Women and Kids Should Strictly Limit Fish: Experts

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Women and Kids Should Strictly Limit Fish: Experts

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Thu Jun 24, 4:43 PM ET

By Alison McCook

 

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children, pregnant women, and women who are

planning to become pregnant should strictly limit their intake of fish and

avoid some types altogether to avoid potentially harmful levels of mercury

and PCBs, experts said on Thursday.

 

According to new guidelines released by the Physicians for Social

Responsibility and the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals,

women of reproductive age and children should never eat shark, swordfish,

tilefish or king mackerel.

 

The guidelines also recommend that women of reproductive age and children

should eat no more than one serving per week of fresh or canned albacore

tuna, orange roughy, marlin, grouper and other types of fish.

 

Fish that is safe to eat up to twice per week includes squid, canned chunk

light tuna, monkfish, bass, trout and Pollock, which is found in fish sticks.

 

" Everyone needs to be eating fish for a healthy diet. These are healthy

options, " Susan West Marmagas of the Physicians for Social Responsibility

said.

 

While fish and shellfish can be a good source of protein and omega-3 fatty

acids, nearly all seafood contains traces of mercury. High levels of

mercury in the bloodstream of fetuses and young children can impair

development of the nervous system.

 

Millions of women in American currently have levels of mercury in their

blood considered unsafe by the Environmental Protection Agency (news - web

sites), and around 630,000 newborns are exposed every year to unsafe levels

of the contaminant.

 

These guidelines, presented here Thursday at a press conference, closely

resemble recommendations issued in March by the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration (news - web sites) and the EPA.

 

However, the latest version also suggests that young women and children

limit their intake of fatty fish, which contains high levels of PCBs, which

have also been shown to impair neurological development in fetuses and

young children. According to the guidelines, to limit their intake of PCBs,

women and children should eat no more than 1 to 2 servings per month of

salmon, sardines, herring and bluefish.

 

Marmagas explained that there are two different types of canned tuna, chunk

light and albacore. Research has shown that albacore contains around three

times the amount of mercury as chunk light. So while tuna sandwiches are a

staple for many children, make sure you are serving them the lower-mercury

option, she cautioned.

 

Farm-raised salmon also appears to contain more contaminants than wild

salmon, she noted.

 

Marmagas cautioned to Reuters Health that women of reproductive age and

children should also be careful of fish oil supplements, which can contain

high levels of PCBs and mercury.

 

She added that the best way to limit intake of mercury and PCBs is to

prevent the pollutants from getting into fish and other foods in the first

place by controlling what gets pumped into the environment from industrial

activities. Limiting fish intake is " only a bandaid, " she said.

 

" The issue really is upstream, " she said.

 

A complete version of the latest guidelines is available at

www.mercuryaction.org, and www.arhp.org/guide.