Just the other day a question appeared on Yahoo Answers that asked:

• What is up with Mercury and Fish? If fish is so bad for people, why have Asian cultures eaten it for thousands of years with no negative impact? I love fish, it is great to lose weight and delicious. I am wondering why the government, and many others, are saying to limit our consumption of fish. If anybody knows the truth about what is going on please let me know.

NFI’s registered dietitian (who, by the way, is a great resource for you media folks), Jennifer McGuire (you might know her from BlogAboutSeafood.com), spotted the question and provided this answer:

• Hi – Quite a few people are confused about this, and as a dietitian with the National Fisheries Institute, I’d love to clear the water. Here’s the official seafood advice from the Food and Drug Administration and Institute of Medicine:

  -For the general population: Eat a variety of fish twice a week, and there are no fish to limit or avoid because of mercury.

  -For women who are or may become pregnant, nursing moms, and young kids: The nutrients in fish are especially important for you, so eat a variety of fish twice a week. Half (6 ounces) of the fish you eat every week can be white albacore tuna. There are four fish to avoid that you probably aren’t eating anyway: shark, tilefish, king mackerel, and swordfish.

  The more we learn about the good things eating fish does for your body, the more doctors and dietitians are focusing on the health risks of not eating enough fish. One of the most important studies to date on this issue found “Avoidance of modest fish consumption due to confusion regarding risks and benefits could result in thousands of excess CHD [heart disease] deaths annually and suboptimal neurodevelopment in children.”

  For a look at what plenty of seafood looks like in the real-life diet of a registered dietitian (me!) visit my BlogAboutSeafood.

  Sincerely,
  
  Jennifer McGuire, MS, RD
  
  National Fisheries Institute

Source(s):

http://www.blogaboutseafood.com

http://tinyurl.com/2g2ohm

http://tinyurl.com/y8nj9e7

http://tinyurl.com/yjlyset

http://tinyurl.com/lgu882

I thought it was nice to see an actual health professional chime in on these things with the facts. All too often it’s – a friend once told me his sister etc… and that just fosters misinformation.