It used to be that eating seafood and fish regularly was a pretty safe nutritional bet. Fish was packed with protein, healthy monounsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, all those good things (read more about benefits of fish oil).
Unfortunately, due to our continued poisoning of the environment and the Fukushima power plant meltdown, many fish are now loaded with unsafe levels of mercury and radiation.All fish, every single fish on this planet, have some level of mercury; however, some have much higher levels than others.
Take a look at our list of the top 15 most contaminated fish on the market today. Avoid eating these or eat them in very small quantities, unless you are an expectant mother, in which case, avoid these fish entirely. However, we will list the best fish to eat at the end of this article, too, so keep reading!.
13American Eel
American Eel is sometimes referred to as silver eel or even yellow eel. This fish, which is most commonly found in sushi restaurants, found its way here due to high levels of contamination from both mercury and PCB’s. Unfortunately, this tasty fish is also suffering from more than just pollution, but overfishing as well. If you love the taste of eel, avoid the poisons and contamination and choose either Atlantic caught squid, or even Pacific caught squid, as both taste almost exactly the same, but are plentiful and have low contamination levels. Mercury can impair the nervous system and brain development, especially in infants, young children, and developing fetuses.
Although the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act was supposed to help the FDA better monitor fish farms and imported fish to be sure that they meet certain standards, lack of funding means this may or may not happen, so you will need to do some research on your own and avoid dangerously contaminated, overharvested fish such as American Eel.
