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!.
14Atlantic Flatfish
Atlantic flatfish include such fish as sole, halibut, and flounder that are caught off the Atlantic coast of the US. These, like many of the fish from the Atlantic Ocean, are heavily contaminated due to industrial waste as well as being overfished. In fact, these fish populations are as low as 1 percent of what is thought to be necessary for sustainable, long term fishing, according to the Food and Water Watch. Consider eating other fish that have the same mild flavor and white flesh, such as tilapia or Pacific halibut.
Although you might consider eating imported fish (more than 85 percent of fish consumed in America is imported) many other countries do not have the same standards for fish as the US does, which means imported fish can have banned antibiotics and pesticides such as DDT in the meat. The FDA cannot possibly test every single fish that comes into the country, so only a very small fraction is ever tested.
