Who should Americans trust more for nutrition advice: doctors, dietitians and the Food & Drug Administration or radical environmental activists?

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) thinks its the latter and deliberately steers families and their growing children away from eating tuna except for once a month in newly released guidelines. Ignoring decades of research showing the benefits of a seafood-rich diet, EDF calls for Americans to eat far less tuna than recommended by dietitians, the FDA and many major medical groups including the American Heart Association.

Backing the EDFs guidance is their own pet scientist Timothy Fitzgerald. Hes not a doctor or dietician, but lists himself as a senior policy specialist/marine scientist for EDF. Hes even admitted that his advice on tuna does not try to balance risks and benefits.

But balancing risks and benefits is basic science, not to mention basic common sense.

Tuna is one of the best fish sources of omega-3 fatty acids, an essential nutrient our bodies cannot make and must get through our food. Which is why its been recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture that Americans eat more fish. In fact, USDAs 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend Americans eat more fish because consistent evidence shows that the health benefits from consuming a variety of seafood in the amounts recommended outweigh the health risks associated with methyl mercury.

Seafood is even more important for pregnant women and developing children. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans showed that women who are pregnant or breastfeeding consume at least 8 and up to 12 ounces of a variety of seafood per week to boost their babies eye and brain development.

Unfortunately, this kind of fear mongering is old hat for the EDF, an organization who has routinely resorted to cries of hysteria while ignoring key scientific and nutrition facts about the critical nutritional benefits of eating tuna.

Far from helping parents protect their children, the EDF is offering advice that endangers the publics health. As considerable research has found, the real hazard associated with seafood is not eating enough of it.

With speculation growing about Beyonce is she pregnant or not? fans spotted a possible hint on her Tumblr page: Her dinner menu in France included Salad Nicoise, a popular salad topped with tuna.

A few celebrity bloggers seized on the clue and immediately predicted that Beyonce was NOT pregnant because her photo zoomed in on tuna, a food that pregnant women used to think should be limited during pregnancy. Joyce Chen at Us Weekly began the brouhaha, which gained even more traction when JustJared re-posted it.

Too bad these gossip bloggers know nothing about pregnancy diets. And thank goodness they arent doctors, never mind Sherlock Holmes types. Because if they actually knew something about what pregnant women need to be eating, they would understand that fish, including tuna, is actually one of the most important foods women need to eat more of because 50% of a babys brain is made up of essential fatty acids found in seafood.

If Beyonce is pregnant, she is likely seeing top-notch doctors who would advise her, based on U.S. and international government guidelines and research, to eat more seafood including tuna because of the essential nutrients in fish so important to babies brain and eye development. Of course, seafood is also indispensable for expecting and breastfeeding moms because it lowers the risk of heart disease, the number one cause of death for American women.

We cant say for sure whether Beyonce is pregnant. But what is absolutely certain is that if youre an expectant mom, you can definitely have Salad Nicoise for dinner. Bon apptit!

Canned tuna is one of the most affordable and available sources of omega-3s in the American diet. There are two primary types of canned tuna- white (also known as albacore) and light. White albacore tuna is particularly high in omega-3s and both are low in mercury. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration level of concern for mercury in fish is 1.0 parts per million (ppm). Both types of canned tuna are at least 65 percent lower than this level.

For the general population, there are no kinds of commercial fish to limit or avoid, including canned tuna. Simply eat a variety of seafood at least twice each week.

For pregnant and breastfeeding women, the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) clearly state this group avoid just four rarely eaten, exotic fish including shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish and “can eat all types of tuna, including white (albacore) and light canned tuna…” of which up to six ounces a week can be white (albacore) tuna.

The most up-to-date and authoritative review of seafood science can be found in the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on the Risks and Benefits of Fish Consumption, published in September 2011. This report is clear that seafood species with traces of mercury higher than white albacore tuna do not raise a concern, even when eaten daily during pregnancy. In fact, the FAO/WHO assessment found that eating fish once a day or seven servings per week delivered important health benefits and no risk from mercury.

Rhetoric:Man-made air pollution and mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants end up in the ocean and taint our supply of commercial seafood.

Reality:Regardless of pollution, commercially caught seafood has always contained trace amounts of organic methylmercury caused by underwater volcanic activity occurring for millennia. According to the FDA, which oversees ocean-caught and commercially farmed seafood, there are no “measurable differences over time in mercury concentrations in commercial fish generally, nor does the FDA database on mercury concentrations in commercial fish reveal a trend toward increasing concentrations.”

Coal fired power plant emissions contain mercury contaminants that can migrate into lakes, streams, and rivers. The EPA, which has jurisdiction over inland waterways and U.S. shorelines, closely monitors mercury levels and advises recreational anglers on which fish species are safe to consume.

Creating false alarms about safe and healthy seafood to advance clean air and water agendas is not only dishonest — it’s dangerous.

Methylmercury in commercial seafood is by and large naturally occurring and not increasing in the United States. Ocean fish is an essential food in Americans’ diets and seafood-deficient Americans who eat less than 3 ounces of fish a week, should be eating 4 times more seafood to realize its heart and brain health benefits.