Should You Eat Mercury Contaminated Fish To Get More Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids?
The health benefits of Omega3 essential fatty acids are becoming more and more mainstream, and gradually the population is becoming aware that most of us are deficient in their Omega3 intake and that increasing our intake of essential fatty acids may help improve a number of health outcomes for all of us. Omega3 fatty acids are found in fish oil and this obviously comes from fish, however fish is generally contaminated with Mercury. So what do you do increase your intake of healthy fats if the source, namely fish, is contaminated with Mercury?
A recent study published this year has examined the levels of Mercury contamination in fish and in the north Pacific Ocean. According to the results of the study the levels of Mercury in the North Pacific has increased 30 percent from 1996 to 2006.
And as well as this it also found that around 40 percent of Mercury found population of US can be traced back and tuna that they have eaten which has been caught in the North Pacific.
This is a serious concern. You do not want to be eating Mercury. It is an environmental toxin and has serious implications for the health of adults, and in particular for the developing fetus and infants. It’s a neurotoxin.
The major causes of Mercury contamination in the Pacific were found to be atmospheric Mercury production as well as Mercury leakage from parts of Asia. The Mercury is in the form of methylmercury, and this works it’s way from the bottom of the food chain to the major fish at the top of the food chain such as tuna and shark, both of which feature largely in our intake of fish.
So there is a dilemma here for anyone wishing to increase their intake of Omega3 fats from eating more fish. If you eat more fish you get more Omega3 oils in your diet however you also increase your level of Mercury consumption.
Not only that but fish is a declining resource and is also getting more and more expensive with time. Is there a better way to increase your intake of omega3 fatty acids other than by eating fish? Yes.
Much more cost-effective than eating fish and also safer is to increase your Omega3 intake levels by daily supplementation with omega3 supplements. These are much more cost-effective than buying fish and the very best fish oil supplements are free of Mercury contamination and are safe to be taken daily. As a result of these fats the sales of fish oil supplements are increasing faster than any other nutritional supplement in history.
However if you like eating fish, you recognize the expense involved from eating fish and that you may be increasing your Mercury levels then eating fish is a good way to increase your intake of Omega3 fats. But if you don’t like fish, if you don’t want to undertake the extra expense of buying fish and you prefer not to take more Mercury in your diet then there is a much more cost effective and safer alternative, namely fish oil supplements.
However it’s also very important to note that the different brands of Omega3 capsules available have widely differing levels of the essential omega3 fats and for this reason it’s difficult to compare those available to find out the most effective and those which offer the best value.
To find a comparison of the different fish oil capsules available visit my website.
