nutritionists recommend eat three or four servings of fish a week. The reason is that the nutritional properties of this food are essential for our body. Among those benefits, it provides healthy fats such as , which is essential for the brain and retina.
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Fish also helps protect the heart and circulatory system, a source of vitamins A, D, E, B1, B2, B3, B12 and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, sodium, selenium, magnesium and iodine. But that’s not all: it has anti-inflammatory and promotes muscle tone and development.
However, even if initially It is a very beneficial food for the body, there are certain species that can compromise our health. He mercurya highly polluting heavy metal, is responsible.
This element reaches the sea and contaminates (although not always in the same proportion) the fish. Its amount of mercury will depend on the trophic chain, or what is the same, the food chain.
According to the (WHO), the main route of human exposure to mercury is the consumption of contaminated fish and shellfish.
Its intake, even in small quantities, can cause serious health problems and, above all, in certain groups of the population:
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Pregnant.
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infants
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In the early stages of life.
And this is precisely what the (AESAN) has alerted.
Mercury: how does it affect our health?
Frequent intake of certain fish with a high mercury content can cause health problems. Our body eliminates metals very slowly and accumulates in the brain, liver and kidney, which can damage them.
“The main health consequence of methylmercury is the alteration of neurological development. Therefore, exposure to this substance during the fetal stage can later affect the cognitive thinking, memory, attention span, language, motor and spatio-visual skills thin of the child”, explains the WHO.
Mercury exists in various forms.
He methylmercury It is capable of entering the human body through food. However, although pregnant women and children are the most vulnerable to this element, if consumed in large quantities it can cause neurological changes in adults, as can be seen from a study published in .
“For children between the ages of 1 and 9, pregnant women or women who may become pregnant, the benefits of eating fish and seafood should be achieved by increasing the consumption of species low in methylmercury”, indicates the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition.
Fish not recommended for children under 10 years of age
The vulnerable population must avoid the consumption of four species identified with a high mercury content, as stated by AESAN:
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Swordfish.
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Emperor.
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Red tuna.
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Pike.
In the case of the general population, the agency recommends a maximum intake of one serving per week. Children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14 should limit their consumption to about 120 grams per month.
What fish are low in mercury?
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Anchovy.
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Cod.
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baby squid
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Hake.
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whiting.
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Bass.
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Sole.
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Salmon.
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Sardine.
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Anchovy.
The European Food Safety Authority emphasizes that the habitual consumption of fish during pregnancy has important benefits in the neurological development In children. In adults, it is closely related to the lower risk of mortality from , since it protects the heart.