Questions & Answers from the FDA/EPA Advice about Eating Fish for Those Who Might Become or Are Pregnant or Breastfeeding and Children Ages 1 to 11 Years

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FDA and EPA have issued advice regarding eating pisces. This advice can help those who might become or are fraught or breastfeed arsenic well as parents and caregivers who are feeding children make inform choices when it comes to the types of pisces and mollusk ( jointly referred to as fish ) that are alimentary and safe to eat. This advice supports the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans .
The advice features a chart that makes it easy to choose dozens of healthy and condom options and includes information about the nutritional value of fish. A set of frequently asked questions & answers ( below ) provides more data on how to use the chart and extra tips for eating fish .
I. USING THE CHART

II. suffice
III. CHILDREN
IV. NUTRIENTS IN FISH
V. CONTAMINANTS IN FISH
VI. WHAT ABOUT TUNA ?
VII. FISH CAUGHT BY FAMILY AND FRIENDS
VIII. ADDITIONAL TIPS FOR EATING FISH
IX. REFERENCES

I. USING THE CHART

1. How do I use the chart?
fish put up protein, healthy fatso acids, and many vitamins and minerals—and lower mercury fish are a good choice for everyone. This advice is specifically for those who might become or are pregnant or breastfeed and children, but everyone can follow this advice .
Use the chart to help you choose which fish to eat or feed your child each week. Eating a assortment of fish is better for you and your child than eating the like type of fish every time .
As an adult who is or might become pregnant or is breastfeeding, you should eat 2 to 3 servings a week of pisces in the “ Best Choices ” category, based on a serving size of four ounces, in the context of a sum healthy diet .
You can eat 1 serving a workweek of fish in the “ Good Choices ” class, but no other fish that week .
You should not eat pisces in the “ Choices to Avoid ” category, and parents and caregivers should not feed them to children. however, if you do eat or serve fish in the “ Choices to Avoid ” category, choose fish with lower mercury levels going forward .
2. How did you decide which fish went in each category?
We took a timid and highly protective approach in determining which types of fish belonged in each class. We calculated how many servings the average person who was fraught could eat in a workweek using data on mercury contented of each fish type from FDA ’ s database for commercial fish and other sources. If that fish type could be eaten at least three times a week, then we listed it in the “ Best Choices ” class. If that fish type could be eaten alone once or twice a week, but not three times a week, then we listed it in the “ Good Choices ” category. If a serve of that fish type could not be eaten once a week, then we listed the fish in the “ Choices to Avoid ” class .
For more information, please see our technical foul page .
3. How can some fish types be in more than one category?
There are different types ( or species ) of tuna, such as albacore, bigeye, and yellowfin. Some types of tuna that are bigger or live longer tend to have higher mercury levels, and that is why they are in different categories. indeed, canned luminosity tuna is in the “ Best Choices ” category, albacore ( or white ) tuna and yellowfin tuna are in the “ Good Choices ” class, and bigeye tuna is in the “ Choices to Avoid ” category. In accession, pisces from the same species that are caught in unlike geographic locations can vary in mercury content. For model, tilefish are in two categories because tilefish in the Gulf of Mexico have higher mercury levels than those in the Atlantic Ocean .
4. Why are some fish types not on the chart?
If you are looking for a species of pisces that is not on the chart, such as mussels, that means we did not have enough reliable mercury data to include it. We plan to update the web site if more data become available and as resources permit .
5. How can I find out more details on the mercury levels in fish?
Go to our more detail postpone that shows the average mercury levels in commercial fish .

II. SERVINGS

1. What is a serving?
For adults, a typical serve is 4 ounces of fish, measured before cook. Our advice is to eat 2 to 3 servings of a assortment of cook fish, or about 8 to 12 ounces, in a week. Please see III. CHILDREN below for information particular to children .
2. How can I tell how much 4 ounces is?
Four ounces is about the size and thickness of an pornographic ’ second palm .
Four Oz Adult Serving 3. What happens if I eat less fish than the 2 to 3 servings a week you recommend?
You could miss out on the protein, healthy omega-3 fatty acid and omega-6 fatty acid fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins present in fish that are beneficial to overall health. omega-3 fatty acid and omega-6 fatty acid fatso acids, vitamin D, iron, zinc, tincture of iodine, and choline found in pisces are particularly important for those who are meaning or breastfeed and children. If you do not eat the recommend come one workweek, try to eat the recommend amount from a variety show of pisces in the postdate weeks. however, it is possible to meet your nutrient needs through early foods that are sources of these nutrients. A healthy corrode pattern consists of choices across all food groups ( vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, and protein foods which can include alimentary options other than fish ) .
4. What happens if I eat more than 3 servings of fish in a week?
Try to vary the fish you eat. If you eat more than 3 servings in a workweek, eat fish in the “ Best Choices ” category. If some choices are fish with higher mercury levels, try to eat fish with lower mercury levels in the follow weeks .
5. Should I make any changes to the advice based on my weight?
The advice provided here is intended as a general guidepost. For adults who weigh less than the average used to develop our advice ( 165 pounds ), eating smaller portions or eating merely two servings of pisces a workweek from the “ Best Choices ” category can keep your mercury inhalation within the limits of our advice. For example, you could eat 2.5 ounces three times a week or you could eat 4 ounces two times a week. Please see below for advice for children .
6. How much fish does the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend?
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends at least 8 ounces of fish per week ( based on a 2,000 calorie diet ) and less for children. Those who might become or are pregnant or breastfeeding should eat between 8 and 12 ounces of a diverseness of fish per week, from choices that are lower in mercury .

III. CHILDREN

1. Should children eat fish and if so, how much?
Yes. fish have crucial nutrients that can help your child ’ second growth and growth. We recommend children eat 2 servings of pisces per week from a variety show of “ Best Choices, ” but the part sizes should be smaller than adult portions and right for your child ’ mho long time and body slant. On average, a serving size is about 1 ounce for children ages 1-3 years, 2 ounces for children ages 4-7 years, 3 ounces for children ages 8-10 years, and 4 ounces for children 11 years and older .
For some children, the healthy dietary patterns in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans ( Tables A3-1 and A3-2 ) include more fish than our advice. To consume those higher amounts, children should alone be fed fish from the “ Best Choices ” list that are evening lower in mercury – these fish are anchovies, Atlantic mackerel, wolffish, clams, crab, crayfish, flounder, haddock, mullet, oysters, plaice, pollack, salmon, sardines, scallops, shad, shrimp, lone, squid, tilapia, trout, and whiting .
2. When can I start giving my child fish?
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, you can introduce alimentary foods like pisces to complement human milk or baby convention in your baby ’ s diet once they are about 6 months of historic period. Starting around that time, complemental foods are necessary to ensure adequate nutriment and exposure to flavors, textures, and unlike types of foods. Give your baby age-and developmentally-appropriate foods to help prevent choking ( advice from CDC and USDA ). Signs that your baby is ready for complemental foods include :

  • Being able to control head and neck
  • Sitting up alone or with support
  • Bringing objects to the mouth
  • Trying to grasp small objects, such as toys or food
  • Swallowing food rather than pushing it back out onto the chin.

3. How should I start giving my child fish?
pisces is a common food allergy. Introduce fish and mollusk while watching for signs of an allergy for respective days before feeding your child fish a irregular time. If there is a history of food allergy in the family or your child develops any signs of food allergy, consult with your child ’ second doctor or nanny. There is no testify that delaying introduction of allergenic foods, beyond when early foods are introduced, helps to prevent food allergy .

IV. NUTRIENTS IN FISH

1. What nutrients are in fish and why are they good for you?

Most pisces are an excellent source of protein. Most of the fatness that is deliver in fish is healthy polyunsaturated fatty. The polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acid fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid ( EPA ) and docosahexaenoic acid ( DHA ), and omega-6 fatty acid fatso acids are present in many types of pisces and – along with iron, iodine, and choline – are among the key nutrients needed for the rapid genius development that occurs in early childhood. pisces are crucial sources of selenium, zinc, and other minerals needed by the consistency. pisces are besides natural sources of many B vitamins, like vitamin B12, and oily fish provide vitamins A and D. Iron and zinc besides support children ’ south immune systems, and choline besides supports exploitation of the baby ’ s spinal cord .
2. Why does the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend fish as part of a healthy eating pattern?
potent evidence shows that eating pisces, as separate of a goodly consume traffic pattern, may provide heart health benefits. Moderate scientific evidence shows that eating patterns relatively higher in pisces but besides in early foods, including vegetables, fruits, legumes, solid grains, low- or non-fat dairy, list meats and poultry, nuts, and unsaturated vegetable oils, and lower in loss and process meats, sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, and refined grains, are associated with the promotion of bone health, decreased hazard of becoming fleshy or corpulent, and decreased hazard for colon and rectal cancers. fish intake during pregnancy is recommended because moderate evidence shows it can help the baby ’ s cognitive exploitation .
3. Can I get the same benefits from omega-3 supplements than from eating fish?
omega-3 fatty acid fatso acids are among the key nutrients needed for the rapid brain development that occurs in early childhood. however, omega-3 fatty acid supplements do not provide the protein, omega-6 fatty acid fatso acids, vitamins, or minerals found in fish that are besides important to your health and your child ’ south development. Taking supplements rather of eating pisces means that you would be missing out on those extra nutrients present in fish that are beneficial to you and/or a child. The research is still afoot on the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acid supplements .

V. CONTAMINANTS IN FISH

1. What are mercury and methylmercury?
Mercury is an element that occurs naturally in the environment and is besides released to the environment through many types of homo activity. It can collect in streams, lakes, and oceans, and is turned into methylmercury in the body of water or sediment. It is this type of mercury that is present in fish. Methylmercury can be harmful to the brain and anxious system if a person is exposed to besides a lot of it over time .
2. Is there methylmercury in all fish?
about all pisces contain at least traces of methylmercury. fish steep methylmercury from the food they eat. It tends to build up more in some types of fish than others, specially in larger fish that eat other fish and those fish that live longer .
3. Should I not eat fish in order to avoid mercury?
No. Fish can contribute to a healthy diet. Studies with people who were fraught found that the nutritional benefits of fish were crucial for their child ’ s brain development. While it is important to limit mercury in the diets of those who are pregnant or breastfeed and children, many types of fish are both alimentary and lower in mercury. Most individuals, including those who are pregnant or breastfeed and children, eat less than the recommend amount of fish. On average, individuals who are pregnant consume only 4.2 ounces and those who are breastfeeding eat only 7 ounces of pisces a workweek, rather than the recommend amount of 8 to 12 ounces per workweek. Almost all children do not eat the commend total of fish. The chart in this advice shows which fish are the “ Best Choices ” for those who might become or are pregnant or breastfeed and for children .
4. Can cleaning or preparing (e.g., cooking) my fish reduce the amount of mercury that might be present?
No. Mercury is found throughout the weave in pisces, so clean or fudge will not reduce the total of mercury. The direction to reduce the sum of mercury is to eat the fish shown on the chart identified as the “ Best Choices. ”
For fish purchased whole in stores please see extra information in the reception to Question V.6 .
5. Should I be concerned if I eat one serving of the fish listed in the “Choices to Avoid” category?
No, but going forward, you should choose from pisces from the “ Best Choices ” or “ dear Choices ” categories. Try to avoid eating the “ Choices to Avoid ” fish or feeding them to children. We recommend you eat a diverseness of fish from the “ Best Choices ” and “ Good Choices ” categories on the chart .
6. Are there other contaminants in fish?
Yes, however, FDA has found that the levels of other contaminants in commercial fish by and large do not raise human health concerns. For many years, FDA has sampled and tested commercial pisces for pesticides and industrial chemicals a well as other heavy metals besides mercury and the results are available on FDA ’ s web site :
Levels of other contaminants vary by location and fish species. State and local anesthetic health departments or pisces and plot agencies provide advice on other contaminants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls ( PCBs ) in fish from particular bodies of urine. People who catch their own fish for diversion or as a source of protein in their diets should check for pisces and shellfish advisories for both fresh and marine waters .
It is a full theme to remove skin, fat, and inner organs where other types of harmful pollutants may accumulate for pisces you and your friends catch before you cook these fish. This is peculiarly dependable because fish from some local waters may be more likely to contain other contaminants .
Cleaning Fish
And remember – eat a assortment of pisces, not just the same type every fourth dimension you eat fish. There are batch of fish shown on the graph to choose from, so there are pisces for every taste .

VI. WHAT ABOUT TUNA?

1. What is the difference between albacore (white) tuna and canned light tuna?
albacore, or white tuna, is larger and lives longer than the pisces by and large used in canned light tuna. meanwhile, canned light tuna can be a mix of a diverseness of broadly smaller tuna species, most frequently skipjack .
2. I eat a lot of tuna, especially canned light tuna because it is particularly affordable. Is this okay?
Yes. Canned light tuna is in the “ Best Choices ” category and it is fine to eat 2 to 3 servings per workweek. We recommend that you eat a diverseness of pisces. You may wish to try other low-cost fish in the “ Best Choices ” class such as canned pink-orange or sardines, freeze fish, or fresh fish that are at a reduce price .
3. I eat a lot of tuna but prefer to eat albacore tuna. Is this okay?
albacore tuna, besides known as white tuna, typically contains three times more mercury than canned light tuna. When you eat albacore or any of the other fish from the “ Good Choices ” category, have only 1 service and no other fish that week .

VII. FISH CAUGHT BY FAMILY AND FRIENDS

1. What if I eat fish caught by family and friends?
When eating fish you or others have caught, pay attention to fish advisories on those urine bodies. There are waters where there may have been short or no monitoring and, therefore, the extent of potential mercury contaminant is strange. If advice international relations and security network ’ t available, you should limit your consumption of that fish to one serving per week and not eat any other pisces that week. Adults should eat no more than 6 ounces that workweek, children under the historic period of six should limit their consumption of these fish to 1 to 2 ounces per workweek, and older children ( ages six to twelve ) should limit their consumption to 2 to 3 ounces per week. Again, neither adults or children should eat other fish that week .
2. Where do I get information about the safety of fish caught by family or friends?
Check the applicable fishing regulations booklet or website for information about recreationally catch fish. local anesthetic, express, and tribal health departments and fish and game agencies besides have information about advisories for consuming pisces in their legal power. The department that provides information about fish pulmonary tuberculosis advisories is much different from the one that has information on mollusk bed closures. Different agencies might besides be creditworthy for information about fresh water ( inland ) fish and marine ( coastal ) fish. See besides EPA ’ s website about fish consumption advisories and links to websites for submit, territorial, and tribal fish advisories .

VIII. ADDITIONAL TIPS FOR EATING FISH

1. How does eating 2 to 3 servings of fish a week fit within a healthy eating pattern?
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that those who are meaning or breastfeeding feed 8 to 12 ounces ( 2 to 3 servings ) per week of a variety show of fish lower in mercury. fish should be eaten in place of other protein sources, such as some kernel and domestic fowl. This may besides mean paying attention to how the fish are prepared. Broiled fish, for example, typically contain fewer calories than fried fish and can be healthier in other ways as well. sodium and cholesterol contented from the pisces or from the cooking procedure should besides be considered as with other aspects of healthy corrode. If you are uncertain about what the right number of calories is for you, please visit www.myplate.gov for data regarding appropriate thermal intake ( specific information available at MyPlate Plan ). If you want more information, we recommend that you consult a dietician or your doctor .
2. Is it true that those who are pregnant and children should avoid raw fish?
Yes. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and FDA recommend that those who are meaning and children should lone eat foods with pisces, kernel, poultry, or eggs that have been cooked to safe internal temperatures to protect against microbes that might be in those foods. This includes not eat bare-assed fish, like that found in some sushi or sashimi, available in many restaurants and food stores. Those who are fraught and children much have weaker immune systems and are more at risk for foodborne illnesses .
3. What if I cannot or do not eat fish? Will my baby be okay?
fish are one source of protein, omega-3 fatty acid and omega-6 fatty acid fatso acids, minerals, and vitamins that are beneficial to overall health. You can have a goodly baby even if you don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate eat fish. A healthy consume design consists of choices across all food groups ( vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, and protein foods which can include alimentary options early than fish ) .
4. I might have children in the future but I’m not pregnant. Why should I follow this advice?
If you might become fraught in the following class, we encourage you to begin following this advice now. Eating 2 to 3 servings a workweek of a kind of pisces lower in mercury can help your child ’ mho growth and development during pregnancy, and following the recommendations for how much to eat the diverse fish types is besides significant. That ’ mho because mercury in fish can accumulate in your consistency over fourth dimension. While mercury is removed from the body naturally, the summons can take several months. thus, following this advice before pregnancy can benefit the development child, particularly during the authoritative first trimester .
5. What advice do you have about eating fish for those who are not pregnant, will not become pregnant, or are not breastfeeding?
fish are a beginning of many nutrients and character of a healthy eating traffic pattern. This advice is specifically for those who might become or are pregnant or breastfeed and children. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends at least 8 ounces of fish per week ( based on a 2,000 calorie diet ) for adults. Eating fish may provide heart health benefits. Healthy eating patterns that include fish may have other benefits, besides. Moderate scientific evidence shows that eating patterns relatively higher in fish but besides in other foods, including vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, low- or non-fat dairy, tilt meats and domestic fowl, nuts, and unsaturated vegetable oils, and lower in bolshevik and march meats, sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, and refined grains are associated with the promotion of bone health, decreased risk of becoming corpulence or corpulent, and decreased risk for colon and rectal cancers. fish inhalation during pregnancy is recommended because moderate testify shows it can help the baby ’ s cognitive development .
6. Does this advice consider fishery sustainability issues?

No. This advice focuses on the benefits of fish pulmonary tuberculosis and the total of pisces servings per week that could be eaten based on mercury levels in pisces. This advice does not reflect concerns about fishery sustainability issues. For more information, see the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ’ s web site at hypertext transfer protocol : //www.fishwatch.gov .

IX. REFERENCES

Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 available at hypertext transfer protocol : //www.dietaryguidelines.gov/
Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. 2020. Scientific Report of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee : advisory Report to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Washington, D.C. Available at hypertext transfer protocol : //www.dietaryguidelines.gov/2020-advisory-committee-report .

reference : https://nutritionline.net
Category : Healthy