tuna | Health Topics | NutritionFacts.org

Topic summary contributed by volunteer(s): Linda

While tuna may be a source of heart-healthy omega-3, mercury contamination is a major concern. The mercury in tuna (especially certain brands) may damage the brains of infants, children, and adults more than the mercury in vaccinations, amalgam teeth fillings, high-fructose corn syrup and Ayervedic supplements. Algae-based sources of omega-3 do not bring the danger of mercury contamination.

Tuna may also contain DDT (a banned pesticide still present in our food chain), PCB pollutants, and the carcinogens benzene and putrescine. Tuna sushi may contain fecal contamination in amounts exceeding National Food Standards guidelines. A toxin in tuna has even been found to cause a form of amnesia.

Protein from tuna and other animal sources may negatively affect kidney function. Tuna ranks among the most acid-producing foods, which can be associated with the formation of kidney stones.

For substantiation of any statements of fact from the peer-reviewed medical literature, please see the associated videos below.

Image Credit: Mogens Petersen / Pixabay. This image has been modified.

39 videos

All Videos for Tuna

Dr. Greger and the presentation title on a blue background

How Not To Age – Live Presentation

In this live lecture, Dr. Greger offers a sneak peek into his latest book, How Not to Age, a New York Times Best Seller.

woman looking at her hairbrush with hair

Supplements for Hair Growth

Might biotin or zinc supplements prevent hair loss in men and women?

Bottles with different kinds of vinegar

How to Reduce the Glycemic Impact of Potatoes

Broccoli, vinegar, and lemon juice are put to the test to blunt the glycemic index of white potatoes.

Avoiding Fish for 5 Years Before Pregnancy

Avoiding Fish for 5 Years Before Pregnancy

The problem with fish advisories that tell pregnant women to cut down on fish is that it may be too late for certain persistent pollutants.

Oxalates in Spinach and Kidney Stones Should We Be Concerned?

Oxalates in Spinach and Kidney Stones: Should We Be Concerned?

Even though dietary oxalates may have a limited effect on kidney stone risk in most people, there are some predisposing factors that can put anyone at risk.

Are Microplastics in Seafood a Cancer Risk?

Are Microplastics in Seafood a Cancer Risk?

Plastic particles may exacerbate the pollutant contamination of fish.

Microplastic Contamination and Seafood Safety

Microplastic Contamination and Seafood Safety

Can ingested plastic particles from fish get into our bloodstream?

Oxidized Cholesterol as a Cause of Alzheimer’s Disease

Oxidized Cholesterol as a Cause of Alzheimer’s Disease

Oxidized cholesterol can be a hundred times more toxic than regular cholesterol, raising additional concerns about foods such as ghee, canned tuna, processed meat, and parmesan cheese.

Lead Contamination in Fish and Game

Lead Contamination in Fish and Game

Most hunters may not be aware about the health risks related to consuming meat from animals shot with lead ammunition.

Where Does the Arsenic in Chicken Come From?

Where Does the Arsenic in Chicken Come From?

What was the National Chicken Council’s response to public health authorities calling for the industry to stop feeding arsenic-based drugs to poultry?

The Effects of Avocados and Red Wine on Meal-Induced Inflammation

The Effects of Avocados and Red Wine on Meal-Induced Inflammation

Whole plant sources of sugar and fat can ameliorate some of the postprandial (after-meal) inflammation caused by the consumption of refined carbohydrates and meat.

How to Avoid the Obesity-Related Plastic Chemical BPA

How to Avoid the Obesity-Related Plastic Chemical BPA

Ninety percent of our exposure to the hormone-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) comes from certain components of our diet.

Is Fish “Brain Food” for Older Adults?

Is Fish “Brain Food” for Older Adults?

Why has fish consumption been associated with cognitive impairment and loss of executive function?

pot of bone broth

Lead Contamination in Bone Broth

Organic chicken broth is popular with paleo diet advocates, but do tests indicate the presence of the toxic heavy metal lead?

Should Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women Take DHA?

Should Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women Take DHA?

Does maternal supplementation with the long-chain omega-3 fatty acid DHA improve psychomotor, mental, visual, or physical development of infants?

Which Type of Protein is Better for Our Kidneys?

Which Type of Protein Is Better for Our Kidneys?

Anti-inflammatory drugs abolish the hyperfiltration and protein leakage response to meat ingestion, suggesting that animal protein causes kidney stress through an inflammatory mechanism.

How to Treat Kidney Stones with Diet

How to Treat Kidney Stones with Diet

Decreasing animal protein and sodium intake appears more effective in treating calcium oxalate and uric acid kidney stones (nephrolithiasis) than restricting calcium or oxalates.

How to Prevent Kidney Stones with Diet

Interventional studies support the population data that animal protein consumption appears to markedly increase the risk of kidney stones.

If White Rice is Linked to Diabetes, What About China?

If White Rice Is Linked to Diabetes, What About China?

Protein consumption can exacerbate the insulin spike from high glycemic foods.

PCBs in Children’s Fish Oil Supplements

PCBs in Children’s Fish Oil Supplements

A study of 13 over-the-counter children’s fish oil supplements found that all were contaminated with PCB pollutants.

California Children Are Contaminated

California Children Are Contaminated

The levels of arsenic, banned pesticides, and dioxins exceeded cancer benchmarks in each of the 364 children tested. Which foods were the primary sources of toxic pollutants for preschoolers and their parents?

How Long to Detox from Fish Before Pregnancy?

How many months does it take to clear 99% of the mercury and other industrial toxins from one’s body, and what role might our fat stores play in holding on to fat-soluble pollutants?

fish jumping out of water

Mercury vs. Omega-3s for Brain Development

Risk/benefit analysis of 33 fish species contrasts the brain-boosting effects of DHA with the brain-damaging effects of mercury, to determine the net effect on intelligence (IQ).

Fish Consumption Associated With Brain Shrinkage

Fish Intake Associated with Brain Shrinkage

Exposure to mercury during pregnancy appears to influence fetal brain development, as detected by decreased size of a newborn’s brain.

Testing Your Diet with Pee & Purple Cabbage

Testing Your Diet with Pee and Purple Cabbage

Plant-based diets tend to be alkaline-forming. This may help protect muscle mass, and reduce the risk of gout and kidney stones. The pH of one’s urine can be estimated with natural pigments, using kitchen chemistry.

Male Fertility & Diet

Dioxins, endocrine disrupting pollutants, heavy metals, saturated fat, and steroids in the meat supply may be affecting sperm counts, semen quality, and the ability of men to conceive.

Fukushima & Radioactivity in Seafood

The majority of radioactive fallout from the Fukushima nuclear power plant tragedy was absorbed by the Pacific Ocean. What does that mean for seafood safety?

Salmonella in Chicken & Turkey: Deadly but Not Illegal

Hundreds of thousands of Americans are Salmonella-poisoned by poultry every year—yet it remains legal to sell meat proven to be contaminated.

BPA Plastic and Male Sexual Dysfunction

BPA Plastic and Male Sexual Dysfunction

Canned foods and sliced turkey were found to be contaminated with the plastics chemical BPA, which has been linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and erectile dysfunction.

Which Brand of Tuna Has the Most Mercury?

In a survey of three national brands of tuna in the United States, most cans exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s safety level for human consumption.

Amnesic Seafood Poisoning

Amnesic Seafood Poisoning

There’s a rare toxin, called domoic acid, that can turn up in tuna and other seafood and cause anterograde amnesia, the loss of short-term memory popularized in the movie Memento.

Amla and triphala tested for metals

Amla & Triphala Tested for Metals

Both U.S.-made and imported Ayurvedic dietary supplements have high contamination rates of toxic metals such as mercury—though only a small fraction of the levels found in canned tuna.

Carcinogenic putrescine

Carcinogenic Putrescine

Biogenic amines such as spermine, cadaverine, and putrescine are chemical compounds of decay that may have adverse health effects. Which foods are most contaminated: beer, blue cheese, feta cheese, kimchi, miso, sardines, sauerkraut, sausage, soy sauce, tempeh, tuna, or wine?

tuna and cans of tuna

The Effect of Canned Tuna on Future Wages

The mercury contamination in tuna and other fish may adversely impact future earnings by impairing brain function, and leading to a loss of intelligence (IQ).

Amalgam Fillings vs. Canned Tuna

Eating a can of tuna once a week is equivalent to living with how many mercury-containing amalgam tooth fillings?

Mercury in Corn Syrup?

Mercury in Corn Syrup?

Fifty different brands of high-fructose corn syrup-containing foods were tested for mercury.

Is Sodium Benzoate Harmful?

Is Sodium Benzoate Harmful?

When combined with ascorbic acid in soda, sodium benzoate can form the potent carcinogen benzene.

Mercury in Vaccinations vs. Tuna

Mercury in Vaccinations vs. Tuna

Balancing the risks and benefits of fish consumption.

Fecal Contamination of Sushi

Fecal Contamination of Sushi

The proportion of sushi that exceeds the national food standards guidelines for fecal bacteria levels.

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