The Seafood Diet: Green light, Red light, Yellow light

I recommend that each of my clients eat 1-2 servings of fish a week. That consists of about 4 to 6 ounces of fish per serving. Of course one of the first responses I get is, “ Can’t fish be dangerous, what about the mercury content?” This is an important question and one that you need to be aware of when making your seafood choices.

I am going to borrow the stoplight model from Dr. Susan Kleiner, a very well respected sports nutritionist, to help explain the benefits and concerns:

Green Light

Fish is a quality source of protein that’s relatively low in fat and cholesterol. It’s also a great source of nicacin, vitamin B12, vitamin D and of course Omega-3 fatty acids – which many of you know about by now. Multiple studies have shown that individuals who consume fish have better control of their weight. When fish is added to a diet designed to promote weight loss, more total fat and more abdominal fat is lost.

Beyond the benefits for fighting arthritis, colities, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers, new research has shown that Omega 3 fats have a strong link between mood and depression. Individuals who had diets high in Omega 3 fats have much lower rates of depression.

Red Light

The pollution we have added to our oceans has contaminated the environment where fish live and eat. There are many toxins, but the main one that is focused on is Mercury and more specifically methylmercury. Methylmercury builds up in some fish more than others, depending on what they eat. Methylmercury is a neurotoxin that causes harm to our nervous system.

Both the EPA and FDA updated their warnings regarding fish consumption in 2004. Although the warnings were primarily for pregant women or women who might become pregnant (Mercury has a major potential effect on a developing fetus) It makes sense for all of us to follow these guidelines:

1.) Don’t eat shark, swordfish, king makerel tilefish. Each of these large fish contain high levels of Mercury

2.) Mix up the types of fish and shellfish you eat since mercury levels vary. You can safely eat up to 12 ounces of ‘approved’ fish.

Another concern is with the PCB levels found in farm raised fish, particularly salmon. Pollutants primarily come from the fish meal that is fed to these industrially raised fish. Some studies have shown extremely high levels of PCBs in farm raised Salmon. When available, the best choice is to go with Pacific Northwest wild caught salmon. This lean and powerful fish is high in protein, vitamins D and E and Omega 3s.

Yellow Light

In my opinion, there are too many benefits with the right types of fish to avoid seafood all together. I think a good starting goal for healthy nutrition is by making fish a dinner choice one night per week. Good choices are wild caught salmon, halibut, cod, sole and polluck. Shellfish is an excellent choice as well, particularly crab, lobster, shrimp, scallop and oysters.

The key things is to get educated. Study the chart below and find the good choices you like from the chart below. Ideally make sure your choice is below 0.25 for mean mercury content. The closer to 0.1 obviously the better.

Table 1. Fish and Shellfish With Highest Levels of Mercury
SPECIES	MERCURY CONCENTRATION (PPM)					NO. OF SAMPLES	SOURCE OF DATA
	MEAN	MEDIAN	STDEV	MIN	MAX
MACKEREL KING	0.730	N/A	N/A	0.230	1.670	213	GULF OF MEXICO REPORT 2000
SHARK	0.988	0.830	0.631	ND	4.540	351	FDA 1990-02
SWORDFISH	0.976	0.860	0.510	ND	3.220	618	FDA 1990-04
TILEFISH (Gulf of Mexico)	1.450	N/A	N/A	0.650	3.730	60	NMFS REPORT 1978

Table 2. Fish and Shellfish With Lower Levels of Mercury†
SPECIES	MERCURY CONCENTRATION (PPM)					NO. OF SAMPLES	SOURCE OF DATA
	MEAN	MEDIAN	STDEV	MIN	MAX
ANCHOVIES	0.043	N/A	N/A	ND	0.340	40	NMFS REPORT 1978
BUTTERFISH	0.058	N/A	N/A	ND	0.360	89	NMFS REPORT 1978
CATFISH	0.049	ND	0.084	ND	0.314	23	FDA 1990-04
CLAM *	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	6	FDA 1990-02
COD	0.095	0.087	0.080	ND	0.420	39	FDA 1990-04
CRAB 1	0.060	0.030	0.112	ND	0.610	63	FDA 1990-04
CRAWFISH	0.033	0.035	0.012	ND	0.051	44	FDA 2002-04
CROAKER ATLANTIC (Atlantic)	0.072	0.073	0.036	0.013	0.148	35	FDA 1990-03
FLATFISH 2*	0.045	0.035	0.049	ND	0.180	23	FDA 1990-04
HADDOCK (Atlantic)	0.031	0.041	0.021	ND	0.041	4	FDA 1990-02
HAKE	0.014	ND	0.021	ND	0.048	9	FDA 1990-02
HERRING	0.044	N/A	N/A	ND	0.135	38	NMFS REPORT 1978
JACKSMELT	0.108	0.060	0.115	0.040	0.500	16	FDA 1990-02
LOBSTER (Spiny)	0.09	0.14	‡	ND	0.27	9	FDA SURVEY 1990-02
MACKEREL ATLANTIC (N.Atlantic)	0.050	N/A	N/A	0.020	0.160	80	NMFS REPORT 1978
MACKEREL CHUB (Pacific)	0.088	N/A	N/A	0.030	0.190	30	NMFS REPORT 1978
MULLET	0.046	N/A	N/A	ND	0.130	191	NMFS REPORT 1978
OYSTER	0.013	ND	0.042	ND	0.250	38	FDA 1990-04
PERCH OCEAN *	ND	ND	ND	ND	0.030	6	FDA 1990-02
POLLOCK	0.041	ND	0.106	ND	0.780	62	FDA 1990-04
SALMON (CANNED) *	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	23	FDA 1990-02
SALMON (FRESH/FROZEN) *	0.014	ND	0.041	ND	0.190	34	FDA 1990-02
SARDINE	0.016	0.013	0.007	0.004	0.035	29	FDA 2002-04
SCALLOP	0.050	N/A	N/A	ND	0.220	66	NMFS REPORT 1978
SHAD AMERICAN	0.065	N/A	N/A	ND	0.220	59	NMFS REPORT 1978
SHRIMP *	ND	ND	ND	ND	0.050	24	FDA 1990-02
SQUID	0.070	N/A	N/A	ND	0.400	200	NMFS REPORT 1978
TILAPIA *	0.010	ND	0.023	ND	0.070	9	FDA 1990-02
TROUT (FRESHWATER)	0.072	0.025	0.143	ND	0.678	34	FDA 2002-04
TUNA (CANNED, LIGHT)	0.118	0.075	0.119	ND	0.852	347	FDA 2002-04
WHITEFISH	0.069	0.054	0.067	ND	0.310	28	FDA 2002-04
WHITING	ND	ND	‡	ND	ND	2	FDA SURVEY 1990-02

Table 3. Mercury Levels of Other Fish and Shellfish†
SPECIES	MERCURY CONCENTRATION (PPM)					NO. OF SAMPLES	SOURCE OF DATA
	MEAN	MEDIAN	STDEV	MIN	MAX
BASS (SALTWATER, BLACK, STRIPED)3	0.219	0.130	0.227	ND	0.960	47	FDA 1990-04
BASS CHILEAN	0.386	0.303	0.364	0.085	2.180	40	FDA 1990-04
BLUEFISH	0.337	0.303	0.127	0.139	0.634	52	FDA 2002-04
BUFFALOFISH	0.19	0.14	‡	0.05	0.43	4	FDA SURVEY 1990-02
CARP	0.14	0.14	‡	0.01	0.27	2	FDA SURVEY 1990-02
CROAKER WHITE (Pacific)	0.287	0.280	0.069	0.180	0.410	15	FDA 1990-03
GROUPER (ALL SPECIES)	0.465	0.410	0.293	0.053	1.205	43	FDA 2002-04
HALIBUT	0.252	0.200	0.233	ND	1.520	46	FDA 1990-04
LOBSTER (NORTHERN/AMERICAN)	0.310	N/A	N/A	0.050	1.310	88	NMFS REPORT 1978
LOBSTER (Species Unknown)	0.169	0.182	0.089	ND	0.309	16	FDA 1991-2004
MACKEREL SPANISH (Gulf of Mexico)	0.454	N/A	N/A	0.070	1.560	66	NMFS REPORT 1978
MACKEREL SPANISH (S. Atlantic)	0.182	N/A	N/A	0.050	0.730	43	NMFS REPORT 1978
MARLIN *	0.485	0.390	0.237	0.100	0.920	16	FDA 1990-02
MONKFISH	0.180	N/A	N/A	0.020	1.020	81	NMFS REPORT 1978
ORANGE ROUGHY	0.554	0.563	0.148	0.296	0.855	49	FDA 1990-04
PERCH (Freshwater)	0.14	0.15	‡	ND	0.31	5	FDA SURVEY 1990-02
SABLEFISH	0.220	N/A	N/A	ND	0.700	102	NMFS REPORT 1978
SCORPIONFISH	0.286	N/A	N/A	0.020	1.345	78	NMFS REPORT 1978
SHEEPSHEAD	0.128	N/A	N/A	0.020	0.625	59	NMFS REPORT 1978
SKATE	0.137	N/A	N/A	0.040	0.360	56	NMFS REPORT 1978
SNAPPER	0.189	0.114	0.274	ND	1.366	43	FDA 2002-04
TILEFISH (Atlantic)	0.144	0.099	0.122	0.042	0.533	32	FDA 2002-04
TUNA (CANNED, ALBACORE)	0.353	0.339	0.126	ND	0.853	399	FDA 2002-04
TUNA(FRESH/FROZEN, ALL)	0.383	0.322	0.269	ND	1.300	228	FDA 2002-04
TUNA (FRESH/FROZEN, ALBACORE)	0.357	0.355	0.152	ND	0.820	26	FDA 2002-04
TUNA (FRESH/FROZEN, BIGEYE)	0.639	0.560	0.184	0.410	1.040	13	FDA 2002-04
TUNA (FRESH/FROZEN, SKIPJACK)	0.205	N/A	0.078	0.205	0.260	2	FDA 1993
TUNA (FRESH/FROZEN, YELLOWFIN)	0.325	0.270	0.220	ND	1.079	87	FDA 2002-04
TUNA (FRESH/FROZEN, Species Unknown)	0.414	0.339	0.316	ND	1.300	100	FDA 1991-2004

Source of data: FDA 1990-2004, "National Marine Fisheries Service Survey of Trace Elements in the Fishery Resource" Report 1978,

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