safety of fish

[Guest guest]

According to this, unless you're pregnant or a child, fish is safe:

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency

issued an advisory telling vulnerable groups how to reduce mercury exposure

from fish and shellfish. The guidelines aim not to scare anybody off seafood

-- fish provide too many nutritional benefits for that -- but to tell folks

how much they can safely eat.

How will the new guidelines affect your love affair with tuna? Here's the

net:

For women

Because mercury in tuna and other fish can harm babies' developing

brains, caution is urged for women who are pregnant, nursing or

planning to become pregnant. The government recommends no more

than 12 ounces a week -- about two meals' worth -- of canned light tuna

(much lower in mercury than the white albacore variety). Or six ounces

of white and six of light. Some critics of the FDA advise these women to

eat no albacore at all. Women who aren't pregnant and have no plans to

become so needn't cut back.

For young children

The same advice applies as for pregnant women, though individual

portions may be smaller. The FDA says there's not enough evidence to

make this recommendation more specific in terms of age, weight or

portion size.

For men

Eat whatever and as much as you like. The new guidelines don't affect

you, as adults' neurological systems aren't vulnerable to mercury

consumed through eating fish.

In addition

Tired of tuna? Your 12 ounces of weekly fish can include other choices

such as shrimp, salmon, pollock and catfish. For details,

seewww.cfsan.fda.gov.