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!.
8Blue Fish
This is another fish that is tricky. It is a great low fat, protein rich source of those omega-3 fatty acids, but it can be full of dangerous toxins including PCBs, pesticides, and, of course, mercury. Blue fish can become contaminated from storm run-off, agricultural chemicals, and industrial discharges, but they can also be contaminated when they eat natural toxins of some varieties of bacteria, and algae.
Mercury is a natural element in nature that never, ever, breaks down or decomposes. It’s a pollutant that often comes from industrial factories. Mercury binds to the protein in fish, so it’s found in every part that humans consume. Fish that are caught in watersheds with mercury warnings should be removed, and predators, because they eat smaller fish, tend to have higher levels of mercury and other types of contamination than smaller fish, such as sardines.
