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talljasperman's avatar

Do I have to restrict my tuna intake to one can a week?

Asked by talljasperman (21916points) October 4th, 2015

I bought some tuna and cracker kits and I was told by family not to eat no more than one containers per week , because of the risk of mercury poisoning.

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9 Answers

Tropical_Willie's avatar

Check number 3.
6 ounces per week. So if the container has more than 6 oz, of Tuna; skip a week.
Also notice to avoid swordfish and other large ocean fish. Shrimp and Salmon are good fish to eat for your eating pleasure. Glad you are eating healthy.

EDITED MY BAD no link.

janbb's avatar

Tuna sounds like one of the healthiest things you are eating. I wouldn’t worry overmuch about mercury poisoning.

ibstubro's avatar

The kits are unhealthy.

Family?
I thought there was just your mother?

Earthbound_Misfit's avatar

The advice @Tropical_Willie posted is for possibly pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children. You are none of those things. If you have tuna a couple of times a week or so, you should be fine. This article includes advice from the FDA.

“For all other healthy adults, the FDA advises that the benefits of eating fish like tuna at least twice weekly far outweighs the possible risks of mercury intake. No scientific studies indicate that healthy adults who eat tuna every day have experienced serious health problems, though more research is needed.”

I agree with @ibstubro that tuna and cracker kits aren’t very healthy. Have some tuna (or salmon) but eat it with some salad @talljasperman. You’re a big man, so perhaps have a slice or two of quality, high fibre bread with it if you want more food. I don’t know what brands to recommend because I’m not in your country. Even better would be to get some four bean salad, you can get it in tins, and have some of that with some salad and your tuna.

FireMadeFlesh's avatar

I eat around a kilo of tuna per week, and am fighting fit. I wouldn’t worry too much.

cazzie's avatar

I buy the tins of tuna in spring water and mix up a bit of my favorite sandwich dressing in it after i drain off the water and pop it into a leftover dish and have that on wholegrain crackers that are the cheapest to buy and healthier than bread. I keep it in the fridge and when I feel like lunch I make it up and I’ll put onion or tomato if I have it the week. I love tinned salmon but I can’t get it here.

Buttonstc's avatar

The amount of Mercury varies according to which type of canned Tuna you’re eating.

Many people buy whole or chunk White Tuna because they somehow think this is better quality. But White Tuna is from Albacore tuna.

The other category is labeled Chunk Light Tuna and is mostly from Skipjack tuna.

Albacore Tuna contains THREE TIMES the amt. of Mercury as Skipjack.

That’s a huge difference. Read those labels carefully. Avoid Albacore as much as possible.

ibstubro's avatar

If the flavored tunas from Starkist are available in your area, try them. They come in pouches rather than cans. I particularly like the lemon pepper, but the sweet and spicy was good, too. Ranch I didn’t like.

If you trim around the outside seal on 3 sides, you can almost fit the tuna onto a slice of regular bread. Break the package seal and press the water out (small amount) first. Delicious, meaty sandwich. Trim it out as you like.

JLeslie's avatar

I had a mercury blood test a few years out of curiosity, and my number was right in the middle of normal. I was eating about a can of tuna a week at the time. I wouldn’t worry too much about eating tuna, but I would not eat more than two a week. You could try alternating it with chicken salad? Maybe get the blood test next time you go to the doctor so you know where you are at.

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