Canned tuna is traditionally considered one of the healthier pantry staples. Although canned tuna is a processed food it doesn’t carry the same health risks as other processed meats that contain nitrates and it’s generally a good source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Sure it can be bland at times but there are plenty of ways to improve canned tuna with a little kitchen ingenuity and it’s one of the most affordable proteins around. There is one controversy surrounding canned tuna however—and canned fish in general—and that’s mercury.
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Can tuna cause mercury poisoning?
Mercury is a heavy metal that is toxic to humans affecting vision speech hearing and motor skills. It originates in the Earth’s crust and through a combination of geological activity and human pollution some of it has entered waterways where it is taken up by plankton. Fish eat the plankton and take up mercury into their own bodies which are then eaten by larger fish that take up the mercury into their bodies. This continues up the food chain with mercury concentrations increasing as you move up the chain. This is why tuna is such a concern when it comes to mercury poisoning: as large predatory fish they are high up on the food chain and contain higher levels of mercury than most other commonly eaten fish species such as salmon or sardines. For this reason canned tuna should be eaten in moderation but it can still play a valuable role in your diet.
Eating canned tuna a few times a week is fine and for many it is the most affordable way to get the nutritional benefits of seafood such as Omega-3 fatty acids. However according to Medical News Today canned tuna is also the largest contributor of mercury to many people's diets and is not suitable for everyday consumption.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults eat at least two 4-ounce servings of fish per week which is the equivalent of two cans of tuna (tuna comes in short cans that are typically 5 ounces each but about an ounce of that weight is water). This is also about the maximum amount of canned tuna you can safely eat as the FDA recommends sticking to two to three servings per week.
