Who has never opened a can of tuna fish when you don’t feel like cooking? For many it is a practical and effective choice, which allows you to stock up on proteins cheap and without cooking, but have we ever wondered what happens to the body if we eat too much canned tuna? Let’s find out together. The side effect to be considered more and that above all should push us to limit the consumption of this food to a minimum (even better if we can totally avoid it) is revealed by some American scientific research.
I am referring to the very widespread mercurio, which is found in many fish, especially in tuna. The real risk lies in the type of tuna fish that is ingested and is also in the more or less high quantity of this substance. In fact, the best doctors advise against taking fish more than two / three times a week, as this all leads to potentials risks for our health. We all know that the consumption of fish and crustaceans in Italy represents over 90% of the human organism’s exposure to mercurio.
How mercury gets to fish? This substance arrives in the environment due to various types of productive activities (each with a different purpose) and is deposited in lakes, rivers and therefore oceans. Obviously from here on it is ingested by pesci and therefore, it enters the life cycle of aquatic organisms. Despite this there is also another important cause, namely the decomposition of natural organic carbon, which gives life to this substance. When the mercurio comes into contact with water, it is the task of microorganisms to transform this substance into a more toxic formulation, namely the methylmercury (substance that actually accumulates in the meat of the fish we eat).
Why i larger fish accumulate larger quantities? Methylmercury tends to accumulate especially in larger predators, this is because the latter feed on smaller fish which in turn have, even if in lesser quantities, accumulated methylmercury. Precisely for this reason it is risky to ingest fish of considerable size, such as the tuna fish, on the contrary, we can safely eat sardines. That said, it is now clear that fish have different mercury levels. The protagonist of this article, or the canned tunahas relatively high levels of this substance.