[Jenine]

I'm craving fish, which I'm glad about since I've wanted nothing but carbs for the last few weeks. I want to eat wisely though and can't seem to find guidelines that I trust. I've looked at the FDA mercury levels list but it hasn't been updated since 2006. What are you comfortable eating? Where did you get your info?

 

[JamieCatheryn]

I like salmon and tilapia.

Here's the list of low mercury fish:
Anchovies
Butterfish
Catfish
Clam
Crab (Domestic)
Crawfish/Crayfish
Croaker (Atlantic)
Flounder*
Haddock (Atlantic)*
Hake
Herring
Mackerel (N. Atlantic, Chub)
Mullet
Oyster
Perch (Ocean)
Plaice
Pollock
Salmon (Canned)**
Salmon (Fresh)**
Sardine
Scallop*
Shad (American)
Shrimp*
Sole (Pacific)
Squid (Calamari)
Tilapia
Trout (Freshwater)
Whitefish
Whiting

 

[octobermoon]

i eat salmon, tilapia and shrimp without worry. once in a great while (less than once a month) i'll eat cod. i got a can of chunk light tuna which i hear is safe but it's still in the cupboard. it's hard for me to eat it since some tuna isn't safe.......

 

[mama2myloves]

Thanks for the list. That's helpful!

 

[Cali2SC]

I guess it depends on what you consider low mercury levels. Since mercury is a bio-accumulated toxin, the easiest thing for me is to think of where they fall in the food web. Anchovies (cooked of course), sardines, shrimp, and shellfish are pretty low in the chain so they're

I know that fish that are predators of other predators (like tuna and salmon) have been deemed safe for occasional consumption. I think it was once a month, but that could be me being extra cautious.... Salmon and Tuna are high up in the ocean's food chain so they are ingesting the mercury of the fish they eat, plus the fish that those fish ate, etc., etc. until you get back down to the plankton eaters, who filtered smaller amounts.

That said I have had both tuna and salmon during my pregnancy. Though only a few times each spread over the 24 weeks, thus far. Besides I think there are some great benefits (omega-3's) to eating salmon. (I've also eaten shrimp, crab, and fried oysters- puh-leez what isn't good fried?!)

I know..... TMI but I couldn't help it. Its the marine scientist in me

Oh. For the salmon (or any fish really) make sure it is wild caught. The farmed stuff typically has a bunch of antibiotics in it, which IMO is worse that a little bit of mercury here and there. And they artificially color it to give it the pretty "salmon" color of the wild caught- ewww.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a list of which fish are best to eat (both environmentally and they also indicate those high in mercury). You can check it out here:

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx

Happy

: !!!

 

[octobermoon]

salmon is actually one of the safest fish that you can eat every day.

 

[Cali2SC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by octobermoon salmon is actually one of the safest fish that you can eat every day.

Sorry, didn't mean to offend

I was just stating what I was comfortable eating. I'm in the southeast and the Atlantic wild caught salmon is listed as "Avoid" because of contaminants including mercury.

If your getting Alaska wild caught salmon, then you are good to go!

For more info: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx

 

[learnlovebe]

I'm normally quite watchful of what I eat while pregnant, but I don't eat fish often enough to worry. The amount I consume isn't going to be a problem. So, when I want fish, I go for what looks good on the menu or a nice tuna sandwich at home, on crusty bread with co-jack cheese, fresh greens and PICKLES.

But now that I'm thinking about it....pesto topped salmon w/ some steamed asparagus sounds divine as well!

 

[mamadelbosque]

I don't eat enough fish to worry about it. I eat fish of some sort maybe once a week normally, and as I've been higly meat-averse for the past few months it hasn't been an issue at all. Mostly we eat alaskan salmn, walleye & northern pike. And occasionally I have canned tuna.

 

[Talula Fairie]

I eat whatever. But I don't eat fish enough to really be concerned.

 

[belltree]

If you are pregnant eating certain fish once a weak can be too much. Don't forget the PCB and Mercury actually increase in toxicity in your body.

I posted a lengthy post about fish, contaminants and ecological impacts here:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...=orange+roughy

 

[octobermoon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cali2SC Sorry, didn't mean to offend I was just stating what I was comfortable eating. I'm in the southeast and the Atlantic wild caught salmon is listed as "Avoid" because of contaminants including mercury. If your getting Alaska wild caught salmon, then you are good to go! For more info: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx

no offense taken. i do not eat Atlantic salmon, only Alaskan wild.

 

[bemommy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cali2SC Oh. For the salmon (or any fish really) make sure it is wild caught. The farmed stuff typically has a bunch of antibiotics in it, which IMO is worse that a little bit of mercury here and there. And they artificially color it to give it the pretty "salmon" color of the wild caught- ewww.

A year or so ago weren't there some fish farms that were finding that their fish had higher mercury levels than wild caught? That there was mercury getting in but because it's a completley closed system the levels were/are just building up and building up. Or am I miss remembering something else

I generally eat fish once-twice a week. Fresh one night (had some lovely scallops last night) and canned chuck light tongol tuna one day for lunch.

 

[zuzunel09]

I eat tuna about once a week, pollock and tilapia occasionally, and squid when we go out. I'm not eating sushi, but I'm not worrying too much if I can get some quality food in my diet. We're alive and I'm pretty sure our mothers had a cocktail and a cigarette when they wanted one, so I'm not going to worry about my tuna salad.

 

[Vespertina]

I don't mind other low mercury fish, but my favorite is salmon. I eat it a lot.

 

[Serenyd]

Anybody know about eel?

 

[Channelle]

Should canned Salmon be ok? I only have about a can a week, but it's so yummy!

 

[Talula Fairie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Channelle Should canned Salmon be ok? I only have about a can a week, but it's so yummy!

the level of mercury depends on if it's wild caught or not. wild caught supposedly has less (very low level) mercury.

that said, even if it's not wild caught, a can a week is not going to give your baby mercury poisoning.

 

[brinalicious]

Just last week my mw told me to eat 2-3 servings of fish per week because of all the benefits of the omega-3's. She gave me a handout that explained some of what to look for in a safe fish. She said that the bigger fish, like shark and tilefish, have high levels of mercury and should be avoided. The idea is that they live so long to get as big as they are that their flesh contains higher concentration levels of mercury and other toxins. She also said that canned fish packed in water is safer than the kind packed in oil because mercury is fat soluble so more of it stays in the fish this way. Also, the handout said not to eat albacore, but rather, white tuna packed in water is the best way to have canned tuna. Finally, wild caught is always safer than farmed fish, since farmed fish have been found to have notably higher levels of mercury in them. Regarding this, my mw suggested that if it is too expensive to buy wild-caught, that you should eat the farmed fish rather than go without.

I love fish, and have been trying to eat a variety of fish regularly. The link given earlier to the Monterey Bay Aquarium is a great resource for finding out what is in your fish, and the regions it is safe to eat it from.

 

[berryblndgirl]

I've been eating seafood once or twice a week throughout my pregnancy. So far, I've had chunk light tuna, crab and oysters. Tilapia, catfish and wild salmon are on my "safe" list as well. NRDC has a handy wallet card you can print out and keep in your wallet: www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/walletcard.PDF.