Is Your Child Eating Mercury

Consuming mercury is dangerous one’s health, particularly if you are pregnant or are a child. Mercury contamination is widespread in all kinds of seafood, so it is wise to know your seafood and limit your consumption of it. Just how much mercury is your child eating? That’s a frightening question, isn’t it?

You can go to http://gotmercury.org/index.html for a helpful mercury calculation tool. Type in your child’s weight, type of seafood and amount for an estimate of how much mercury will be in the seafood. You will be surprised at your findings. For instance, canned albacore tuna contains three times more mercury than canned light tuna. Just three ounces of canned albacore can contain a week’s worth of allowed mercury for a healthy ten year old boy.

And remember, the Food and Drug Administration warns that children and women of child bearing age should never eat tilefish, king mackerel, swordfish or shark, as these contain the highest levels of mercury.