Is Salmon High In Mercury?

Salmon is one of the most common ray-finned fish found on the coasts of North Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. Interestingly, they are intensively farmed worldwide because of its delectable taste and nutritional content. However, salmon can be a great source of mercury, which can intoxicate anyone’s health that might result in serious health problems.

Is salmon high in mercury? Yes, salmon is known for being exposed to mercury. It’s best to avoid eating salmon highly due to water pollution of the environment they live in and the fast accumulation of mercury ingestion.

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In this article, you will learn why you have to avoid high-risked salmon with mercury contents and the dangers of mercury in the body. This article would not fully discourage everyone from eating salmon, but it will help you understand where the fish is coming from.Let’s get into it.

Why Avoid Mercury-Risked Salmons?

Salmons are delicious meals, yet these can be dangerous due to potential mercury food poisoning. Here are some reasons why this has to be avoided:

Water Pollution Problem

Sadly, the world people are living in is filled with pollution from mines and factories. Note that there’s a big difference between elevated mercury levels and mercury poisoning, and this will depend on where the fish is coming from.

The countries with the most polluted waters belong to Indonesia, Kenya, and Myanmar, Nepal, and Chile.

Accumulation Of Mercury Ingestion

In a recent study, scientists found that 27% of the fish population contained beyond the allowable mercury content in their bodies. When their environment is unhealthy and polluted, the fish has no control but to ingest mercury continuously.

Mercury can’t also easily excreted, so they get accumulated in their bodies over time.

The Dangers Of Mercury

For the record, mercury has its benefits too, but everything excess is also bad for your health because it might lead to poisoning.

Neurological Effects

The most targeted part of mercury in the human body is the brain, which affects the body’s total function. Some symptoms appear to be hearing and speech difficulties, muscle weakness, blurry vision, and walking difficulties.

For children and infants, their early childhood development, such as motor skills and speech development, will be highly affected.

Digestive Problems

Not only mercury can attack the brain, but it will leave permanent kidney damage. People should avoid eating too many fishes because of methylmercury, commonly known as organic mercury.

For instance, if a person is pregnant, it’s suggested that she eat 6 ounces of salmon or tuna per week because it only contains minimum mercury content, thus reducing mercury exposure and risk.

Conclusion

Everyone is still allowed to eat salmon. However, you have to monitor your salmon intake just to be safe from mercury content. If you have doubts about it, you can go to the doctor to assist you with chelation therapy.

The purpose of chelation therapy is to eliminate the metals from your body.