Introduction
Canned tuna is a popular and convenient food choice for many people, but recent studies have revealed that it may come with some dangerous side effects. Research has shown that canned tuna contains high levels of mercury, which can be toxic to humans. Additionally, the canning process can also introduce other contaminants, such as BPA, into the tuna. In this article, we will discuss the potential health risks associated with eating canned tuna and what you can do to reduce your exposure.
Dangerous Side Effects of Canned Tuna, Says Science
Canned tuna is a popular and convenient food, but according to recent scientific research, it may come with some dangerous side effects. A study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology found that canned tuna contains high levels of mercury, a toxic metal that can cause serious health problems.
The study tested samples of canned tuna from around the world and found that the average mercury concentration was 0.17 parts per million (ppm). This is significantly higher than the 0.1 ppm limit set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The researchers also found that the mercury levels varied significantly between different brands and types of canned tuna.
Exposure to mercury can cause a range of health problems, including neurological damage, kidney damage, and reproductive problems. It is especially dangerous for pregnant women, as it can cause birth defects and developmental delays in unborn babies. Children and the elderly are also at risk of mercury poisoning.
The researchers recommend that people limit their consumption of canned tuna, especially pregnant women and young children. They also suggest that people buy brands of canned tuna that have lower levels of mercury.
Canned tuna is a convenient and affordable food, but it is important to be aware of the potential risks associated with it. By following the recommendations of the researchers, you can reduce your risk of mercury poisoning and enjoy the benefits of canned tuna without putting your health at risk.
Except you occur to dwell close to the ocean and are fairly good with a hook and line, the best option to eat extra fish is to open a can of tuna. Canned tuna is among the many healthiest, most reasonably priced sources of protein you should purchase. The fish is wealthy in anti-inflammatory, heart-protective omega-3 fatty acids, accommodates wherever between 20 and 25 grams of protein per can, is wealthy in vitamin D, and is low in carbs. As a lot of the American inhabitants is not getting sufficient omega-3 fatty acids, together with tuna in your weight-reduction plan is a handy, low cost option to overcome this deficiency.
Whereas it is essential to bear in mind and knowledgeable about potential well being hazards of consuming canned fish, needless to say by consuming a balanced weight-reduction plan and consuming a average consumption of tuna per week, which the FDA recommends as 2-3 servings, you may reap the advantages of tuna with out a lot of the unwanted side effects.
Understanding the potential risks of canned tuna and the way to keep away from them might lure you again to creating tunafish sandwiches for lunch a couple of times every week. In spite of everything, regardless of the potential issues, canned tuna is nowhere close to as dangerous for you as these 8 Harmful Meals which are Shortening Your Life, In accordance with Science.
Additionally known as hydrargyria, mercury poisoning is often brought on by consuming meals containing the heavy metallic, a identified neurotoxin. “All fish have some degree of mercury, however that degree varies extensively; canned tuna has comparatively excessive ranges of mercury so its consumption may probably turn into dangerous above three or so servings every week,” says Andrea Paul, MD, medical advisor to Illuminate Labs. Signs of mercury poisoning embrace itching or a pins-and-needles feeling within the toes and fingertips, muscle weak spot, coordination, speech and listening to impairment, and decreased peripheral imaginative and prescient. Excessive mercury ranges in girls who’re pregnant might lead to central nervous system problems of their infants.
Dr. Paul recommends switching to fish with decrease ranges of mercury, like wild-caught salmon, to achieve the well being advantages of omega-3 fatty acids with out the well being dangers. The Meals & Drug Administration (FDA) and Environmental Safety Company (EPA) lately revised their suggestions, encouraging pregnant girls and ladies breastfeeding to eat extra low-mercury fish (as much as 12 ounces weekly) to achieve the well being advantages. Nevertheless, each businesses proceed to advise that not more than six ounces of these 12 per week be white (albacore) tuna, a big fish that accommodates larger quantities of mercury. Canned gentle tuna is made principally from skipjack tuna, a smaller species that is decrease in mercury.
When you do not thoughts paying just a little bit extra for peace of thoughts, think about the Secure Catch model of canned fish. Utilizing a proprietary expertise that the corporate founders invented, Secure Catch exams each tuna and salmon for mercury ranges earlier than shopping for it. The corporate’s Secure Catch Elite tuna is 10 occasions decrease in mercury than the FDA restrict of 1.00 ppm (components per million). Its wild albacore is 2.5 occasions decrease than the FDA restrict. Secure Catch can also be cooked simply as soon as whereas within the can, which retains extra wholesome oils, says chief working officer Kevin McCay. Different manufacturers prepare dinner twice, first on racks the place the oils drip away, then once more within the cans.
RELATED: Join our e-newsletter to get each day recipes and meals information in your inbox!
When you expertise facial flushing, sweating, dizziness, and a peppery style in your mouth and throat shortly after consuming canned tuna, you might be having an allergic response to a bacterium in marine fish that has begun to spoil. “Scombrotoxin is a singular kind of meals poisoning mostly present in tuna and mackerel fish,” says meals scientist Janilyn Hutchings, CP-FS (licensed skilled in meals security) with StateFoodSafety.com. “The toxin is created by spoilage micro organism on account of improper dealing with and is not destroyed within the canning course of.”
Canned fish is not the one wrongdoer. Anglers who go away their catch too lengthy on a dock or boat out of the cooler can set off bacterial development within the fish that elevates ranges of the histamine that causes signs. Non-scombroid gamefish reminiscent of bluefish, mahi-mahi and amberjack are additionally related to the toxin. Superior signs embrace hives, diarrhea, and blurred imaginative and prescient. See a doctor if signs worsen or final greater than 4 to six hours.
Animal research and a few human research counsel that the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA), a identified endocrine-disrupting contaminant, might affect your well being, probably elevating blood stress, inflicting infertility, start defects, and elevating the danger of weight problems, diabetes, coronary heart illness, and most cancers. “BPA is a element in some meals containers, together with some cans, and it is considerably controversial,” says Hutchings. The FDA made requirements for meals containers stricter following a 2008 Nationwide Toxicology Program report indicating the degrees of BPA consumed by the U.S. Inhabitants on the time may negatively have an effect on well being. “The FDA’s official stance is that the quantity of BPA presently in meals containers is secure,” says Hutchings.
Associated: The Unhealthiest Canned Meals on the Planet
Recent fish is a superb supply of protein and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, however canned tuna, whereas very handy, might not be the healthiest for these with hypertension. “At a median of 200-300 milligrams of sodium per serving, anybody who has coronary heart illness or diabetes cannot threat consuming canned tuna,” says nutritionist Cassidy Gunderson, PhD, who helps her shoppers handle persistent illness via meals because the proprietor of Spiro Well being & Wellness, in Salt Lake Metropolis. Consuming a variety of canned tuna, together with different meals excessive in sodium like canned soups, baked items, and different processed meals and restaurant meals, raises your threat of hypertension, kidney illness, diabetes, and sleep apnea. The American Coronary heart Affiliation recommends that individuals hold their each day consumption of sodium beneath 1,500 milligrams. Fortunately for you, there are a number of no-salt-added tuna manufacturers, which we element in our information: 6 Finest Canned Tunas on the Market, and 4 to Keep Away From.
When you’re involved about your blood stress, you could wish to learn up on these 14 Errors That Are Making Your Excessive Blood Stress Worse.