Original Post by alicat29:

This week I've had tuna every day.  So many "diets" recommend limiting tuna to 2x per week (for it's sodium content, perhaps, but if you compensate what's the difference?)...is there any reason why I can't eat tuna all week?  I understand it's important to get a variety of nutrients, but is there any other reason to limit your consumption of a particular food?  I ate oatmeal every morning for the entire winter and it didn't seem to have any adverse effects.  I only wonder about tuna because I don't hear anyone saying "don't eat spinach every day" but I've heard not to eat tuna, beef (sat. fat, I guess), bananas, carrots (carbs??), cottage cheese, eggs, etc. more than 2x per week.  Does anyone know what these recommendations are based on and whether it's rational to follow them?

i think the avoiding of the tuna is because of the mercury content which isnt supposed to be good if you eat too much of it. they sell chicken in a can thats sort of tuna-like if you want to switch it up a bit

Pro-Tip: Strain canned tuna under running water. Gets rid of a ton of sodium.

Original Post by alicat29:

I only wonder about tuna because I don't hear anyone saying "don't eat spinach every day" but I've heard not to eat tuna, beef (sat. fat, I guess), bananas, carrots (carbs??), cottage cheese, eggs, etc. more than 2x per week. 

Like a lot of things, some of these will be based on to whom you are talking, which advice you follow/believe, and which data (and age of it) you are looking at.   As said, the tuna/salmon limit recommendations are because of mercury.  The red meat is saturated fat.  Some people believe eating too many bananas isn't healthy because of the fat/sugar content (I'm not one of those people, but I digress . . . ), the eggs because of the cholesterol (which new data suggests that dietary cholesterol consumption isn't as related to blood cholesterol as was once widely believed.  The carrots?  Probably carbs/sugar but, again, hard to go with anyone on that one, unless you're eating 5 pounds a day and nothing else.  Cottage cheese?  No clue.  Unless you're eating a pint a day of the full-fat and, again, depends on your dietary needs/goals and who you are talking to and what their agenda is, in some cases.

I still say all things in moderation.  Of the list, the tuna limits are the ones I'd personally be most concerned with trying to stick to.  The rest, I enjoy, in moderation, without worry.

Thanks guys...I'm just a big fan of tuna!  I guess mercury content is a good reason to limit my consumption of it, though!  Does Salmon or flounder present the same problem?  I do believe in moderation most of the time, but convenience can win out if I'm in a hurry, and I always thought fish was a good way to get the healthy fats (I also eat avocados, raw almonds, raw walnuts, and flaxseed).

you should try and eat more canned salmon, mackerel & sardines and a little less canned tuna for the mercury in it racks up when you eat more than 2 cans or so a week - just watch out - the other canned fish that I just mentions are equally as tasty and almost better for you in terms of obtaining healthy omega 3 fats! :)

Mercury builds up in animals that are higher on the food chain--for example, tilapia, a vegetarian fish that is generally farmed in a sustainable manner has much lower Hg than tuna or salmon, which are both carnivorous fish and are farmed in a manner whereby the Hg from one fish is recycled into the next generation.  This is the same principle by which the Bald Eagle suffered w/the effects of DDT for so long--everything it ate had DDT in it, therefore the chemical accumulated into noxious doses at the higher levels, which prevented its eggshells from hardening, resulting in the death of the embryo.

You might also be interested in reading the Blue Ocean Institute's website:

http://www.blueoceaninstitute.org/

They have a guide to eating ocean-friendly seafood.  I love fish as much as the next coast-living gal, but humans are over fishing the oceans, and canned tuna is negatively affecting the wild populations of tuna and a host of other sea-living creatures.

The tuna recomendation I was thinking is like 8 oz per week. If you want to eat it more often, I'd first do some real research, then eat small portions throughout the week to get your fix.

I thought from the title this was going to be a more interesting thread!

My answer was going to be a hearty "H--- NO!"

But since it's tuna you're asking about...moderation is probably better.

If anyone is curious about eggs, by the way, my doctor says you can have one every day but he recommends no more than that if you're trying to lose weight. I was glad as I eat a boiled egg almost every day - it's a great source of protein and good fat.

Here's a handy calculator to estimate the amount of mercury you are getting from the fish you eat

http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/calculator/start. asp