tuna fish thoughts

Hey guys,

So i have a question about tuna fish.

Do you guys eat it? Is the mercury content dangerous for us?

Thanks for the feedback!

Thanx Girlie...

i havent eaten it in years ... i dont like fish either lol but tuna i could handle .... but i wont be having it ... ill just make chicken salad instead

Go with the lighter tunas not the white tuna it has considerably less mercury. Its usually yellow fin tuna which is a smaller tuna and has less mercury. I eat sardines probably every couple days it has the lowest of any fish.

physedgirl09,

I am not a fish fan, but when I received a diagnosis of Lyme, Bartonella, and Ehrlichia it seemed a good time to clean up my diet. We always eat good, healthful breakfasts and dinners in our house but frequently enjoy fast food for lunch. So I dropped the fast food lunches and replaced them at least 3 times a week with tuna sandwiches.

Bloodwork results following my first appointment with a LLMD showed elevated Mercury. Doc suggested I cut out the tuna. Mercury numbers are back within normal range. Guess I should have stuck with the Big Macs, etc.

As someone else in this thread mentioned, if you are going to eat tuna ... make it light tuna.

I eat lots of fish but I'm not in good health, though that was before the fish. But it's white fish so it's not as bad... generally the rule to avoid mercury though is to eat fish lower on the food chain, ones that don't eat other fish

mareish said...

I am not a fish fan, but when I received a diagnosis of Lyme, Bartonella, and Ehrlichia it seemed a good time to clean up my diet. We always eat good, healthful breakfasts and dinners in our house but frequently enjoy fast food for lunch. So I dropped the fast food lunches and replaced them at least 3 times a week with tuna sandwiches.

Bloodwork results following my first appointment with a LLMD showed elevated Mercury. Doc suggested I cut out the tuna. Mercury numbers are back within normal range. Guess I should have stuck with the Big Macs, etc.

Interesting post, mareish. I'm curious about something.

1. You were eating healthy breakfasts and dinners, but fast food lunches.
2. At some point, you were diagnosed with Lyme, etc.
3. Due to the diagnosis, you switched your fast food lunches for tuna at least 3x week.
4. You had blood test #1 that showed high mercury.
5. Your doctor suggested not eating tuna.
6. You had blood test #2 that showed normal mercury.

Questions:

- Did #2 and #4 happen at the same appointment?
- If not, how long after #2 did #4 happen?
- How much time elapsed, between #3 and #4?
- How much time elapsed, between #5 and #6?
- How elevated was your blood level of mercury? (what was measured? what was the lab range?)

The good part is your body seems able to excrete the mercury.

Has your doctor mentioned any other mercury testing (hair, urine, etc.)?

mareish said...
Dude,

#2 and #4 did not happen at the same time. It was 3ish months between the two.

It was a similar duration between #3 and #4. And it was about the same, 3ish months, between #5 and #6.

My Mercury level was 11ug/L. Reference range is 0 - 10 ug/L. So it was not terribly elevated.

No, doc did not recommend any additional testing for Mercury or other heavy metals as the number dropped within normal range 3 months later.

Thanks for the details, mareish.

I did a test last year that showed elevated mercury levels.

When I was a student I ate a lot of canned tuna.
I even had 1 month that I had to save a lot of money that I ate discounted tuna once a day.

I take Ultra binder, chlorella, Takesumi supreme, GI Detox and do a lot of ir sauna to bring down my levels.

The Dude Abides said...
If you want some tuna, don't flounder, have a little. Holy mackerel, that was a bad pun.

Deejavu said...
Dude, that is so funny! Glad to see you see have a great sense of humor!

Thanks very much, Denise. Occasionally, I like to make bad puns, just for the halibut.

I had no idea that candida would absorb metals. Thanks for that information.

As for testing for metals, my limited understanding is that each type of testing (e.g. blood, hair, urine, stool) has its limitations and controversy. Doctor's Data, Inc. was sued for how they were reporting the results of heavy metal chelation testing. As you probably know, they were using the same lab ranges as people who were tested for heavy metals but NOT receiving a chelating agent. Thus, those undergoing the provocation were almost always going to test "High" for metals.

A few years ago, before getting sick this most recent time, I had been very dismayed with my ability to lose "the last 10 lbs." As I dove into blogs, podcasts, and audiobooks, I eventually came across the idea that people who had been overweight -- perhaps very overweight -- for most of their lives might have remained so, despite eating well and exercising, due to their body fighting the fat loss as a protective mechanism.

As you cited, the fat cells (among other places) might possibly be binding harmful substances. And, as you also noted, that those who force their bodies into a large and/or rapid weight loss might get really sick as a result, due to not being able to clear them. Or, having them redistribute to other parts of the body -- such as bone, brain, etc. This was also a reason some suggested not using cilantro and chlorella as binders, as they are allegedly weak ones. The concern was cilantro or chlorella might bind, say, lead. But, it might lose the metal, and, as previously mentioned, the metal could end up in some place more harmful than fat cells. I've read some bad stories about using DMPS as a chelator, but mostly favorable stories about DMSA or EDTA.

Anyway, with all that stated, I don't plan to binge on tuna. However, I also don't plan to avoid it for the rest of my days. I might have been fine to avoid it, but it seems that, with few exceptions, most foods have some negative reason(s) to avoid them -- even vegetables. Of course, that doesn't mean all the stories are true. Trying to sort out what's true and what's not has been my biggest frustration. Just like I don't believe all the negative news about a given food, I also don't believe all the positive assertions. In my case, worrying about eating "perfect" has likely done more harm that the particular foods I've been eating.

That's also part of the reason I posed some questions about what foods you eat and how you get enough calories. You were a bit vague in your response (which, of course, is fine), so I can only assume you're eating enough vegetables to sustain two African elephants...or, you're eating a fair amount of starches. Otherwise, if your meat intake and fat intake are low, I'm not sure what else you might be eating.

With fears over contaminated water, air, and soil; GMOs; pesticides in conventional and organic crops; food additives; saturated fat; animal protein/IGF-1; heme iron; cholesterol; lectins, phytates, oxalates, and sugar in plant foods; and on and on, what remains to eat? This is why an occasional serving of tuna doesn't concern me. I'm a little older than you, so I know I have fewer days remaining than I have to look forward. That's not to say I'm ready to throw all caution to the wind. I'm just trying to keep things in some sort of perspective.

So, to physedgirl09: Take my previous suggestions with a few grains of pink Himalayan sea salt. Give careful consideration to Georgia Hunter's many wise points.

I'm switching to eating organic cardboard and distilled water. Low-calorie, low-fat, and high-fiber.

Looking back on that last 10 lbs. that was previously bothering me, I now have to laugh. What I wouldn't give for that to be my biggest problem. If I'm ever able to exercise or undertake any level of activity, I think I'll be able to remove the remaining weight. But, after what I've been through over the past five-plus years, that 10 lbs. is hardly a worry. We all know what it's like to have our priorities rearranged for us.

Did I ever show you this?

http://www.drwalsh.com/detox

Once I'm working again, I'm going to purchase this course and give it a try. Generally, I'm skeptical of "detox" programs. Not because I don't believe we're exposed to harmful compounds in the air, food, and water -- I do think that's the case. But, often, the "science" seems to be pretty lacking.

After listening to two interviews with Dr. Walsh (1) (2), though, his program seems to have scientific support. The supplements are minimal, widely available, inexpensive, and do not need to be purchased from Dr. Walsh. Mostly, the program uses food.

jb: Did you ever investigate the parasite angle?

http://www.debugyourhealth.com/parasites-in-humans

Susan mentions her young daughters distended belly. I know you're dealing with other issues that are known, but I couldn't recall if I previously asked about parasites. I saw you got your new probiotic. Good luck!

jb1994 said...
I did treat with Alinia for a month or two, and then did a ten-day course of mimosa pudica and Albenza. I didn't see any critters come out during either treatment course or notice any changes. Lately it's been horrible though. My stomach sticks out 2 inches by the day's end. Fingers crossed

Are these parasites not microscopic? Or should you see them?

I know with Babesia - you don’t “see” anything..