Canned tuna is an easy, convenient protein source, but it's notorious for mercury contamination. Besides its well-known potential for damage to children's developing brains, accumulated mercury may impair adults' immune and reproductive systems and raise heart attack risk.
Try canned salmon or mackerel instead, say Purdue University researchers who tested 272 cans of fish. They found that mercury levels averaged 45 ppb (parts per billion) in canned salmon and 55 ppb in mackerel, compared with as much as 340 ppb in tuna in oil.
If you love tuna, opt for cans labeled chunk light tuna in water. Although they have less healthy omega-3 fats than salmon and mackerel, they averaged only 54 ppb of mercury.
Try canned salmon or mackerel instead, say Purdue University researchers who tested 272 cans of fish. They found that mercury levels averaged 45 ppb (parts per billion) in canned salmon and 55 ppb in mackerel, compared with as much as 340 ppb in tuna in oil.
If you love tuna, opt for cans labeled chunk light tuna in water. Although they have less healthy omega-3 fats than salmon and mackerel, they averaged only 54 ppb of mercury.
Last Updated: 12/04/2006 16:04:19
