Should I be concerned about mercury in fish?

At high levels in the body, mercury can be harmful but mercury is only high in large old fish, like shark and marlin. You can get a complete list of safe seafood from the New Zealand Food Safety Authority website.

Fish is one of the healthiest foods on the planet, it’s high in protein, omega 3 fats and vitamins and minerals. In a recent article published in the UK Telegraph, researchers in the UK are appealing to the Food Standards Agency, questioning the UK’s restriction of fish consumption among women of childbearing age.

They believe that women should be consuming at least three portions of fish a week. Experts are worried that the current advice regarding contaminants is scaring women off eating fish completely, as the message it gives is that fish is risky."

A study published in the Lancet in 2007 of almost 12,000 pregnant women showed that those who ate less than 340 grams of seafood a week, which is equivalent to two and a half portions, had children who were at greater risk of having low verbal intelligence. It concluded that the risks from loss of nutrients were greater than the risk of harm from contaminants in fish.

Selenium, which is also found in ocean fish, effectively lowers the toxic affects of mercury. Hundreds of people in the western world are deficient in Omega 3, the healthy fat found in fish. If you don’t eat fish, good quality fish oil supplements are screened mercury free in New Zealand.