caught would be better

if you can get it.

Here's an article on mercury in fish:

http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fishadvice/advice.html

Here's some measurements of mercury in fish:

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html

Looks like all the fish you've been eating are low in mercury.

Oily fish list:

http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2004/jun/oilyfishdefinition