Mercury in Canned Tuna???

[cmax]

I have been eating 1-2 cans of light chunk tuna a day for the past few years.

Someone recently told me that this is way too much tuna to consume due to the mercury levels found in tuna. I went to several sites that say you should not consume more than 2 cans of tuna per week.

Is this for real? Am I just paranoid?

Is it really dangerous to consume this much tuna?

[farrebarre]

hm intresting question, wanna know for myself. i read a while back that women especially pregnant ones should stay away from tuna coz of the mercury.

[SwoleCat]

It's an overblown issue like cholesterol in eggs.

~SC~

[ascendant]

It's an overblown issue like cholesterol in eggs.

~SC~

however, just like with excessive cholesterol, i'm sure people sensitive to the negative effects of mercury could have problems. i'd look into the potential issues with excessive mercury intake and what the sides are. if you don't have any, i don't think i'd worry.

[cmax]

I did some research on this and found that mercury in tuna is NOT a significant threat. Only a small percentage of canned tuna contains trace amounts of mercury and you would need to consume over 12 of those cans a day to possibly get enough mercury to be toxic.

According to the FDA and the World Health Organization animal rights and environmental groups like Greenpeace and PETA spend lots of money each year to try and scare people away from eating tuna. They don't like the tuna industry because of the dolphins that are killed as a result of catching tuna. So they hype up the dangers of mercury in tuna as an attempt to hurt the industry.

[cmax]

Repeat Post.

[C_Bino]

Dont worry about it at all. The tuna they use for canned tuna is usually younger fish, not the mature older fish. This means they are less developed and have less mercury in them. Like Swole said its overrated.

[ascendant]

According to the FDA and the World Health Organization animal rights and environmental groups like Greenpeace and PETA spend lots of money each year to try and scare people away from eating tuna...

Well, if those groups, especialy the FDA wants you to stay away from something, then definitely eat/drink/inhale/etc it, cause I'm sure it's good for you. FDA wants you nice and sick so not only do they make money off of what you eat, but the drugs you'll need after you're sick from eating it.

Think about it, the FDA allows cigarettes and aspartame on the market, but won't allow stevia extract (a perfectly safe calorie-free sweetener) to be used as a food additive cause it's too cheap to manufacture and has no chance of causing any side-effects. If something says "FDA approved" on it, I stay away, cause that is basically a stamp saying "this will eventually cause you health problems". Maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion, but just trying to make my point to do the exact opposite of what the FDA tells you and you'll be fine.

[cmax]

The FDA and WHO say that canned tuna is safe.

Greenpeace and PETA are the ones that spend the money to try and scare people away from buying tuna with the "mercury scare" because of the dolphins that are caught in the tuna nets.

[lc1987]

i don't see a problem on this at all. i eat canned tuna 2x a day and i am still alive and kicking.