The issue of mercury contamination in our aquatic food supply is a consistently hot topic in nutrition.Unfortunately, it is often marred by wishy-washy recommendations and unclear figures.
Lucky for us, the folks at Got Mercury offer a great tool.
Punch in your weight, select the seafood of choice from the drop-down menu, plug in the amount you think you will eat in a given week, and find out how high -- or low -- your mercury intake is.
It bears saying that the benefits of eating fish and mollusks far outweigh the risks.
For the most part, those needing to be mindful of their intake are people who scarf down canned tuna every day (not as uncommon as you might think) and pregnant women.
High amounts of mercury can be dangerous to the developing fetus (particularly its nervous system, ocular development, and kidneys) and the expecting mother.
Still, knowledge never hurts, and if seafood is a staple of your diet, it is worth paying the site a visit.
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For another great resource on seafood safety, check out Oceana’s campaign to stop seafood contamination. There are convenient pocket guides and loads of information about mercury.
The campaign is based largely around convincing grocery stores to post the FDA advice about mercury right at seafood counters. Kroger, Safeway, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, among others, already display the advice and have made it onto Oceana’s Green List. Check out local green list grocers in your area and support their effort to keep customers informed about safe seafood!
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