MERCURY in FISH

[kind2creatures]

Consumer Guide to Mercury in Fish

The list below shows the amount of various types of fish that a woman who is pregnant or planning to become pregnant can safely eat, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. People with small children who want to use the list as a guide should reduce portion sizes. Adult men, and women who are not planning to become pregnant, are less at risk from mercury exposure but may wish to refer to the list for low-mercury choices.

Protecting yourself -- and the fish: Certain fish, even some that are low in mercury, make poor choices for other reasons, most often because they have been fished so extensively that their numbers are perilously low. These fish are marked with an asterisk (read more below).

This list applies to fish caught and sold commercially. For information about fish you catch yourself, check for advisories in your state.

LEAST MERCURY

Enjoy these fish:

Anchovies
Butterfish
Catfish
Clam
Crab (Domestic)
Crawfish/Crayfish
Croaker (Atlantic)
Flounder*
Haddock (Atlantic)*
Hake
Herring
Mackerel (N. Atlantic, Chub)
Mullet
Oyster
Perch (Ocean)
Plaice
Pollock
Salmon (Canned)**
Salmon (Fresh)**
Sardine
Scallop*
Shad (American)
Shrimp*
Sole (Pacific)
Squid (Calamari)
Tilapia
Trout (Freshwater)
Whitefish
Whiting

MODERATE MERCURY

Eat six servings or less per month:

Bass (Striped, Black)
Carp
Cod (Alaskan)*
Croaker (White Pacific)
Halibut (Atlantic)*
Halibut (Pacific)
Jacksmelt
(Silverside)
Lobster
Mahi Mahi
Monkfish*
Perch (Freshwater)
Sablefish
Skate*
Snapper*
Tuna (Canned
chunk light)
Tuna (Skipjack)*
Weakfish (Sea Trout)

HIGH MERCURY

Eat three servings or less per month:

Bluefish
Grouper*
Mackerel (Spanish, Gulf)
Sea Bass (Chilean)*
Tuna (Canned Albacore)
Tuna (Yellowfin)*

HIGHEST MERCURY

Avoid eating:

Mackerel (King)
Marlin*
Orange Roughy*
Shark*
Swordfish*
Tilefish*
Tuna
(Bigeye, Ahi)*

* Fish in Trouble! These fish are perilously low in numbers or are caught using environmentally destructive methods. To learn more, see the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Blue Ocean Institute, both of which provide guides to fish to enjoy or avoid on the basis of environmental factors.
** Farmed Salmon may contain PCB's, chemicals with serious long-term health effects.

Sources for NRDC's guide: The data for this guide to mercury in fish comes from two federal agencies: the Food and Drug Administration, which tests fish for mercury, and the Environmental Protection Agency, which determines mercury levels that it considers safe for women of childbearing age.



About the mercury-level categories: The categories on the list (least mercury to highest mercury) are determined according to the following mercury levels in the flesh of tested fish.

• Least mercury: Less than 0.09 parts per million
• Moderate mercury: From 0.09 to 0.29 parts per million
• High mercury: From 0.3 to 0.49 parts per million
• Highest mercury: More than .5 parts per million

 

[Ted_Hutchinson]

Selenium: Mercury's Magnet

Selenium and Mercury

Selenium Helps Remove Mercury from the Body

 

[jfh]

Selenium is significant in many foods and is one of the best antioxidants that can be used by the body. It is a powerful antioxidant and measured in micrograms in many sources; so only a trace is required. Anything over 400mcg can be toxic. This is why most supplements provide only 200mcg. You get the rest in your diet.

Here is a food list of selenium sources.
https://www.dietaryfiberfood.com/selenium.php

Iodine is a powerful oxidant. It is a natural chelator of mercury. This is why it is OK to eat kelp or other seaweed. There is a significant quantity of iodine relative to mercury to oxidize this mercury; rendering it unusable to the body. Perhaps some of those listed fish are higher in iodine and/or selenium relative to mercury, making them safe to eat.

 

[kind2creatures]

Thanks Ted and Jim! For a long time now, we've been taking a multi with 200mcg, along with an additional selenium supplement that's 200mcg also.

Is this too much, considering we may also be eating foods now and then that are rich in selenium? Do you think we should cut back?

Your replies are much appreciated!

 

[jfh]

I think 400 is too much. 200 is good; and get more from diet.

I also buy selenium that is selenomethionine.

[FONT=arial,helvetica]L-(+)- selenomethionine is natural, stable, better absorbed than other forms of (inorganic) selenium (like sodium selenite or selenate etc.)
https://www.selenomethionine.com/

Just check the label for selenium from bla, bla, bla. It will say which form it is. Typically, it will be advertised as "Yeast Free". Check iHerb for NOW brand Selenium yeast free. There are several other brands too.


[/FONT]

 

[Ted_Hutchinson]

Thanks Ted and Jim! For a long time now, we've been taking a multi with 200mcg, along with an additional selenium supplement that's 200mcg also.

I live in the UK which is generally selenium deficient so it's no problem for me to decide I take Selenium.
It's a problem though to decide for people living in the USA.
It depends where you live

and where your food mainly comes from?

If you can see from the map you are living in an area of selenium deficiency or selenium pollution. However as this article suggests Selenium deficiency has been reported in 46 states.

Jarrow Formulas, Activated Selenium, 200 mcg,$5 code WAB666 These are what I take. I just take one daily. The multi I take only has a minimal amount of the less well absorbed form.

Older men have to be particularly careful not to take too much Selenium

 

[jfh]

I live in the UK which is generally selenium deficient so it's no problem for me to decide I take Selenium.
It's a problem though to decide for people living in the USA.
It depends where you live and where your food mainly comes from?

The problem is that we don't know where it comes from. In the Winter, the produce comes mostly from Chile. So, 200mcg is not too low; nor too high. If you get none from diet, you will at least get the 200mcg supplement. It would be surprising that one would get none from diet.

 

[EarlyBird]

Selenium

I take one 200mcg selenium capsule a day too. Plus I eat many of the foods
listed on the site Jim gave. Thanks for that link, Jim. From that map it looks
like my area contains very little selenium. I'm presently taking the Pure brand
which is the selenomethionine type, but I plan to switch to the Now brand from
iHerb when I need to reorder. Great info!

 

[kind2creatures]

LEAST MERCURY

Enjoy these fish:

Anchovies
Butterfish
Catfish
Clam
Crab (Domestic)
Crawfish/Crayfish
Croaker (Atlantic)
Flounder*
Haddock (Atlantic)*
Hake
Herring
Mackerel (N. Atlantic, Chub)
Mullet
Oyster
Perch (Ocean)
Plaice
Pollock
Salmon (Canned)**
Salmon (Fresh)**
Sardine
Scallop*
Shad (American)
Shrimp*
Sole (Pacific)
Squid (Calamari)
Tilapia
Trout (Freshwater)
Whitefish
Whiting

MODERATE MERCURY

Eat six servings or less per month:

Bass (Striped, Black)
Carp
Cod (Alaskan)*
Croaker (White Pacific)
Halibut (Atlantic)*
Halibut (Pacific)
Jacksmelt
(Silverside)
Lobster
Mahi Mahi
Monkfish*
Perch (Freshwater)
Sablefish
Skate*
Snapper*
Tuna (Canned
chunk light)
Tuna (Skipjack)*
Weakfish (Sea Trout)

HIGH MERCURY

Eat three servings or less per month:

Bluefish
Grouper*
Mackerel (Spanish, Gulf)
Sea Bass (Chilean)*
Tuna (Canned Albacore)
Tuna (Yellowfin)*

HIGHEST MERCURY

Avoid eating:

Mackerel (King)
Marlin*
Orange Roughy*
Shark*
Swordfish*
Tilefish*
Tuna
(Bigeye, Ahi)*


Just checked out a Korean supermarket in my area, and they had a big choice of fish. I went with 3 fish steaks that looked good. Nice HIGHEST Mercury King Mackerel (Kingfish) :shock:, lesser Mercury Chilean Sea Bass and lastly, a nice low Mercury Salmon steak.

I need to keep a dozen lists in my pocket to remember these things!! :roll:

 

[liverock]

Dont rely on just taking a 200mcg supplement of selenium and think it will be adequate.

I have taken 200mcg of seleniomethonine every day for the past 16 years and had my blood selenium levels tested last year. I didnt even make it into the normal range.

Selenium is used up by oxidative stress and how busy the immune system is. It seems to work in concert with vitamin E and low E levels can cause lower selenium levels.

Higher selenium levels are not only dangerous for some elderly prostate cancer patients, but can also cause diabetes.

https://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/June04/selenium.diabetes.ssl.html

The lesson is clear, get your levels tested, especially if your a big fish eater.

 

[EarlyBird]

I know what you mean, Kind2C - a major pain.
Then this morning one of the national networks had a segment showing how
evermore fish are being found with PCB's/plastic that have been consumed by
the various fish, and that then end up on our plates.

 

[kind2creatures]

Safe level regardless of fish intake

Dont rely on just taking a 200mcg supplement of selenium and think it will be adequate.

I have taken 200mcg of seleniomethonine every day for the past 16 years and had my blood selenium levels tested last year. I didnt even make it into the normal range.

Higher selenium levels are not only dangerous for some elderly prostate cancer patients, but can also cause diabetes.

https://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/June04/selenium.diabetes.ssl.html

It's confusing to me liverock. I already lowered my supplemental dose of selenium from 400mcg per day to 200 mcgs. Unless I'm misunderstanding, it seems like one sentence says that 200mcg per day is no way enough, yet the other sentence states that higher levels can cause diabetes?? Type 2 diabetes is very prevalent in my immediate family, and I'm trying to avoid it.

 

[kind2creatures]

I know what you mean, Kind2C - a major pain.
Then this morning one of the national networks had a segment showing how
evermore fish are being found with PCB's/plastic that have been consumed by
the various fish, and that then end up on our plates.

Unfortunately the old idiom, "no news is good news", seems to ring true even nowadays.

 

[kind2creatures]

Plastic Garbage Dumps in Oceans

Then this morning one of the national networks had a segment showing how
evermore fish are being found with PCB's/plastic that have been consumed by
the various fish, and that then end up on our plates.

There's absolutely no exuse for this pollution of our oceans.

https://www.marinebuzz.com/2008/05/22/earthrace-sights-plastic-soup-to-the-size-of-texas-in-pacific-ocean/

 

[liverock]

It's confusing to me liverock. I already lowered my supplemental dose of selenium from 400mcg per day to 200 mcgs. Unless I'm misunderstanding, it seems like one sentence says that 200mcg per day is no way enough, yet the other sentence states that higher levels can cause diabetes?? Type 2 diabetes is very prevalent in my immediate family, and I'm trying to avoid it.

Mercury will bind with selenium in the body, so if you have a lot of fillings and say you also eat a lot of fish, then 200mcg of selenium will probably not be enough to protect you against disease as most of it will be bound.

Same if you suffer from a disease where you have a lot of oxidative stress, which is my point.

Nobody can say what dosage is effective for any person as we are all at different levels of health and fitness and selenium intake is also dependant on diet as well as supplements.

This is why I say you need to get your levels tested. Life Extension Foundation do a selenium test. Of course you can still go on taking your 200mcg pill, but if it isn't protecting you against cancer (which is why your taking it) your just wasting your money.

https://www.lef.org/Vitamins-Supplements/ItemLC716910/Selenium-Blood-Test.html

 

[saved1986]

There's absolutely no exuse for this pollution of our oceans.

I am non believer in global warming, but i have seriosu with envirnmental issues, especially ocean pollution and overfishing.