6 Fish To Avoid That Are Extremely High In Mercury

THE ONE NUTRIENT THAT CAN PROTECT YOU FROM MERCURY IN FISH...

If you live on planet earth today then you have most likely heard that it is wise to moderate the amount of fish that you eat in order to avoid the heavy metal, mercury.  This is especially true for pregnant women as exposure in the womb can adversely affect the growing baby’s brain and nervous system.  Research has found that high levels of mercury can also harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune system of people of any age. However, pregnant women, those who are breastfeeding mothers, and children are at significantly higher risk.  

This is such a bummer because wild fish are an amazing source of many vital nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids. These have been found to reduce inflammation and thereby decrease the incidence of heart disease, improve cognitive functioning, lower your risk of cancer and prevent dementia among others.  Benefits like these should not be overlooked considering our current state of health in this country.  That is why I am extremely excited to share the research I stumbled across in a genius article written by expert Chris Kresser.

Chris Kresser presents research conducted at the University of North Dakota by Nicholas Ralston that demonstrated that Selenium seems to have the ability to neutralize the effects of mercury.  When a fish contains selenium in greater amounts than mercury, it will bind with the mercury and form an entirely separate compound thereby serving as a buffering system.

The good news is that almost all fish that are commonly consumed fall into this category.  Wild salmon, sardines, mackerel, tuna and cod are considered safe!  This means great things for our health.

The 5 fish that contain more mercury than selenium are listed below. Avoid these fish like the plague.

1.  Shark

2.  Pilot whale

3.  Swordfish

4.  Tarpon

5.   Marlin  

Fortunately, I don’t know anyone who will be upset by a pilot whale restriction.

Finally, there is one type of fish you should always avoid:

Farm-raised fish

Always opt for wild fish. Farmed fish have 20% lower amounts of protein (a USDA review confirmed this), fewer omega-3 fatty acids, too many omega-6 fatty acids (this imbalance of fatty acids leads to inflammation), and may contain dyes, antibiotics and pesticides.  Studies conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) have also shown that farm-raised fish contain sixteen times more Polychlorinated Biphenyls, which are substances linked to cancer development.  Dioxins, carcinogenic substances that impair the immune, endocrine, nervous and reproductive systems have been found, to be eleven times higher in farm-raised fish. These findings were the results of a study conducted by the University of New York.  Farming fish also creates a large amount of waste putting a strain on the environment.

So feel free to eat the good fish with “wild” abandon!  Just avoid the six fish listed above (shark, pilot whale, swordfish, tarpon, marlin and farmed fish) and get to eating!