Mercury, Fish And Your Fertility

Although fish is a good source of protein and fatty acids many fish contain worryingly high levels of a toxic form of mercury (methylmercury) which can accumulate in your body, putting your fertility and baby at risk. Exactly how much risk is up for debate. How much mercury are you comfortable with is the question?

Tuna is thought to be particularly risky. Tests done on 42 different samples of canned and pouched tuna carried out by Consumer Reports found that every single sample contained mercury. Albacore tuna had about six times the mercury level of light tuna.

As a result of these tests consumer reports advised that women who are pregnant should consider avoiding canned tuna or tuna in pouches altogether and should also avoid other high mercury fish such as swordfish, shark and tilefish. Eel, commonly used in sushi is also a high mercury fish.

If you like to eat fish, familiarize yourself with the lowest mercury fish such as wild Alaskan salmon, shrimp, clams and tilapia. Click on the link to the nrdc below - the Natural Resources Defense Council - to check out their guide to mercury contamination in fish. Here, you can find an extensive list of low, moderate and high mercury fish so you can make safe choices. Their low mercury fish category includes;

Anchovies
Butterfish
Catfish
Clam
Crab (Domestic)
Crawfish/Crayfish
Croaker (Atlantic)
Flounder
Haddock (Atlantic)
Hake
Herring
Mackerel (N. Atlantic, Chub)
Mullet
Oyster
Perch (Ocean)
Plaice
Pollock
Salmon (Canned)
Salmon (Fresh)
Sardine
Scallop
Shad (American)
Shrimp
Sole (Pacific)
Squid (Calamari)
Tilapia
Trout (Freshwater)
Whitefish
Whiting

Farmed fish - especially farmed salmon - comes with other risks too; farmed salmon is known to be especially high in PCBs (polychlorinated bisphenols) which are associated with poorer IVF success. Avoid farmed salmon if you are trying to conceive and want to keep your PCB intake low.

This article is intended for informational purposes only and is NOT intended to diagnose, offer treatment or replace medical advice for which you should consult a suitably qualified physician.

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Reference:
Consumer Reports on Health Vol. 23 No. 2 Feb 2011
nrdc.org