Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I made the switch from veganism to paleo. The humane treatment of animals is important to me, so I've choose wild caught fish over farmed. However, I know that there are higher mercury levels in wild fish than in farmed.

I'm looking for direction as to safe amounts of fish to eat while maintaining a commitment to sustainability.

flag	asked Jan 11 2012 at 2:42 Kristin 31●1

	I'm not qualified to answer, but it's a good question. I do know that it will vary based on where the fish was caught and how low/high the species of fish is in the food chain. – Nance Jan 11 2012 at 2:45
	Younger fish that are lower in the food chain will be less contaminated; toxins build as you go up the chain with uber-predators being the worst. – Nance Jan 11 2012 at 2:46

txrandom · Answer 1 · 2012-01-11 02:46:57Z UTC

For sustainability, check out: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_regional.aspx?region_id=0 Beware many of the Best Choices are farmed.

For mercury levels, you basically want to eat things low on the food chain. Sardines are one thing that comes to mind. I may be over simplifying this a bit.

daz · Answer 2 · 2012-01-11 10:47:32Z UTC

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For mercury in Fish info, take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_in_fish

answered Jan 11 2012 at 10:47

daz
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	+1 for the graphic. Also should apply to other organic pollutants (e.g. PCBs) that concentrate in fat. – Matt Jan 11 2012 at 12:30
	here is the link to the CK article; chriskresser.com/… Two bullet points from the overview; "Selenium protects against mercury toxicity, and 16 of the 25 highest dietary sources of selenium are ocean fish" & "If a fish contains higher levels of selenium than mercury, it is safe to eat" – daz Jan 13 2012 at 2:47

uep · Answer 3 · 2012-01-11 10:09:39Z UTC

Chris Kresser has an article (and one of the first few podcast episodes, perhaps the one where he discusses n-3 vs n-6 for an hour and a half non stop!) in which he basically reaches the conclusion that eating fish is safer than not eating it.

To the particular mercury concern, his explanation is that it's only an issue if there is not also Selenium (which there is, in whole fish) to bind to the Mercury and make it safe.

Humane and healthy fish advice

3 Answers