Is it Safe to Eat Canned Tuna Every Day? Benefits and Risks Explained

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8 months ago

Is it Safe to Eat Canned Tuna Every Day? Benefits and Risks Explained

Table of Contents

The Health Risks of Eating Canned Tuna Every Day

1. Mercury Content

“Mercury is a heavy metal found in the air, water, and soil,” Miller says. “A person can be exposed through inhalation through the atmosphere, dental fillings, and through fish and shellfish.”

If you eat a lot of seafood, you might be concerned about methylmercury exposure — a form of mercury that destroys nerve tissue — from canned tuna. Overexposure to methylmercury can cause symptoms such as loss of peripheral vision, muscle weakness, and impaired speech, hearing, and walking.

Fish absorb mercury from water pollutants. Predator species, such as tuna, that live longer tend to have the most exposure, Miller explains. But it’s harder than you might think to consume a dangerous amount of mercury.

“The FDA looks at upper limits of weekly seafood consumption and notes that you would need to eat 164 ounces (10 pounds) of light canned tuna and 56 ounces (3.5 pounds) of albacore white tuna per week before being at risk for mercury,” Miller says. “Therefore, having 3 ounces of canned tuna daily (21 ounces per week) isn’t going to put you at risk for overconsuming mercury.”

The FDA classifies fish into three categories based on their level of mercury: best choices, good choices, and choices to avoid.

People who are pregnant or breastfeeding can enjoy two to three servings of fish each week from the “best choices” list, which includes canned light tuna.

Yellowfin tuna and canned albacore tuna are on the “good choices” list, which pregnant and breastfeeding people can eat once a week, but avoid eating other fish. You want to avoid eating bigeye tuna altogether because it is one of the fish with the highest mercury levels.

Meanwhile, children should eat two servings of fish weekly from the “best choices” list at smaller portion sizes than adults. Their serving sizes depend on their age; for example, one serving of fish is 1 ounce for children ages one to three, and 2 ounces of fish is one serving for children ages four to seven.

“Some canned tuna brands to look for that have lower levels of mercury include Safe Catch and Wild Planet,” Taub-Dix says.

According to Safe Catch, they test every fish for its mercury content and have stricter limits for mercury levels in canned wild and wild albacore tuna than the FDA.

2. Sodium

Although canned tuna does contain salt, it only provides a moderate amount of sodium. “Low-sodium foods have 140 milligrams or less per serving, and canned tuna has around 200 to 210 milligrams per 3-ounce serving,” Taub-Dix says.

When considering the sodium content of canned tuna in your everyday diet, it’s not as much compared to eating a bag of chips or even a can of soup, which are much higher in sodium, for example. More than 70 percent of sodium the average person eats comes from packaged foods.

“When looking at sodium content, it’s important to read the label. Anything under 5 percent Daily Value (DV) will indicate low-sodium. A 3-ounce can of light or regular tuna packed in water or oil will contain around 13 percent DV, which is a moderate amount of sodium,” Miller says. “Choosing canned tuna that is labeled ‘no salt added’ will have around 50 milligrams of sodium (2 percent DV) and is therefore low-sodium.”

If you’re concerned about sodium, look for canned tuna varieties that say “no salt added” on the label, as “light” doesn’t guarantee that it’s low-sodium, Miller says. “It’s also recommended for weight management and heart health to buy tuna packed in water to save on total fat and calories.”

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