However, feeding exclusively tuna is not recommended. Some veterinarians even recommend putting tuna juice in water or on top of food to tempt anorexic cats to eat or drink more. Tuna is generally considered safe by veterinarians to serve to cats, especially plain canned tuna in water. If you feed your cat canned tuna, it’s recommended not to do it daily and to ensure it does not make up more than 10% of your cat’s diet. If you feed your cat only canned tuna, their risk of ingesting a toxic level of mercury is much higher. While tuna is a common ingredient in commercial cat food, it’s often mixed with other types of fish with historically lower levels of mercury and other ingredients. The most likely cause of mercury poisoning in cats is ingesting a large amount of canned or fresh tuna. Image by: P Maxwell Photography, Shutterstock What Are the Causes of Mercury Poisoning? While other fish may also contain mercury, tuna is commonly fed to cats based on its availability (in cans or pouches), cheap cost, and ease of administration. With cats, we would suspect this to occur most commonly after ingesting tuna. It typically takes days to weeks of high mercury ingestion to develop any abnormal signs and suffer from the effects of mercury toxicity. The most common source of mercury poisoning is the ingestion of fish or other seafood containing high levels of the toxin in their tissues. The mercury levels then build up in the body, causing signs of toxicity or poisoning. It is also a byproduct of the breakdown of organic matter ( 2 ).Mercury poisoning occurs when an animal eats a toxic level of mercury. Mercury is a naturally occurring element that occurs naturally in the earth’s crust and in seawater ( 1 ). Smaller fish with small amounts of mercury in their tissues are more likely to be eaten by larger fish. These include shark, swordfish, fresh tuna, marlin, king mackerel, tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico, and northern pike. The most mercury is found in larger and longer-lived fish. “If you’re eating a lot of seafood, you may not be getting enough of the nutrients that you need,” he added. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, it’s fine to eat fish every day.īut for those who are overweight or obese, or who have a family history of heart disease or diabetes, the benefits of eating more seafood may be less clear. Rimm, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition and director of cardiovascular epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Is it OK to eat fish 4 times a week?īut, experts, eating seafood more than twice a week, for most people, can be healthful. It is possible to maintain a healthy balance in your body with the many vitamins and minerals found in fish. If you eat fish regularly, you can keep the risk of autoimmune diseases like diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis at bay. Michael Greger, director of the Division of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. The answer to that question is a resounding yes, Dr. How often can you eat fish and not get mercury poisoning?Įat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in omega-3 fatty acids, such as mackerel, sardines, anchovies, salmon, herring, and tuna. It is possible to collect urine over a 24 hour period and send it to a laboratory for testing. Mercury poisoning can be diagnosed by testing your blood and urine levels. If you have a chemical spill with mercury, you might experience symptoms more quickly. It can take weeks or months to show the effects of the drug. How long does it take to get mercury poisoning from fish? Mercury can also be found naturally in some foods, such as certain types of seaweed and certain kinds of algae. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 1,000 species of fish are contaminated with mercury. Mercury has been found in the blood of some fish Mercury poisoning can be caused by too much exposure, with effects such as hearing, vision, and memory loss.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |