![]() Health adviceįish is an excellent source of protein, is low in saturated fat and high in unsaturated fat and omega 3 oils, and is also a rich source of iodine so everyone, including pregnant women, should regularly include fish in their diet. Marine fish that may contain high levels of mercury include shark (flake), ray, broadbill, swordfish, marlin, gemfish, orange roughy (sea perch) and catfish.įreshwater fish in Queensland that may contain higher levels of mercury include Australian bass, Murray cod, eel and golden perch. ![]() Mercury can accumulate in fish through the food chain from bottom sediments, so large predatory fish (those that eat other fish) and long-lived fish tend to have higher concentrations of mercury. The levels of mercury in most fish are very low, but some species of fish contain higher levels of mercury due to their feeding habits or surrounding environment. People take in small amounts of mercury in their diet from eating fish. Some fresh water bodies naturally contain higher levels of mercury, which is mainly in the bottom sediments rather than the water. The mercury may naturally come from rocks and soil or from man-made sources. Where is mercury found?įish and other seafood may become contaminated with mercury in their environment. Stay clear of big, predatory, long-living fish like swordfish, shark, or albacore tuna it’s better to choose fish like cod, light tuna, salmon, or pollock.This page provides advice on eating freshwater and marine fish that may be contaminated with mercury. Fish contains nutrients that are very healthy for the developing brain, but some fish can contain unhealthy amounts of mercury. Not only can they increase the risk of cavities and obesity, but many commercial juices also contain heavy metals. Old pipes can contain lead, which can leach into drinking water. When cooking rice, it’s best to cook it in extra water and drain that water off, and to use white basmati and sushi rice, which have less arsenic. As mentioned above, it’s best to limit rice and rice products (check labels - rice is in a lot of foods marketed for babies, like “puffs”). ![]() Give your child a wide variety of different foods (the more natural colors, the better).The American Academy of Pediatrics has suggestions for families to help decrease their children’s exposure to heavy metals in their food and drink: (Storage tip: you can pour a homemade puree into an ice cube tray and freeze it, and then just grab the cubes you need each time.) You can also make your own baby food, using steamed or naturally soft foods and a blender. At that time it’s perfectly fine to give them soft table foods instead of baby foods. Babies don’t need solid foods until 6 months of age. In the meantime, it’s nearly impossible to know which are completely safe and which aren’t. The FDA is working on doing better monitoring and regulation of heavy metals in commercial baby foods. What steps can parents take to be sure baby foods are safe and healthy? Over the past few years we have come to understand the problem of arsenic in rice, and both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the FDA recommend limiting rice intake for babies. Many rice plants naturally contain arsenic, and brown rice has more than white rice. It’s important to note that organic baby foods aren’t necessarily better, in no small part because many of them contain brown rice. Do organic baby foods contain heavy metals? And when you harm the brain as it develops, the damage can be permanent. It’s hard to know exactly what it means about commercial baby foods in general, but it’s a report that we need to take seriously, because all four of these heavy metals can affect the developing brain. Of note, three other companies (Walmart, Sprout, and Campbell’s Soup) were asked to provide the same information about their baby food products, and did not.Īnd that is part of the problem: this is just one report, with limited information. Arsenic, lead, and cadmium were found in baby foods from all of the companies mercury was found in the food from the only company that tested for it (Nurture). The report was based on information from just four companies that make baby food: Nurture, Beech-Nut, Hain, and Gerber. If there is anything you can trust to be safe, it should be baby food, right?Ī report from the US House Committee on Oversight and Reform says that commercial baby foods are tainted with dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury.
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