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I have recently heard that Tuna fish contains an abnormally high amount of mercury and excessive consumption may lead to mercury poisoning.

Tuna is a great source of proteins and omega rich fats and for someone participating in intense physical activity prove to be an excellent nutrient source.

So is this a real problem or is it the 'PC' crowd getting in a twist again? I did a quick google search but couldn't find anything above wikipedia level. Does anyone know of any comprehensive studies or good advice pages?

I probably eat 4-5 cans a weak, which is about 500-600g (1lb). Is this too much?

I also eat 4-5 tins of Herring fillets too, is this too much?

Thanks

It is very overstated. They also don't know exactly what the mercury levels are. I would only worry about limiting intake in pregnant and breast feeding women and younger children.

There was a big flap about this a few years ago. The show "60 minutes" came out with a big expose on this this, but to their credit, they also brought on some of the "Experts", and the conclusion was, yes, there is a risk of sorts, but they can't really quantify it. The kid in the story was eating probably -3 tins a day (6 1/2 oz, per tin, don't know exactly what that translates to grams, probably close to 350-400 gr). Pretty much what Ironman said. Seems that the recommendation the "guru" on the show said, 5-6 tins / week sholuld be fine. I have NOT heard the same when it comes to the cold water fish; i.e. the common ones found in tins being herring, mackerel, sardines and salmon, which are all MUCH higher in the omega 3 fatty acids. I get my hring salt cured, and get the mackerel-jack in tins at a cheaper tprice than tuna. Daniel, I think you're from the UK, and when I was shipping out of Glasgow, Scotland, UK, we used to go down to the local fish mongers and get lightly pepper smoked Mackerel at a very inexpensive price.
Tim

Well, i guess it is a little amplified, people love to 'panic' about the next big health danger.

I am from the UK, infact I lived on a little island and my mum's ex boyfriend has a boat so I used to get a lot of fresh white fish. Now I'm living in Austria and don't trust fresh fish from a landlocked country so I only eat tinned :)

There was another study that came out that said that the benifits of salmon outweighed the risks by about 900 to 1. I expect tuna is similar. White tuna has more mercury than light but also more Omega 3. If you're reasonable, I don't see a problem with it, except where already noted.

Stu