Mercury blood test -- time to cut back on the tuna

readalot

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So my guilty pleasure is typically 2 cans of yellowfin tuna in olive oil per day. This one is definitely the best tasting....

Starkist-Gourmet-Choice-Solid-Light-oil_a12f0607-7741-4931-8ce9-a70e1b7f9e94.3c1ad9a352b8c7f2...jpeg

Yeah, that's a lot of tuna when compared to the recommendations to limit to a few cans a week. So I decided to run the mercury blood test through Quest which will pick up methyl mercury in my bloodstream from the tuna via ICP-MS.

Drumroll...
.....


Blood mercury.jpg

Nice of Quest to do repeat measurement.


Hopefully won't die tomorrow (haha) but definitely time to cut back. I've been enjoying the tuna for quite a while now so I should have done this sooner. I'll have to up the sardines/herring which are already at a couple cans per day.

Caution if you enjoy alot of tuna. Note the elimination half life of methyl mercury in the body roughly 50 days so it's going to be a while to drop these levels.



 
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Overconfidence...

Mea culpa

Note my back of the envelope here:

These cans are loaded with Hg. I weigh 250 lb.

 
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I always wondered about this. A lot of younger people who are trying to do this on a budget seem to resort to canned tuna, or at least it seems that way.

You should try one can a day and retest in like a year, or what ever the math on that half life is lol
 
Labcorp's comments on ref range:


They always seem to put in a little more effort than Quest on the Test descriptions and info.

Reference Interval
• Environmental exposure: 0.0−14.9 μg/L, individuals consuming large quantities of seafood may have values as high as 200.0 μg/L

• Occupational exposure: BEI®: inorganic mercury (sampling time is end of shift at end of work week): 15.0 μg/L1
 
You should try one can a day and retest in like a year, or what ever the math on that half life is lol
Yeah about 250 days.

Damn it. I am already talking to myself as an addict..."26 mcg/l ain't that bad. Keep enjoying your tuna, it's good for you."

Curse you bodybuilding!

So much for the premium gourmet stuff. It ain't cheap.
 
I always think about this. Was distance running and lifting and eating tuna everyday. I figured the mercury never left the body. Thanks for doing my research for me. (Now I eat canned chicken, McDonald's and sit on my ass)
 
I always think about this. Was distance running and lifting and eating tuna everyday. I figured the mercury never left the body. Thanks for doing my research for me. (Now I eat canned chicken, McDonald's and sit on my ass)
My pleasure.

Problem is it goes to the brain.




Vulnerability to methylmercury poisoning is age-related, with susceptibility decreasing with increasing age. 2 Exposure to organic mercury compounds during gestation results in severe injury to the infant brain at dose levels below those that are toxic to the mother. 2 , 3 , 20 , 25 , 27 High exposure can result in very severe developmental disorders (e.g., mental retardation, cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness) ( Figure 3 ). 2 , 27 Symptoms of moderate exposure include psychomotor and personality disturbances, intellectual deficits, and epilepsy. Unlike the focal neuropathological changes that are found following adult exposure, prenatal and early childhood exposure results in very widespread changes including status spongiosus of the cerebral cortex ( Figure 3 ). 2 , 3 , 25 , 27 , 29

And for a time I thought low T was my issue. Nope, high Hg :)

Good thing I don't know how much microplastic I still have sitting around since the 90s.
 
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Thoughts on just switching to a different canned fish? Like mackerel or sardines?

Edit- never mind I read your entire post haha


I personally love mackerel. 26g protein a can
 
Really eye opening seeing your test. I'll definitely be ordering one myself. I think the dangers of mercury are overlooked.

Thanks for posting your test results. There's a few I'll be including in my next bloodwork, but definitely this one.
 
Really eye opening seeing your test. I'll definitely be ordering one myself. I think the dangers of mercury are overlooked.

Thanks for posting your test results. There's a few I'll be including in my next bloodwork, but definitely this one.

Sure. My pleasure.

mackerel or sardines



I like mackerel as well but could be pretty high in mercury depending on fishing source.

I also eat 2 cans per day of herring but that may also be a loser....




I knew I should have spent a little extra for the panel:

Mercury, arsenic, lead


At least there's still good ole RO water (maybe).
 
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The other fave...typically 2 cans per day. Can't rule out this didn't contribute to above as well but should be much smaller contribution than tuna (gram for gram).

Attachment_(2).JPG

will update with arsenic blood work.
 
Always check your raws. Poisoning kids for a few bucks.




Test your raws and test your products for impurities as well as purity/API content.
 
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My pleasure.

Problem is it goes to the brain.






And for a time I thought low T was my issue. Nope, high Hg :)

Good thing I don't know how much microplastic I still have sitting around since the 90s.
I wonder if the mercury also is causing autism in young children.
 
I’m glad you posted this. I’ve eaten two cans a day almost everyday for many years. I just sent a message to my doctor regarding bloodwork to measure mercury. Thanks brother
 
just keep going until the mercury seeps into your bones and you turn into wolverine


COVER and FIGURE 3. An entire family, including the pregnant mother, had several months of mercury exposure as a result of consuming a hog that had been fed seed grain treated with methylmercury fungicide. 2 The child exposed in utero was born mute, blind, severely mentally retarded, with quadriparesis, choreoathetosis, and seizures (died at age 21). The child exposed at 8 years of age also became mute, blind, with quadriparesis, choreoathetosis, and seizures (died at age 29). The child exposed at 13 years of age had cortical blindness, dysarthria, ataxia and deficits in attention and learning when examined at age 35. The child exposed at 20 years of age had loss of peripheral vision, poor hand coordination, and mild cognitive deficits when examined at age 42. The parents and two of the children (exposed at ages 9 and 16) were asymptomatic. Autopsy of the child exposed at 8 years found widespread cortical atrophy, thinning of the corpus callosum, and while matter shrinkage (upper panel). Microscopic examination (hematoxylin and eosin stain) of the paracentral cortex found diffuse status spongiosus in the deeper layers and gliosis with loss of neurons in the upper layers (lower panel, Annals of Neurology 1994; 35:684
 
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