Floundering over fish

There is a dark side to this 'health' food

Chicago Tribune, Bob Condor
Published January 5, 2003

While many health organizations recommend that Americans eat more fish in their diets, others are warning that the mercury content in certain fish, especially tuna, could compromise health. The Food and Drug Administration, the National Academy of Sciences and the Environmental Protection Agency have all issued warnings about limiting fish meals in "sensitive" groups. Most vulnerable are pregnant and nursing mothers and young children, but one recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicated that higher-than-normal mercury levels could be linked to increased risk of heart attacks in the general population.

Yet other new research published in the last few weeks has positively associated fish consumption with decreased incidence of stroke and asthma. Plus, one study also published in the New England Journal of Medicine refutes the heart-disease link to mercury.

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