Too much of a good thing?
 

Last week I bought a multi-vitamin and an omega 3.

I also heart tuna fish and eat it for lunch almost everyday. It is possible to have too much omega 3 or will my body just get rid of the extra stuff it doesn't need?

Is there such thing as eating too much tuna fish?

Due to mercury levels in tuna, they say to eat it only once or twice. The omega 3 supplements are probably just fine. I think anyways...

I love tuna too, but my dr. told me to limit it to 1-2 a week.

i had that same question and so I went to the dietitian at Mayo, where I work. I eat Tuna every day. sometimes 3 times a day. My dietitian said there is nothing wrong with that. Tuna doesn't have the murcury levels that other fish do. He said if I was eating salmon or swordfish everyday, he'd worry. But tuna should be ok. it'd also be different if I was preg.

Mayo Clinic? Like, the famous one?

I heart tuna too! Actually I just had it for lunch. I buy albacore only. Anyhow, I make mine with low cal mayo and a table spoon of sweet relish on a piece of multi grain toast....yummmmmm!:T I have it more than twice a week too.

How do you prepare yours?

the "light" tuna is supposed to be lower in mercury than the white. - I have trouble limiting it too since I really like it AND it is such an easy meat to prepare. I do try to keep it to 2-3 times a week though.

I just use tablespoon of miracle whip light....or if I am feeling frisky I put 1/4 cup of fat free kraft cheese on it (45 cal) and put it under the broiler for a tuna melt....that tastes great on chilly days.

I had also heard 2-3 times a week max. :?:

yea, the famous mayo clinic... I seriously eat it a LOT...and he said it was ok. He mentioned never to get the Tuna canned in oil though. I'm allergic to milk, so he suggested replacing canned salmon (with the bones) in there every once in awhile---to get the calcium. (I can't take calcium supplements either because I get kidney stones from them!) He just said it was way less of a threat than other fishes...and that he didn't see any need to worry about it. If I like it, and it's getting me a good amount of protein a day...he said to eat as much of it as I would like.

I'm pretty sure the mercury levels in canned tuna went way down after they stopped using dolphin too---didn't they used to use dolphin?

Yay for tuna! I eat it everday and that news makes me VERY happy. Yay for the famous mayo clinic and thanks so much for letting me know!

I think they did use dolphin...not sure though.

mxgirl- I dont think they used to use dolphin but the issue was that the tuna nets were also catching dolphins in them- i think....

I used to eat a lot of tunae, dont really know why I stopped. I do really enjoy it. aybe it was the fact that we got rid of our manual can opener and replaced it with an electric one which requires me to take it out of the cupboard, plug it in, and then attach the can to it. Oh, and then unplug it and put it away :) ;)

Mmmmm tuna! I love the Starkist Tuna Creations packets. Just bought some of the smoked and herb/garlic flavors today. Makes me want to have that instead of the baked chicken we're having for dinner.

yah i heard that white tuna is the high mercury tuna and seniors and pregnant women should only eat it very rarely..and everyone else 1-2 times a week...I only eat flaked light tuna and it's supposed to have much lower mercury levels! I even created a tuna pasta dish....whole wheat pasta..tuna...low fat cheese and a tsp of margarine..............I also put steamed stirfry veggies in it and mix it all together until the cheese melts.......sooo good!!!!

I read that albacore is higher than white and white is higher than light. I think it was a popular women's magazine though, not one known for hard science.

I love albacore, so I'd rather eat it less often, and take my chances.

Dolphin meat is not in your tuna can, never fear. Dolphin friendly means that no drift nets etc... are used.....basically the tuna is caught in a way that does not trap, harm or kill dolphins.

There are a few factors to determining a safe level of tuna to eat, such as your weight, and the type of tuna. Albacore tuna has three times as much mercury as light tuna. According to the Environmental Working Group, a 150 pound woman can eat 3/4 of a can of Albacore tuna, and 2 and 1/4 cans of light tuna. These numbers are assuming you don't eat any other sea food in the week, and if you do, these numbers decrease.

Even at 200 pounds, you should only consume 1 can of Albacore tuna, and 3 cans of light tuna per week.

I've done a lot of research on the topic, and I've never been told that it's safe to eat tuna every day. I limit my consumption to no more than 2 cans of tuna per week, as this is usually the only fish I eat.

I just read an article on this very subject -
http://www.slashfood.com/2008/09/07/...om-toxic-tuna/

Just something to think about. (And I stay away from all fish)

Seriously, for like 6 months, I ate tuna atleast 5 times a week.... nothing happend to me!.

If you are concerned about mercury, Tongol tuna has the lowest amount of mercury. It's a much smaller type of tuna so there is basically no mercury in Tongol. I can't remember who did the analysis, but I read an article about a group that did an independent lab analysis and Tongol was much lower in mercury then all other varieties. It was a while back, I think it might have been Good Housekeeping? I believe albacore had the highest.

The rule for fish and mercury is, the higher up the food chain the more likely they are to have high mercury levels. Higher up the food chain=Bigger fish, so Large species of tuna, shark, swordfish, some types of mackerel...

One thing to keep in mind if you are feeding a family as well, is that men, children, pregnant women, and women who have gone through menopause should eat less mercury heavy fish (less fish in general.) It's the same idea as with iron, menstruating women have a way to eliminate excess heavy metals from their bodies.

As far as salmon, farmed salmon has mercury and PCBs due to what they are fed. Wild salmon is fine and I've never heard that you should limit wild salmon. The canned salmon I buy is wild from Alaska. Of course, I don't eat it every day because it's more expensive then other forms of protein.

As far as Omega-3 supplements, I take 3 capsules per day for health reasons. As long as you are buying a reputable brand that tests for mercury, taking it every day along with eating fish is fine. I don't believe you can get too much. The Omega-3s in your body should out number the Omega-6s (found in saturated fats and meats) anyway, for optimal health.

Heavy metal poisoning can take years or even decades to reach toxic levels, or even for symptoms to appear, and even then, the symptoms can be vague and easily misdiagnosed unless the doctor thinks to check specifically for it.

How much is too much? It's hard to tell, because even the "experts," disagree.