Please Explain (The Leonard Lopate Show)

Mercury Rising: Which Fish - and How Much - Is Safe to Eat


Listen Later

Eating fish is good for us—it contains healthy omega fatty acids and other important nutrients. But fish also contains mercury, which is not healthy to consume. Jean Halloran, Director of Food Policy Initiatives at Consumers Union, helps us sort out what kinds of fish we should be eating more of and what kinds we should avoid.

According to Halloran and Consumer Reports' article "The Great Fish Debate," women who are pregnant should not eat tuna at all, because mercury can damage the brain and nervous system of a developing fetus. For more information, check out the chart below, from Consumer Reports.

Fish with the Lowest Mercury (Can safely eat 18-36 oz a week, depending on body weight)

    Salmon (wild or farmed, canned of fresh)
    Shrimp
    Tilapia
    Scallops, clams, oysters
    Squid
    Most eel
    Sardines (fresh or canned)

     

    Fish with Low Mercury (Can safely eat 6-18 oz a week, depending on body weight)

      Lobster, crab, crawfish
      Haddock
      Pollock
      Cod
      Flounder
      Trout
      Catfish
      Atlantic mackerel
      Mullet
      Herring

       

      Fish with High Mercury(Limit how much you eat)

        Tuna
        Grouper
        Bluefish
        Chilean sea bass
        Halibut
        Black cod
        Spanish mackerel
        Tuna (canned or fresh, except skipjack)

         

        Fish with Very High Mercury(Best to avoid, especially for children and women who are pregnant or may become pregnant)

          Shark
          Swordfish
          King mackerel
          Gulf tilefish
          Marlin
          Orange roughy

           

          Consumer Reports' chart on mercury in fish.

          (Illustrations by Joe McKendry/Consumer Reports)

           

          ...more
          View all episodesView all episodes
          Download on the App Store

          Please Explain (The Leonard Lopate Show)By WNYC

          • 4.2
          • 4.2
          • 4.2
          • 4.2
          • 4.2

          4.2

          66 ratings


          More shows like Please Explain (The Leonard Lopate Show)

          View all
          Radiolab by WNYC Studios

          Radiolab

          43,923 Listeners

          The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

          The New Yorker Radio Hour

          6,918 Listeners

          On the Media by WNYC Studios

          On the Media

          9,220 Listeners

          The Brian Lehrer Show by WNYC

          The Brian Lehrer Show

          1,579 Listeners

          Death, Sex & Money by Slate Podcasts

          Death, Sex & Money

          7,715 Listeners

          Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

          Science Friday

          6,438 Listeners

          Spooked by KQED and Snap Studios

          Spooked

          16,649 Listeners

          The Anthropocene Reviewed by Complexly, John Green

          The Anthropocene Reviewed

          9,333 Listeners

          Dolly Parton's America by WNYC Studios & OSM Audio

          Dolly Parton's America

          16,410 Listeners

          Terrestrials by WNYC

          Terrestrials

          1,188 Listeners

          Pfeffer on Power by Jeffrey Pfeffer

          Pfeffer on Power

          40 Listeners