mercury in seafood

[Ferno]

Mercury builds up in sea animals... small fish eat mercury in the water, bigger fish eat the small fish, etc... so it keeps getting built up. Apparently you shouldn't eat tuna more than 3 times a week, and pregnant women should avoid seafood like shark, etc... completely because of risk for the developing baby.

I do not like warnings like "just don't eat too much" "moderation is the key" etc... sounds bad, if there's a risk of brain damage when eating too much, then there must be some smaller damage going on if you eat a little bit as well, right? I'm already stupid enough

this is a shame because fish is very health and has all these omega-somethings, it's more healthy for getting protein than regular meat.

Chinese and Asians in general eat a lot of seafood, right? i assume they don't know about this...?

[Shadowdh]

While fish is a good source of omega 3s etc it is also not a complete source of proteins (ie all the amino acids etc) as meat and chicken are (apparantly)... also doesnt your body rid itself of toxins so if you eat little less often then it should be able to cope, and the mercury thing isnt everywhere is it...??

[Quest]

Chinese and Asians in general eat a lot of seafood, right? i assume they don't know about this...?

Seafood, other than some fish, is a once in a while thing in Cantonese cuisine, we do recognize the side effects of eating too much seafood. Seafood is 湿毒 (wet toxic??)。 We also recognize the effects of eating too much spicy, hot, greasy, fried, grilled and roasted food. They are 热气。There are different soups and herbal teas to rebalance the body after eating too much 湿毒 or 热气 food.

Also, if there's health concerns in some types of food that you know of, what makes you think Chinese and Asians wouldn't know about them? Is that information kept secret by the Whites "many Asians envy"?

[adrianlondon]

A little bit of something bad can often be dealt with by the body, so just because bucket loads of fish (should that be net loads?) is bad for you doesn't mean you shouldn't eat any.

Also, there are trade-offs in most things in life. I may get killed crossing the road, but my life would be realy dull if I just stood here. I cycle a lot in central London - many reports say that the polution I inhale isn't good for me, but the health benefits outweight this.

Some fish may contain mercury, but a small amount although bad for you is outweighed by the benefits of fish eating (and the fact it can taste yummy, which is always a big plus point in my life).

[wushijiao]

I'm a bit paranoid about mercury in fish and mercury in water. Sometimes I remind myself of Colonel Ripper from Dr. Strangelove, with rants about purity of essence.

Anyway, if experts in the US warn against eating too much fish because of high mercury levels, and in light of the fact that mercury is a by-product of coal production, and China gets the vast majority of its energy from coal, I'm fairly hesitant about eating fish more than once or twice a month. Also, if they catch the fish that I'm eating where the Yangtze runs into the ocean, God only knows what kind of industrial filth I'm eating. If I go brain dead at age 50, I'll certainly have all-you-can-eat-and-drink 140RMB sushi to blame!

One good thing is that the pectin in apples may be able to reduce your mercury levels.

Researchers believe that pectin may attach itself to environmental pollutants that make their way into the body-substances such as lead and mercury-and help flush them out. And the insoluble fiber in apples may help prevent diverticulosis and colon cancer. By relieving constipation (see below), fiber also helps flush out dangerous substances in stools that might otherwise lead to cancer.

http://www.thirdage.com/cgi-bin/glosdb.cgi?action=view&glos_name=goodfoods&term_name=Apples

[Yuchi]

We also recognize the effects of eating too much spicy, hot, greasy, fried, grilled and roasted food. They are 热气。There are different soups and herbal teas to rebalance the body after eating too much 湿毒 or 热气 food.

Quick question: Is 热气 the same as 火气?

[geraldc]

Cantonese also don't eat "big" fish much, i.e. stuff like tuna shark etc. They like their fish smaller, and a lot of it is farmed fish from in land ponds. A lot of fish is bought live, and you can't really do that with tuna and shark...

[kudra]

copy of Wall Street Journal article about a boy who ate too much tuna

scarry story

http://www.dawnwatch.com/8-05_Animal_Media_Alerts.htm

[Ferno]

Also' date=' if there's health concerns in some types of food that you know of, what makes you think Chinese and Asians wouldn't know about them? Is that information kept secret by the Whites "many Asians envy"?

[/quote']

I hope I didn't offend you or anything in that last thread...

If Asians in general (Japanese, etc..) eat a lot of seafood (and export a lot to foreign markets!), then the impact of such information may be limited or downplayed (maybe even conciously denied) as an economic necessity - no sense causing a stir-up as long as people aren't dying in the streets.

In the case of mainland China, of course, they can keep secret whatever they want.

You can combine these factors with the fact that most westerners don't know about this either (I only found out a few months ago - i have eaten a lot of tuna in my life ), as well as taking account different health regulations in the East....

[Ferno]

wushijiao: i didn't know mercury gets made from coal too :eek3: all those coal plants near the watter...

note that mercury occurs naturaly in the ocean as well, pollution just adds to it

adrianlondon: the thing is your body can't "take care of" the modified mercury at all. That's why it keeps getting passed on in the ecosystem.

kudra: scary story indeed! I thought I might have been exaggerating slightly with this thread but it's worse than I thought!. The doctors don't know if he'll have permanent damage or not - but then again, damage to the brain is always permanent to some degree, yes?

[wushijiao]

From the EPA:

Mercury is a toxic metal released by both natural and man-made processes. Although it occurs naturally, human activities have greatly increased its concentration in the environment. Mercury is able to travel great distances in the atmosphere and mercury pollution can arise through atmospheric deposition. Its unique chemical characteristics greatly influence its behavior in the environment and distinguish it from other metals. For example, biological processes can transform mercury into a very toxic compound known as methyl mercury. This compound can accumulate in the tissues of fish and shellfish to concentrations much higher than the surrounding environment and can pose a threat to the health of humans and wildlife.

While mercury is found naturally in the environment, human activities have greatly increased its atmospheric concentration (see Mason et. al. 1994). It is estimated that man-made emissions have tripled mercury concentrations in the air and in the surface of the ocean since 1900. Human activities presently account for about 75% of worldwide mercury emissions. Man-made sources include incinerators, coal-burning facilities, certain industrial processes, and household items. Coal-burning facilities and incinerators release mercury by burning material that contains mercury. Older methods of manufacturing chlor-alkali products (such as chlorine and caustic soda) use mercury and result in its release to the atmosphere. A number of consumer products also contain mercury including batteries, fluorescent lights, thermometers, electrical switches, dental fillings, and antibiotic treatments such as Thimerosal and mercurochrome. Burning coal for electric power generation and municipal waste incineration are the largest combustion sources of mercury emission (see Figure 1).

http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/airdep/air2.html

[adrianlondon]

Fantastic. The more fish I eat, the more I'll realise my dream to be like that robot thing from Terminator 2.

[deezy]

You particularly want to avoid large predatory fish at the top of the food chain...like tuna, salmon, etc. That's where the mercury concentrates more.

I think freshwater fish may be safer too, but not sure.

And I assume shellfish includes shrimp & lobster?

[chenpv]

Bioaccumulation doesn't come overnight to a degree that the toxic will kill us all. But as long as more toxics influx into the food chain, and there hasn't evolved some efficient way of removing them out of human bodies in us (or discovered some efficient scientific methods to help clean them out of our bodies), I am afraid none of us could keep from intaking them. Ecosystem is as a whole for the entire globe. Well it is sad but no one can escape taking up mecury simply by reducing eating seafood.

[geraldc]

The japanese eat a lot of tuna, so if anyone would know about problems, it would be them.

[roddy]

According to this, they're getting most of the heavy metal poisoning from whales and dolphins. . .

Roddy

[chenpv]

According to this, they're getting most of the heavy metal poisoning from whales and dolphins. . .

This article reads political-oriented, IMHO. I am personally not a supporter of whaling. But without strong scientific evidences in that article, I just cannot 100% believe it.

Two of the 26 liver samples examined contained over 1970 micrograms of mercury per gram of liver.

Liver works as the cleaner/reservior of toxics in our bodies. So this datum is predictable. And that's why I NEVER eat animal's liver even though they are savory.

[Ian_Lee]

Actually FDA has guideline on mercury in fish:

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Mar/20/ln/ln02a.html

Fish most likely to contain mercury:

• Shark

• Swordfish

• King mackerel

• Tilefish

• Albacore tuna

Fish known to be low in mercury:

• Shrimp

• Canned light tuna

• Salmon

• Pollock

• Catfish

____________________

Interestingly I saw some local sushi eateries advertise that they serve ahi (Hawaiian name for tuna) without mercury. I don't know where the fish comes from.

For Chinese, they shouldn't worry too much because most fish they consume are those raised in pond or caught from river. Even some gourmets in coastal cities that are hooked up on fish caught in the ocean, they should worry more about cigutera which is quite comon among coral fishes. Unless those Chinese are addicted on Japanese Sushi, otherwise the above deep sea fishes are seldom on the dining tables.

But for Americans and Europeans, they should worry since swordfish is cheap and quite frequently eaten by the Lower Income families.

[LiYuanXi]

Does that means pregnant ladies should eat less seafood?

[amego]

With our dear Earth being pesticide-laden and whatever -cide, pollution happening in places where humans have never even been, I believe that all foods contains some form of toxins. And as chenpv pointed out,

Bioaccumulation doesn't come overnight to a degree that the toxic will kill us all.

So by the time it has built up to a critical level, I believe our time is up anyway.

The japanese eat a lot of tuna, so if anyone would know about problems, it would be them.

Japanese have the longest life-span on Earth, aren't they?

Also, there are trade-offs in most things in life. I may get killed crossing the road, but my life would be realy dull if I just stood here. I cycle a lot in central London - many reports say that the polution I inhale isn't good for me, but the health benefits outweight this.

Some fish may contain mercury, but a small amount although bad for you is outweighed by the benefits of fish eating (and the fact it can taste yummy, which is always a big plus point in my life).

I agree. If one is overly concerned, he might starve to death or worry to death instead of being slowly poisoned to death.

Does that means pregnant ladies should eat less seafood?

Well eat in moderation. Anyway researchers have just shown that omega-3 fatty acids are essential for brain development, and more consumption of fish high in fat like salmon (to a certain extent of course; too much of a good thing is bad) is linked to higher IQ. The brain is made of 60% fat besides water, so we shouldn't be too surprised anyway.

Earth is a nice place to be, so make full use of our time here like learning Chinese!