Thread: Canned Tuna Warning

Its all hype. And chunk light tastes like cat food!

Good thing that bodybuilders know this for a while. Some time ago everybody were going crazy on the tuna. Then mercury showed up and then we switched to the chicken crazy.

Originally posted by PreMier
Its all hype.

Originally posted by PreMier
Its all hype. And chunk light tastes like cat food!

I'm willing to bet cat food tastes better.

Originally posted by PreMier
Its all hype.

Can you be more specific and provide some links and data for us?

No I cant. But you go ahead and be scared, while I eat my tuna, like I have been for years.

the documentary didnt really say anything about men eating albacore, but mostly on pregnant women because of birth defects resulting from a High Mercury intake.

Ok, I have been doing a little research... And KiD is right. Most of the articles I am reading are mentioning small children, pregnant women, and women who plan to become pregnant.

New Government Fish Tests
Raise Mercury Concerns

New Food and Drug Administration (FDA) data show mercury contamination of fish is more serious than federal scientists previously assumed. Tests on mercury in fish found that four species — canned albacore tuna, grouper, sea bass and bluefish — have higher average mercury levels than historic data used by the FDA in developing its mercury health advisory, according to an analysis by the Environmental Working Group. EWG obtained the data through the Freedom of Information Act.

The EWG review shows that mercury levels in popular canned albacore tuna are of particular concern, challenging FDA's stance that fetuses face no risk if their mothers consume it. Canned albacore, known as white tuna, had mercury levels twice as high as past FDA estimates for canned tuna, and three times the levels in light tuna (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. New data show more mercury contamination in Canned Albacore Tuna


Source: Environmental Working Group analysis of Food and Drug Administration testing data.

These findings confirm the results of recent independent tests of canned albacore tuna showing that a small but significant percentage (2 to 5 percent) of albacore tuna tested exceeds the FDA action level for mercury of 1 part per million. Previous FDA studies have found albacore tuna with mercury levels over 1 part per million. Fish with mercury levels above 1 part per million have traditionally been included on the FDA "do not eat" list for pregnant women. In the data release by FDA to EWG, maximum mercury levels in canned albacore tuna were just shy of the 1 part per million limit.

Mercury is toxic to the developing brain and nervous system. Elevated exposures during fetal development can have long lasting adverse effects on intelligence, speech, and motor development. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 8 percent of U.S. women of childbearing age have levels of mercury in their blood that present developmental risks for their babies. EWG has advocated that the FDA give strong, clear advice to pregnant women on fish consumption, and that the federal government cut mercury pollution from coal-burning power plants and other sources to eventually make tuna "baby safe."

Other fish were even more contaminated, but like canned albacore, they were not added to the FDA's new proposed list of fish that pregnant women should avoid. Grouper, in particular, had extremely high levels of mercury. Two out of 20 samples of grouper (10 percent) exceeded the FDA action level for mercury of 1 part per million. Average grouper levels were 30 percent higher than previous FDA data indicated.

Figure 2. Mercury levels higher in some important fish


Source: Environmental Working Group analysis of Food and Drug Administration testing data.

News of these high mercury levels in popular fish species comes in the midst of two important government public health developments. Just a week ago, the Bush Administration proposed a major rollback of the mercury pollution reduction goals adopted by the Clinton EPA, which will result in much higher levels of mercury pollution over a more prolonged period, increasing the risk of fish contamination. This week, the FDA's independent Food Advisory Committee will review an agency draft warning telling consumers how to protect themselves from mercury in seafood. The proposed warning does not encourage pregnant women to limit or avoid consumption of canned albacore.

The new fish test data were generated by FDA as part of a revision of the agency's mercury in seafood advisory - revisions that were requested by the Food Advisory Committee in the summer of 2002, following EWG reports that the agency had downplayed the risk of mercury in canned tuna. The Committee's request for revisions to FDA's advice reflects increasing concern among scientists about high levels of mercury in the blood of American women, and their conclusion that the FDA's current advice does not provide adequate protection to the American public from the health hazards of mercury.

FDA's current mercury advisory recommends that pregnant women and women of childbearing age not eat any swordfish, shark, king mackerel, or tilefish. The proposed revisions to the advisory do not add any fish to the "do not eat" list, but in developing its proposed revisions, FDA did test tilefish for mercury, a species added to the advisory in 2001.

In spite of its status as one of just four fish that FDA recommends women of childbearing age completely avoid, tilefish was not the most contaminated fish in this latest round of mercury testing.

FDA's new test results show that five fish--canned albacore tuna, grouper, sea trout, orange roughy and bluefish--have higher levels of mercury than tilefish (see Figure 3). Yet in spite of the elevated levels of mercury in canned albacore tuna and these other fish, the FDA's new health advisory provides no advice to women that they limit consumption of these heavily contaminated fish.

Figure 3. New FDA data show that five fish, including Canned Albacore Tuna, have higher levels of mercury than tilefish, a fish on the FDA "do not eat" list for pregnant women


Source: Environmental Working Group. Compiled from FDA 2003 mercury testing data.

In July 2002, the Food Advisory Committee asked the FDA to significantly increase testing of fish so that the agency could more confidently advise women of childbearing age on the fish they should avoid, the fish they should eat in moderation, and the fish they should eat freely.

The FDA devoted most of its resources to testing canned tuna, the one species for which the agency already had data sufficient to support warning pregnant women to significantly reduce consumption.

For nine of the top ten most commonly eaten seafood products, the FDA conducted no new tests for mercury at all. As a result, the agency has as many samples of canned tuna as it does for all other seafood in the top ten combined. The FDA reports mercury test results for just 6 clams and 8 samples of tilapia, the 8th and 9th most popular types of seafood in the US.

http://www.mercurypolicy.org/ Look at the Left hand side under

"Important Report! Hot Topic!"

Again... All I see is this concerning pregnant women, small children, and women who plan on becoming pregnant in the near future. Where is the info, that it will harm a healthy adut male?

Guys, this is VERY old news. Like, well over a year old. Do a search on IM here and we've had alot of articles on it.

It's just as harmful to a male adult as it is to anyone else. A fetus and a really young child maybe at more risk because their immune systems aren't as rugged. Mercury will hurt anyone period. I eat six cans a day. I haven't noticed anything, but maybe I'll die tomorrow who knows.

I guess I'm going to change my screen name from I'm trying to I'm dying cause I eat at times 6 cans a day.

My mercury must be through the ROOF then. I'm on probably a good 3 year straight 1-can-a-day tuna streak, and it aint breaking any time soon........

You know people watch gas prices and things and get pissed off when they go up and happy when they go down, but I am that way with tuna. When there is a sale and prices are down I am loading up. I will go to all of the grocers in town to see who has the best tuna prices. Is that crazy or what! And I hate canned tuna! But hey for 65 grams of protien in 2 cans, you can't beat that.

I've always been a CHUNK LIGHT eater...

MEOW!!!!

Reg brown tuna is N A S T Y! IMO Once you go to white albacore, you cant go back....

wel obviuslee tha tona havant infekted mee yit.

Does tuna in oil make anybody else gag?

I opened one of those today and I could tell it was in oil as I drained it and I just dumped it.. Cant eat that shit

Originally posted by Jill
Reg brown tuna is N A S T Y! IMO Once you go to white albacore, you cant go back....

i agree, but dah brown tuna is all us po' folk can afford.

So when i eat albacore its like i'm fine dining

I can't afford Albacore, so being poor really does have it's good points!!

Because of mercury factors I refuse to use tuna or fish in my diet.


MERCURY

Mercury is a toxic metal with significant effects on the thyroid. There is ample evidence that mercury leaches from dental amalgam fillings and contributes to thyroid disease and anemia.

While large doses of mercury can induce hyperthyroidism, smaller amounts can induce hypothyroidism by interfering with both the production of thyroxin (T4) and the conversion of T4 to T3.

Mercury disturbs the metabolism of copper and zinc which are two minerals critical to thyroid function. Gray hair can be an indication of mercury accumulation, more so in females than males.

Mercury causes disruptions to the immune system functioning and promotes the production of IgG and IgE autoantibodies which also are involved in autoimmune thyroid disease.

Different forms of mercury, organic or inorganic, have different effects on the thyroid. Milk and quite likely estrogen cause an increase in the absorption of mercury.

Mercury has a very long half-life in the body with a duration of perhaps many years and has been found in cancerous tissues.

Selenium is the key mineral which protects the body from mercury toxicity. One study showed that cilantro (Chinese parsley) helps remove mercury from the body and protects the body from pre-cancerous lesions.

As the following article indicates mercury gets into our bodies in a variety of ways including vaccinations. Perhaps the negative effects we see from vaccines are at least partially the result of toxic metals. The association of autism with vaccinations may be related to mercury toxicity. Thimerosal is the mercury-containing preservative that was used in contact lens solutions. Hopefully there are no more of these solutions on the market but if you use contact lens solutions, check the label.

As the following article indicates mercury gets into our bodies in a variety of ways including vaccinations. Perhaps the negative effects we see from vaccines are at least partially the result of toxic metals. The association of autism with vaccinations may be related to mercury toxicity. Thimerosal is the mercury-containing preservative that was used in contact lens solutions. Hopefully there are no more of these solutions on the market but if you use contact lens solutions, check the label.

Just had to comment on the vaccine info.l Unfortunately, the scare of autism and its association between MMR (containing thiomersol) vaccines was based on one single study involving 12 children. Subsequent studies all show no association. Some studies where whole countries or states increased their MMR vaccines showed a decrease or no increase in autism. A study by Gillberg and Heijbel (1998) examined the prevalence of autism in children born in Sweden from 1975-1984. There was no difference in the prevalence of autism among children born before the introduction of the MMR vaccine in Sweden and those born after the vaccine was introduced. Still, they now have thiomersol free vaccines (except flu vaccines) and the rate of autism has not diminished.

Pediatric Bulletin
MMR and Autism: Suspect or Superstition?


from Infections in Medicine ®
Benjamin Estrada, MD



Concerns about a possible relationship between autism and measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine administration were triggered in 1998 by a report that suggested a possible association between the two (Wakefield AJ et al. Lancet. 1998;28:637-641). This report was based on a case series of 12 children who presented with developmental regression associated with diarrhea, abdominal pain, and ileal-lymphoid nodular hyperplasia. These events were temporally related to administration of the MMR vaccine, and it was hypothesized that this product could trigger an intestinal inflammatory response that could be associated with developmental regression in previously normal children. This hypothesis has not been proved, and a causal association between the administration of this vaccine and the development of autism has not been found in recent studies.
Taylor and collaborators in the United Kingdom reported one of the first epidemiologic studies on this subject in 1999. These investigators included children born since 1979. Although there was an increase in the number of cases of autism, the authors did not find any difference in age at diagnosis between the vaccinated and unvaccinated subjects. From the data collected in this study, there was no evidence to support a significant temporal association between the administration of MMR vaccine and the development of this disorder. In addition, no evidence of a change in the trend of cases of autism was found after the introduction of MMR into the United Kingdom immunization program in 1988. The lack of association between autism and MMR vaccine administration has also been demonstrated in other studies performed in Finland and Sweden (Taylor B et al. Lancet. 1999;353:2026-2029).

.......

In another study, Kaye and collaborators performed a data analysis from the United Kingdom general practice research database to evaluate the relationship between autism and MMR vaccine administration (Kaye JA et al. BMJ. 2001;322:460-463). Although they also found an increase in the incidence of autism between 1988 and 1999, no evidence to support a correlation between the prevalence of MMR immunization and the increase in the number of cases of autism was found.

It is very difficult to diagnose autism in the first year of life. Since MMR is usually administered to children after their first birthday, the diagnosis of this condition may occur temporally close to the vaccine administration, but there is no evidence to support a causal association between them. In addition, current data suggest a lack of correlation between the rates of MMR vaccine administration and the increase in the number of cases of autism observed during the last 20 years. Although the cause for the increase in the incidence of this disorder is not known (the apparent increase might simply be the result of increased awareness), mounting evidence suggests that immunization with MMR vaccine should eventually be excluded from the list of "usual suspects."




Dr Estrada is Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, University of South Alabama, Mobile.

Here are some more studies http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/469129

Here is an even better link by the CDC (center for disease control) summarizing all the studies. http://www.cdc.gov/nip/vacsafe/conce...tism-mmr.htm#2

Where I used to live, where MMR was not prevalent, measles induced blindness and encephalopathy and mental retardation was rampant. Mumps induced infertility in men and lets not forget rubella induced fetal TORCH syndrome, a big cause of mental retardation and birth defects in pregnant women of their fetuses

By the way, I avoided all fish while pregnant. Canned chicken is good!

Mercury keeps me regular.

Mercury makes my shit stink, or may that's the tuna. Either way, my wife and kids won't let me eat it anymore. I've turned to salmon instead.

I love tuna, the Chicken of the Sea kind tastes the best though- IMO.

My motto is: "If it smells like fish, Eat It!"