THROW BACK THE FISH.In "Fish & Eyes" (May 2001, p. 9), we wrote: "It's too early to say that fish protects vision, but given the growing evidence that it prevents heart attacks and strokes, it makes sense to shoot for several servings a week." That advice depends on the fish. In the first nationally representative survey of mercury in human blood and hair, one in ten women of childbearing age had mercury levels high enough to raise concern(1) Children who are exposed to too much mercury in the womb can suffer from irreversible neurological problems like impaired vision and memory, delayed walking and language skills, and even cerebral palsy cerebral palsy (sərē`brəl pôl`zē), disability caused by brain damage before or during birth or in the first years, resulting in a loss of voluntary muscular control and coordination. . What to do: Women who are (or are trying to become) pregnant should not eat high-mercury fish like swordfish swordfish, large food and game fish, Xiphias gladius, of the warmer Atlantic and Pacific waters, related to the sailfish. It is named for its sharp, broad, elongated upper jaw, which it uses to flail and pierce its prey of smaller fish, rising beneath a school , shark, tuna steaks, king mackerel mackerel, common name for members of the family Scombridae, 60 species of open-sea fishes, including the albacore, bonito, and tuna. They are characterized by deeply forked tails that narrow greatly where they join the body; small finlets behind both the dorsal and , or golden or white snapper snapper, name for members of the Lutianidae, a family of spiny-finned food and game fishes found chiefly in tropical coastal waters. Snappers are carnivorous, active, and voracious, with large mouths and sharp teeth. Most species travel in dense schools. . And they should limit canned tuna to no more than five ounces a week (one drained six-ounce can). (Those are our estimates based on the way the Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and assesses risk. The non-profit Environmental Working Group, using a different method, recommends no more than one can a month.) Scientists aren't as certain what happens when children eat foods with high levels of mercury. In the national survey, 90 percent of the kids had low levels of mercury in their blood. But to play it safe, children under 25 pounds shouldn't have more than 2 1/2 ounces of tuna a month. That's half a drained, six-ounce can, or about one typical homemade sandwich. (Restaurant sandwiches can easily contain twice that much.) From 25 to 45 pounds they can eat another sandwich (half a can) each month. And they can increase their consumption by one sandwich a month for every 15 pounds they gain over 45 pounds ... up to the adult limit of seven ounces a week (two to three homemade sandwiches). Keep in mind that light tuna tends to have less mercury than white (albacore albacore: see tuna. albacore Large oceanic tuna (Thunnus alalunga) that is noted for its fine flesh. The streamlined bodies of these voracious predators are adapted to fast and continuous swimming. ) tuna. If you've been eating more than that, don't panic. You can lower your body's mercury stores by cutting back now. Within three months, roughly half the mercury you ate today should be gone from your body. (1) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) is a weekly epidemiological digest for the United States published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 5 June 1981 issue of the MMWR published the cases of five men in what turned out to be the first report of AIDS. 50:140, 2001. |
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