Armed with these basic facts, you’ll be able to debunk most of the scare reports yourself. For instance, when you hear that a Greenpeace report has found that “one in five women of childbearing age that were tested have mercury levels exceeding the EPA’s recommended limit,” you’ll be able to ask: “How much were the levels exceeded – 1% or 800%?” Then, even if you didn’t realize that Greenpeace only published part of that study that it had funded (and not the part that found that “the current results do not provide evidence of an increasing or decreasing trend… in mercury concentrations for a given amount of fish consumption), you’ll still be one step ahead of any of your neurotic friends. Let’s look at what else the media is missing: - A new study of Seychelles Islands indicates that mothers who ate a lot of fish during pregnancy had children who outperformed other kids whose mothers ate less fish.
- Alaska’s Public Health Department tested the hair of eight 550-year-old Alaskan mummies for mercury and found levels averaging twice the blood-mercury concentration of today’s Alaskans. (I love the Center for Consumer Freedom’s response: “Perhaps those paleo-Inuits should have spent their time picketing mercury-spewing undersea volcanoes instead of fishing.”)
- Dr. Joshua Cohen of Harvard University believes the health benefits of fish outweigh any potential risk, noting recently on Good Morning America, “If people ate more fish, then the number of heart attacks and strokes would decrease.”
Now, I’m not going to tell you to throw caution to the wind and adopt an “eat, drink, for tomorrow we die” mentality. Those of you who are pregnant, nursing, or thinking of becoming pregnant in the next year should follow your doctors’ recommendations, since children are at the most risk of having brain development affected by high doses of mercury. The rest of you, however, should be able to eat your sushi, crab cakes, shrimp cocktails, and tuna fish sandwiches in moderation and with clear consciences. No need to miss out on the tastiness and health benefits of fish and shellfish because of a few nervous ninnies in the media. Additional resource: FishScam.com |