canned tuna ?

987 Views 15 Replies 13 Participants Last post by aylaanne, Jun 22, 2007

adon

Discussion Starter · Jun 22, 2007

so i know this has been brought up a ton....but i'm craving a tuna salad on lettuce and tomato with italian dressing. with DS i avoided it all together. what are the rules with "canned" tuna?? is organic less likely to have mercury?? are there any "good" types?

1 - 16 of 16 Posts

VeganHeathen

· #2 · Jun 22, 2007

There's a vegetarian kind called "Tuno"...I love the names they come up with

That way you can satisfy your craving and not worry about horrible things like mercury!

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Mom2Madolyn

· #3 · Jun 22, 2007

I've heard that Tuna is a big NO NO because of the mercury content pregnant or not

Inspired007

· #4 · Jun 22, 2007

Tuna is okay in moderation as in no more than 12 ounces a week. Just avoid canned albacore tuna which is purported to have higher mercury content.

dcgrl

· #5 · Jun 22, 2007

chunk light comes from smaller tuna with lower mercury levels. Avoid albacore (or white)--it has three times as much mercury as the light. I wouldn't make a habit out of eating tuna, but if you're having a craving, a tuna sandwich is fine. (Look for "pole-caught"--not for reduced risk of mercury, but reduced damage to the environment through bycatch.)

ETA: the PP says no more than 12 ounces/week. I wanted to point out that the FDA recommends pregnant women eat no more than 12 ounces of any fish a week, and recommend limiting tuna to no more than 4-6 ounces/week. A can of tuna is about 6 ounces, so I still think you're OK with a sandwich...

adon

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jun 22, 2007

i just found this, thought i would share. i may go to the health food store and see if the carry this brand.

http://www.localforage.com/local_for...yfree_can.html

simplehome

· #7 · Jun 22, 2007

I'm not going to get into the tuna debate (personally, I'm pregnant and choose to eat canned tuna in moderation, no more than once every few weeks), but how about the alternative of chicken salad? It has a lot of the same flavors. I know that sometimes a craving is a craving and only that exact thing will do, but if you're concerned then maybe an alternative would be good enough.

One thing that I've read, though, is to get the tuna that isn't the albacore in a big fillet---that's more likely to come from a big fish. Get the stuff that looks all shreddy in the can, because it's bits from smaller fish.

cristeen

· #8 · Jun 22, 2007

My OB said no (canned) tuna, period. I chose to accept that because I didn't want to risk it.

adon

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jun 22, 2007

couldn't do it! i went to the health food store...bought some, brought it home started to mix it....then i couldn't do it. gave it to DH and went back to store and got roasted chicken and made a chicken salad salad

:

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melissakc

· #10 · Jun 22, 2007

I haven't had any tuna since I was pregnant with DD two years ago. After she was born I was nursing and then I was PG again. My MW says it's fine in moderation, but I'm so paranoid about mercury! I may eat a tuna sandwich soon bc I'm getting less "by the book," I really want one, and I'm out of the first trimester now. I can see it both ways.

Banana731

· #11 · Jun 22, 2007

I like canned tuna, I like white albacore, I eat a serving of it once a week or less. Here in Japan pregnant women eat fish all the time, cooked and raw. I'm sure some eat it daily, maybe even more than once a day. You have decide for yourself what's right for you and your baby. Just know that in many places all over the world that use fish as a diet staple, pregnant women are not advised to stop eating it and don't.

Jennah_Gole

· #12 · Jun 22, 2007

2

Maybe I am just lucky but I had no idea about tuna in my last pregnancies and ate quite alot of it and no problems here...so it is a good idea to be careful and choose not to eat tuna or limit it...but there are alot of people I am sure who eat it and have no idea that the mercury content is harmful and they are fine in their pregnancies....

but again its good to b careful and now that I know I will limit the tuna once I can eat...

:

: I still can't eat anything -- I have an aversion to all food.

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nausicaamom

· #13 · Jun 22, 2007

My oldest is on the spectrum so I'm avoiding all fish this pregnancy.

melissakc

· #14 · Jun 22, 2007

3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jennah_Gole

View Post

Maybe I am just lucky but I had no idea about tuna in my last pregnancies and ate quite alot of it and no problems here...so it is a good idea to be careful and choose not to eat tuna or limit it...but there are alot of people I am sure who eat it and have no idea that the mercury content is harmful and they are fine in their pregnancies....

but again its good to b careful and now that I know I will limit the tuna once I can eat...

:

: I still can't eat anything -- I have an aversion to all food.

See, here's where I get paranoid. It's not like anyone would have a baby and know immediately that mercury from tuna was an issue. There is no obvious disability or effect, right? The child may have a lower IQ or learning difficulties, but that wouldn't show up for so long.... So you could have a baby and think everything is fine, but their brain could have ended up being so much ... better. Isn't it similar to the effects of lead, where people don't realize it's a problem until years of exposure have passed? It's hard to know what to do.

And not all fish is high in mercury. I'm eating wild salmon a LOT, things like rainbow trout and catfish are fine, and seafood like shrimp, crab, and scallops are fine. It's those large fish (like tuna) that eat other fish that eat other fish that have mercury built up in them.

P.S. Hope you can eat again soon!

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WeasleyMum

· #15 · Jun 22, 2007

According to this,

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pre...ishmercury.htm

some tuna is OK. They reccommend the chunk light, and have a chart at the bottom of the page showing how much is OK to eat depending on weight.

But if it makes you uncomfortable or worries you, then just don't. There's lots of other fish out there; salmon, trout, catfish, that are definitely lower in average mercury.

aylaanne

· #16 · Jun 22, 2007

I eat canned chunk light tuna in water. I only eat it once every couple of weeks, but when I do, I have a wrap or something like that. I made tuna noodle casserole and I'm about to go heat up the leftovers, because this thread made me crave.

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