Many people take a conscious approach to nutrition, but they forget one important thing. Guess what category of foods people miss the most? If you said fish, you guessed it. By consuming too little of it, we’re missing out on all the nutrients that seafood offers: protein protein, vitamin D, selenium and brain-stimulating, healthy omega-3s.
But there may be another side to the issue: concerns about mercury. This naturally occurring mineral can be extremely toxic, and it tends to be found in your body, so experts recommend limiting consumption of fish that contain a lot of mercury. Pregnant or nursing women are told to be careful about consuming it because high levels of mercury can damage the developing brain and nervous system of the fetus. Young children need to be careful, too.
Avoiding seafood altogether is not necessary either. You just need to eat more fish that are low in mercury, such as salmon, flounder, lobster, and cod. Larger fish such as swordfish, marlin, shark, and king mackerel tend to have high levels of mercury because they eat other fish that contain mercury.
Also, the risk of mercury in fish may be a bit exaggerated. A 2016 study found that seafood only accounts for 7 percent of mercury in women’s bodies. And dietary recommendations seem to be changing, too. The FDA and EPA are actually recommending that pregnant women eat more boiled seafood to consume the nutrients found in fish for the best development of the baby. The benefits seem to outweigh the risks.
You can eat fish every day; as long as it doesn’t have too much mercury in it.
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