EWG’s Seafood Consumer Guide: Making Healthier Choices

April 26, 2024 TruthUSA

Seafood, which includes fish and shellfish, is known for being one of the healthiest foods due to its high-quality protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B-12, and trace minerals.

Despite the recommendation to eat fish at least twice a week, determining the best types can be challenging and recent research has highlighted the risk of mercury toxicity from seafood. Let’s explore which types of seafood are the safest and healthiest.

Weighing Benefits to Risk

Omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood offer many potential health benefits, including heart, metabolic, and cognitive health improvement. These essential nutrients are primarily found in oily fish like EPA and DHA.

It’s important to consider the health benefits of seafood along with the risk of methylmercury toxicity. Much of the mercury in seafood comes from industrial emissions, particularly from coal-burning power plants which release mercury into the environment.

Methylmercury is a highly toxic compound, with nearly all exposures in the US coming from consuming fish and shellfish. The EPA has set a reference dose for methylmercury to determine a safe level of consumption per day and per week based on body weight.

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To ensure safe seafood consumption, it’s recommended to use an online mercury calculator to check the mercury levels in different seafood species. Balancing the benefits of omega-3s with the risk of methylmercury exposure is essential to make informed choices.

The Environmental Working Group has developed a Consumer Guide to Seafood to address gaps in FDA and EPA recommendations regarding mercury levels in seafood. It’s important to consider both omega-3 content and methylmercury levels in seafood for a balanced diet.

Various cooking methods can also impact the nutritional value of seafood. Using baking, boiling, steaming, microwaving, sous vide, or poaching techniques can help retain omega-3 levels, while methods like roasting and frying can reduce these beneficial nutrients.

For optimal health benefits, it’s crucial to research and balance omega-3 consumption with methylmercury exposure. Using resources like the Environmental Working Group’s online Seafood Calculator can help identify seafood options high in omega-3s and low in methylmercury.

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