Tuna: toxic or misunderstood?
By Danielle Nerman

OTTAWA — Though humans are exposed to mercury through everything from fluorescent lights to car exhaust, it seems that lately, canned tuna has been getting all the blame.

Funny thing is, research shows us that fresh tuna — the kind found in sushi bars and grocery stores — contains higher levels of mercury than the canned culprit. Why? Because in the world of fish, size matters.

Fresh tuna has higher levels of mercury than canned because it's caught at a much bigger size. This means it's had more time to accumulate mercury through the food chain.

The species of tuna used in canned is caught at a younger age than the fresh. This means it has less time to accumulate high levels of mercury in its tissues.

But, whether or not fresh tuna has higher levels of mercury than canned, it's unlikely that eating too much of it is going to poison you. Turns out, the amount of mercury in one serving of tuna is equivalent to one bad apple in 2,000 barrels.

Facts aside, it wouldn't be a great idea to go ahead and eat a can of tuna everyday for the rest of your life. Remember, "you are what you eat."

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