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!.
5Albacore Tuna or Tuna Steaks
Tuna is a tricky one to keep track of, as some species seem to be OK, while others are downright scary. Albacore Tuna contamination runs around the middle of the scale so if you are a tuna lover, eat no more than six ounces of this fish every week.
There are two types of canned tuna: solid or chunk white, which is albacore tuna, and chunk light. Almost all canned white tuna is albacore tuna. The mercury levels are almost three times higher than canned light tuna. It gets confusing, so use the following list as a guideline:
- Canned White (albacore) – It’s suggested that children between 6 and 12 can eat up to 9 ounces per month. Women should eat no more than three 6 ounce portions per month, and men can eat three 8 ounce portions.
- Canned Light – This is a safer choice but look out for cans that are marked as “gourmet” or “tonno” tuna, as these come from the larger yellowfin tuna and have much higher mercury levels.
