Mercury can turn seafood diet from healthy to dangerous

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Mercury can turn seafood diet from healthy to dangerous

Learning to tell safe fish from tainted can yield heart benefits

By LAURAN NEERGAARD

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/153619_salmon23.html

WASHINGTON -- Fish are heart-healthy, and most Americans

should eat more. But fish also can contain mercury, and too

much mercury can harm brain cells, especially in the very young.

So what are the best choices for both the heart and the brain?

Salmon and oysters top the list as high in heart-healthy omega-3

fatty acids and very low in mercury, and there are numerous

other low-mercury choices, too.

Yet the government has no consumer-friendly list of its own

mercury testing results to help people of different ages choose

seafood.

In fact, the good news about low-mercury choices has been far

overshadowed by a battle over which fish the Food and Drug

Administration should warn people most at risk from mercury,

pregnant women and young children, to avoid.

That controversy made headlines again recently as the FDA

grappled with whether certain types of ever-popular tuna should

be on the do-not-eat list for those people.

The potential backlash effect, even mercury critics acknowledge,

is that many Americans could be scared away from fish in

general -- a bad choice.

" It's really unfortunate, " especially for middle-aged people who

are most in need of fish and least at risk from mercury, says Dr.

of the American Heart Association.

His organization recommends that most people eat a variety of

fish rich in omega-3s at least twice a week, even more for those

diagnosed with heart disease.

" The message should be: 'Eat more fish for your health

while minimizing your mercury intake,' " adds Ned

Groth, a scientist with Consumers Union, a non-profit

group that is pushing the FDA to publicize low-mercury choices.

Mercury pollution washes into waterways and builds up in fish.

The bigger the fish, the more mercury it contains.

Over time, the metal can accumulate in fish eaters' bodies, too.

High enough levels can damage the growing brains of fetuses and

young children.

About 8 percent of women of childbearing age have enough

mercury in their blood to put a fetus at risk.

Far less is known about the potential dangers of

mercury-containing seafood in other people. Consumer advocates

say about 3 million people are extreme seafood lovers, eating so

much of it per week that, depending on what varieties they

choose, they might be at risk, too.

Still, exposure by fetuses and young children are clearly the

biggest concern.

The FDA's scientific advisers recently urged the government to

stress low-mercury choices for women of childbearing age and

youngsters, so the FDA is rewriting its seafood

recommendations.

The new list is due out in spring.

For now, a review of the FDA's mercury measurements in 39

seafood varieties shows:

Salmon, oysters, whitefish, sea bass, freshwater trout and

sardines contain high levels of heart-healthy omega-3s and low

mercury levels, below 0.13 parts per million.

Other low-mercury choices include perch, king crab, flounder,

sole, pollock, catfish, croaker, scallops, crawfish, shrimp, clams

and tilapia. They contain less omega-3s, but servings can add up.

Tuna is controversial, because different varieties contain

different amounts of both mercury and heart-healthy fats.

Canned light tuna contains a small amount of omega-3, about as

much as shrimp, and fairly low 0.13 ppm mercury. But fresh

tuna steaks and the more expensive canned white or albacore

tuna contain three times as much mercury and almost as much

omega-3 as salmon.

That puts albacore in the medium mercury range.

Many consumer groups recommend that pregnant women and

children stick to modest amounts of the lower-mercury light tuna

-- about 9 ounces a week for women and 3 ounces for

youngsters.

Also in the medium range are saltwater trout, bluefish, lobster,

halibut, haddock, snapper and crabs.

Grouper and orange roughy are at the high end of this group.

FDA's advisers said women of childbearing age probably should

limit these fish to a serving a week.

The FDA advises women of childbearing age to avoid shark,

swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish, which contain the most

mercury of species tested to date.

Go easy on fried and breaded fish such as fish sticks;

heart-harming grease outweighs the omega-3s.

Check local mercury advisories if you're eating fish from local

lakes and ponds, which can be much more polluted than the

sources of commercial fish.

For most men and postmenopausal women, mercury concern

plummets and the main message is to eat a variety of fish and

more of it, the heart association says.

" If they're eating the same fish day after day, that's probably not

wise, " said , a researcher at the Mid-America Heart

Institute in Kansas City, Mo. " It's probably good to mix it up. "

*

[However, because physician- and nurse-injected thimerosal (49.6% ethylmercury

by weight)

causes a range of neurologic sequelae that themselves may require chronic

prescription

medications, reporters are encouraged not to mention thimerosal aka ethylmercury

in

vaccines. After all, pharmaceutical industry profits are more important than

children's

healthful development.]

*

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