Selenium in tuna protects against mercury - LahainaNews.com | News, Information, Lahaina and Western Maui, Hawaii — Lahaina News What do you all think of this? Can I now consume a shit load of tuna?
My gut tells me that the mercury in tuna isn't a problem. I've never even heard of a case of mercury poisoning due to excessive tuna intake. And I'm sure there's people out there eating fish every single day. Sounds like a contrived scare-story epidemic to me.
One thing with tuna and mercury is that it greatly depends on the species and age (hence size) of the fish in gauging mercury levels. Major commercial species include: albacore, blue fin, yellow fin and yellow tail. Your typical white-meat albacore tuna that's used for sandwiches are typically caught at a much younger age (less than 30lbs) troll or poll style, and generally have mercury counts way within safe levels. Your big expensive sushi market bluefin, however, will often be the opposite. Speaking of 'tuna' in general terms doesn't tell the whole story. Tuna is a category like lettuce, there are many sub-species within.
