Hold the fish.
One in four adult New Yorkers has elevated levels of mercury in their blood, according to a New York City Department of Health study released yesterday.
Among the subjects who tested high were wealthy New Yorkers who can afford to dine on fish often, and nearly half of the city’s Asian women, who eat so much fish, they have blood mercury levels at or above the state’s “reportable” (or dangerous) level.
Among Asians, two-thirds of foreign-born Chinese women had mercury at or above the reportable level.
“I don’t think about it,” Iroha Sushi restaurant manager Hiro Tani said of the high mercury levels of Asian New Yorkers. “I think we see fish as healthy – we live longer and we don’t get fat. Good for the heart, better than beef.”
People who eat fish three times or less each week have levels below the New York state reportable level. Many who ate fish four times or more exceeded the reportable level, the study shows.
The high mercury levels pose little health risk for most adults, but could affect babies whose mothers had high mercury levels during pregnancy or breastfeeding – which is why pregnant women are told to avoid eating seafood altogether.
While fish is generally viewed as a low-calorie alternative to meat, mercury poisoning can lead to major complications ranging from mood swings and skin rashes to headaches, shaking and vision impairment.
Emily Chang, 29, who lives in Manhattan, eats sushi at least once a week and says she is aware of the mercury issue, so she chooses her fish carefully.
“I’m concerned about it. I don’t eat swordfish, which have high mercury, and I try not to eat farmed salmon, which have a high level. Whitefish is massive – I stay away,” Chang said.
Adriana DaRosa, 25, makes sure to order an assortment of fish when dining out, something the Health Department recommends.
“I don’t only eat tuna,” she said. “The high-mercury fish are maybe three out of the 10 pieces of sushi I’m eating.”
The department has created a mercury-education brochure, “Eat Fish, Choose Wisely,” available through 311.
It advises choosing fish lower in mercury, like clams, oysters and catfish, and to avoid fish high in mercury, like Chilean sea bass, mussels and canned light tuna.
They also advise choosing smaller fish, eating smaller servings and eating a variety of fish.
The study was the first of its kind conducted by a U.S. city.