Thursday, February 7, 2008

Unsafe Mercury Leveles in Tuna

According to many experts, mercury is a dangerous heavy metal that has been found in many different kinds of seafood including a wide assortment of tuna and other seafood. Unfortunately, consumption of fish is the primary source of mercury in the American population. For some people, especially pregnant and nursing women, even small levels of mercury can pose serious health threats to a fetus or baby. It has even been shown that women of child-bearing age (even if not pregnant) can hurt their future baby's development because mercury stays in the body for a long time.

Mercury rains down on rivers and the oceans mainly from from the emissions generated by coal-burning power plants. When mercury enters the water, bacteria actually transforms this heavy metal into an even more dangerous toxin. In the oceans, mercury appears to be at the highest levels in predatory fish.

So, what can happen if you or a child has mercury poisoning? Symptoms of mercury poisoning typically includes vision, hearing, speech impairment as well as a significant decrease in coordination. Studies also suggest that high levels of mercury in the body can also cause neurological and cardiovascular damage and an over-all depression of the immune systems which puts a person at greater risk for illness. In children, in addition to the above mentioned problems, mercury poisoning can also cause learning disabilities, including autism. Long term exposure to mercury can result in brain damage and ultimately death.

So, which fish have the highest levels of mercury? It appears that the following kinds of fish have the highest amounts of mercury: tilefish, tuna, shark, swordfish, and king mackerel. It had been suggested that light canned tuna was lower in mercury than white tuna, but according to new data from Consumer Reports, that may not be true. Their analysis of both kinds of tuna showed that light canned tuna may have equally as much mercury as that of canned white tuna.

David Acheson, M.D., the chief medical officer at the FDA has stated "If you eat a single can of something that's a little higher than the average, it's not going to do any acute harm." However, it has been found that some cans of tuna contain significantly higher amounts of mercury than the average. This puts a person eating these kinds of seafood at significant risk of mercury poisoning.

The first and best way to avoid mercury poisoning and protect yourself is to avoid these kinds of seafood. In my opinion, the risk far outweighs the benefits or taste or nutritional importance. It is important to get Omega fatty acids in the diet, but I recommend flax oil or a vegan source of DHA. One omega-3 fatty acid is docosahexaenoic acid or DHA, so a vegan source is the purest and best source of this nutrient. I would avoid getting Omega fatty Acids from fish oil, because they can also contain mercury and they tend to go rancid sitting on store shelves and in your pantry.

A lot of people ask about detoxifying mercury from their bodies. Fortunately, there have been a large number of people who have had great success in eliminating most of the mercury from their bodies from herbal detoxification.

In order to detoxify mercury safely from your body, I strongly recommend using a top quality, organic herbal formula.

The best formula I have seen based on years of experience and feedback from people is an organic herbal formula sold at Organic Health and Beauty. To learn more about this organic herbal detoxification formula for mercury poisoning, click here.