Eatting swordfish and staying healthy

[Max'd Out]

I've always heard that swordfish have very high mercury levels. How often could you eat swordfish without it being a health risk?
My wife tells me that when the lights go off, I glow like a Duralume. I think I got the message.
Going to cut back to twice a week just in case.

[miamiangler1]

dont sweat it ... you would have to eat sword fish or any other type of fish that has mercury in it you would have to eat it every day .to have some health risk .. ... like the golden tiles I catch ... havent had a problem yet and have been eatting goldens for a year now ...if you have it once or twice a week you will be just fine ...

[CJDcatch22]

the effects of mercury on adults is only temporary, if at all. if you ate fish every day, the main symptom would be memory loss, and it would go away when you cut back on eating fish. it's dangerous for young children or pregnant women, because it can cause permanent neurological damage in developing brains.

[JupiterSailfish]

I keep forgetting to stop eating Swordfish

[Relentless33]

My health teacher says no worries. She talks about some Eskimo tribe that was studied by scientists: They were all so fat and overweight but never had a health problem or heart disease. This is because they live off of fish and fish contains the "best vitamins" called Omega 3's.

[Sopla2o]

Hey Max, once you start glowing I'll take your swordlight....

[Disco Lady]

COÑO!!!!!!!!

[tunaman81]

Hard to say. It depends on the size of the fish as well. But I personally would not eat swordfish, tilefish, or kingfish more than once a week, if that.

CJDCatch22: While it is possible to reduce the levels of mercury in your system, some of the damage may not be reversible. Mercury affects the brain/nervous system, kidneys, and the heart.

Women of child-bearing age (and women planning on becoming pregnant) should definately limit consumption of swordfish, tilefish, etc. to much less than once a week. Children and pregnant women should probably not eat swordfish or tilefish at all.

[just2fish]

Originally Posted by CJDcatch22

it can cause permanent neurological damage in developing brains.

that happened to me but it had nothing to do with eating swordfish

[DIRTYFOOT2]

Originally Posted by just2fish

that happened to me but it had nothing to do with eating swordfish

which way was this thing going?
I thinks the whole mercury thing is way overblown. Lets see take my chances w/ mercury or get blown up w/ hormone laden beef and chicken. Looks like were screwed.. Just become a vegetarian, quit hunting and fishing, and take up knitting.

[weekendbender]

The real danger in eating swordfish often is reminding yourself how damn good it is to eat and how much fun it is to catch. After every bite, I start planning my next trip and promptly burning a hole in my wallet. If I were you I would be more careful of the "lightening of the wallet poisoning" better known as darksideaddictus these fish are known to cause rather than the mercury.

[Uncle Buck]

I can't find the article at this moment... but I've read that the FDA's "safe" level of methylmercury consumption is actually 900% less than the levels that would actually cause health issues. They're being very cautious because they don't fully understand the dangers. But the article also said that pregnant women and young children should play it safe and limit consumption, just to be on the safe side.

[DIRTYFOOT2]

true enough. As an extremely health conscious bunch, we fisherfolk should quit drinking and smoking too

[SUPERDOLPH]

Originally Posted by just2fish

that happened to me but it had nothing to do with eating swordfish

Good one Ray! PARTY LIKE A ROCK STAR!

[Disco Lady]

COÑO!!!!!!!!!

[mannyc]

jr.,, in that case we on the forum will take all your swordfish. It's not safe. Lol.........

[Relentless33]

No worries. I would just prove true all of the problems my Dad says I have.

Or I could just blame it on surgery 13 years ago...

[Sopla2o]

Okay, problem solved..... My Doctor has determined that my thyroid level is low and I should get more mercury to control my thyroid.

So... in the interest of my health.... I am willing to take all the swordfish that anyone is willing to donate...

It's for my health guys.... Please donate....

[CJDcatch22]

check your facts bro. to get permanently damaged by mercury as an adult you need way more than what's in an 8 oz. piece of fish, especially if you don't eat it every day. in adults, it's all reversible. the body rids itself of excess mercury, and because crucial parts of our brain/nervous sytem are not growing, the merc cannot be permanently deposited in those cells.

C DeLeo MD

Originally Posted by tunaman81

Hard to say. It depends on the size of the fish as well. But I personally would not eat swordfish, tilefish, or kingfish more than once a week, if that.

CJDCatch22: While it is possible to reduce the levels of mercury in your system, some of the damage may not be reversible. Mercury affects the brain/nervous system, kidneys, and the heart.

Women of child-bearing age (and women planning on becoming pregnant) should definately limit consumption of swordfish, tilefish, etc. to much less than once a week. Children and pregnant women should probably not eat swordfish or tilefish at all.

[CJDcatch22]

Originally Posted by ProfessorO

I'm very interested in this topic and I had myself tested. My numbers
were 20 and anything over 10 is considered high. To put this in perspective,
many older dentists, for example, are in the 50 to 200 range. There is
a lot of controversy about eating fish from those saying it is only whale
meat and sharks that are very dangerous, so eat all the sword and tuna
you want to those arguing to a limit of eating those and similar fish to once
a week. I don't think the effects of excessive mercury on the long term is
as well researched as say the effects of smoking on the lungs, and we have
a lot to learn.

Doctor DeLeo, I would love to get the references that you base your claim
on. What authors, journal and volume number?? Any good summaries
of current research would also be much appreciated. THANKS, arthur

Some key points:

Heavy consumers of fish, in particular those who eat mercury-containing species, may have blood mercury levels in excess of 20 µg/L (normal value less than 5 µg/L).

Gastrointestinal absorption of Hg+1 or Hg+2 is on the order of 15 percent.

A severe and sometimes fatal interstitial pneumonitis may result when mercury vapor is inhaled at concentrations in excess of 1000 µg/m3.

Additional symptoms and signs of severe poisoning may include:
- Intention tremor
- Inflammation of the gums with excessive salivation
- Psychiatric symptoms, such as excitability, insomnia, irritation and shyness

A variety of signs and symptoms occur after exposure to lower air concentrations of mercury in the range of 100 to 1000 µg/m3. Typically, the mercury poisoned patient has a severe intention tremor of the fingers and hands, making handwriting difficult.

Mouth symptoms include tender and inflamed gums, excessive salivation, and swollen salivary glands. The third hallmark of mercury poisoning is a change in personality and psychiatric symptoms, including anxiety, erethism, irritability, excitability, fearfulness, shyness, memory loss, depression, fatigue, weakness, and drowsiness.

Increased prevalence of neurotic symptoms may occur due to long term exposure to mercury vapors at concentrations exceeding 25 µg/m3.

Mercury miners and chloralkali industrial workers commonly encountered air concentrations of mercury in excess of 100 µg/m3 or even higher. Negative health effects were common at such exposures.

Clinically significant poisoning from mercury is unlikely if blood and urine concentrations are below 100 µg/L.

Treatment with chelators should be considered in patients with acute symptoms arising from the central nervous system due to confirmed mercury poisoning (eg, via measurement of mercury in air, blood, or urine).

The drugs currently available for mercurial poisoning in humans are thiol-based chelating agents, such as British Anti-Lewisite (BAL), penicillamine [11], and newer drugs, such as 2,3 dimercaptopropane-1-sulphonate (DMPS) and dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA)


THE BIG PICTURE: YOU WILL GET SICK OF EATING FISH LONG BEFORE YOU WILL GET MERCURY POISONING! Note that the concentrations of mercury in the blood of HEAVY consumers of fish are much lower than those at which clinically significant poisoning usually occurrs. Unless you eat bass or carp from the C14 canal three times a day, it is VERY UNLIKELY that you will show any signs of acute mercury poisoning. And even if you do, the effects of the mercury can be treated with chealators and DMSA, among others. People who need to worry are those who are exposed at their jobs, inhaling mercury vapors at high concentrations, for example; also people who eat A LOT of fish from polluted sources (i.e. Minamata, Japan).



REFERENCES:
1. WHO. Inorganic mercury. Environmental Health Criteria 118. World Health Organization, Geneva, 1991.

2. Clarkson, TW, Magos, L, Myers, GJ. The toxicology of mercury--current exposures and clinical manifestations. N Engl J Med 2003; 349:1731.

3. Schutte, NP, Knight, AL, Jahn, O. Mercury and its compounds. In: Occupational Medicine, 3d ed, Zenz, C, Dickerson, OB, Horovath, EP (Eds), Mosby-Year Book Inc, St. Louis, 1994, p. 549.

4. WHO. Methylmercury. Environmental Health Criteria 101. World Health Organization, Geneva 1990.

5. Ronchetti, R, Zuurbier, M, Jesenak, M, et al. Children's health and mercury exposure. Acta Paediatr Suppl 2006; 95:36.

6. Sällsten, G, Barregård, L, Järvholm, B. Mercury in the Swedishchloralkali industry — an evaluation of the exposure and preventive measures over 40 years. Ann Occup Hyg 1990; 34:205.

7. Frumkin, H, Letz, R, Williams, PL, et al. Health effects of long-term mercury exposure among chloralkali plant workers. Am J Ind Med 2001; 39:1.

8. Sandborgh-Englund, G, Nygren, AT, Ekstrand, J, et al. No evidence of renal toxicity from amalgam fillings. Am J Physiol 1996; 271:R941.

9. Sallsten, G, Barregard, L, Schutz, A. Clearance half life of mercury in urine after the cessation of long term occupational exposure: influence of a chelating agent (DMPS) on excretion of mercury in urine. Occup Environ Med 1994; 51:337.

10. Bluhm, RE, Bobbitt, RG, Welch, LW, et al. Elemental mercury vapour toxicity, treatment, and prognosis after acute, intensive exposure in chloralkali plant workers. Part I: History, neuropsychological findings and chelator effects. Hum Exp Toxicol 1992; 11:201.