Is there such thing as eating too much seafood? These shocking facts will scare you

Seafood dishes are a delicious, hearty meal that can be cooked in a variety of ways and there are so many different types to choose from that you are bound to find one that you like.

If you love to indulge in seafood, you would have heard before words of caution that you shouldn’t eat too much as it may be harmful to your health.

But how true is it? Here’s the science behind it.

“Bad” seafood
Did you know that many fishes contain mercury? Or that when shellfish eats plankton, they can get infected with “bad” plankton and then pass the bacteria to you? All these are potentially harmful and can cause you to be very ill.

At risk
For pregnant mothers and families with small children, it’s best to steer clear of consuming fish or at least fishes that are known to have a higher level of mercury.

Fetuses are very sensitive to mercury which can impact cognitive development as well as damage memory and attention.

Seafood sickness
Seafood sickness is also very real and getting more common every day due to the high level of pollution in the waters. This is because shellfish are not able to filter the “bad” plankton and when you consume it you are basically ingesting everything, including the bacteria.

Amnesiac shellfish poisoning
Seafood sickness can range from general nausea and headache to more serious cases such as amnesiac shellfish poisoning. This actually means that eating toxic shellfish can actually make you lose part of your memory.

The FDA recommends that a person generally consumes about 200-300g of fish a week. This amount can be influenced by your body weight as the bigger and heavier you are the more you can eat. This is due to the fact that the mercury levels appear to be lower with an increase in body weight.

You might be thinking that by cooking the seafood thoroughly that you are able to get rid of all the bacteria but in fact the bacteria remains no matter how long you cook it or how hot is the cooking temperature.

On that note, generally commercially harvested seafood is safe to be consumed, unless stated otherwise.

However, it is always better to err on the side of caution and do not take too much seafood even if you know it is safe.

So make sure that you know where your seafood is coming from before you eat it and try to limit the amount you eat every time. After all, seafood sickness is no fun even when experienced in light doses.

Top Image: 54613 / Shutterstock.com

This article was first published on goodyfeed.com