What will happen if I continuously eat Tuna for a few months?

[Evangelante]

Alright, so here's the deal.

 

I'm broke and and I'm trying to find ways to save money. Tuna in a can has an amazing amount of protein in it compared to other meat products and you don't even have to cook it.

 

However, there is the mercury problem with eating tuna on a constant basis. From what I remember, it's advised that you eat about 4 cans a week at most.

 

I think that is for women who are pregnant, children, and the elderly though.

 

I want to eat a can twice a day for three months.

 

I mean seriously, is there that much mercury that is going to screw with my body?

 

I'm 5'10

200 lbs or so.

18 years of age.

I weightlift and am pretty strong.

 

I'm wondering what the effects would be on my body and so forth after three months.

 

Would I get mercury poison anywhere around the line or what?

[rakuenso]

You could mix it in with some ramen noodles... if your in that bad of welfare

 

also, to answer your question, a PubMed search does suggest some mercury content in tuna.

 

"In order to assess early neurotoxic effects associated with relatively low levels of mercury absorbed through fish eating, two groups of 22 adult male subjects, habitual consumers of tuna fish, and 22 controls were examined using a cross-sectional field study. The assessment included neurobehavioral tests of vigilance and psychomotor function, hand tremor measurements and serum prolactin assessment. Mercury in urine (U-Hg) and serum prolactin (sPRL) were measured in all exposed subjects and controls, whereas measurements of the organic component of mercury in blood (O-Hg) were available for only 10 exposed and six controls. U-Hg was significant higher among exposed subjects (median 6.5 microg/g of creatinine, range 1.8-21.5) than controls (median 1.5 microg/g of creatinine, range 0.5-5.3). The median values of O-Hg were 41.5 microg/l among the tuna fish eaters and 2.6 microg/l in the control group. Both U-Hg and O-Hg were significantly correlated with the quantity of fish consumed per week. Significant differences in sPRL were found between exposed (12.6 ng/ml) and controls (9.1 ng/ml). Individual sPRL were significantly correlated with both U-Hg and O-Hg levels. The neurobehavioral performance of subjects who consumed tuna fish regularly was significantly worse on color word reaction time, digit symbol reaction time and finger tapping speed (FT). After considering the education level and other covariates, the multiple stepwise regression analysis indicated that O-Hg concentration was most significantly associated with individual performance on these tests, accounting for about 65% of the variance in test scores."

 

So if your in college or studying, it's probably a pretty bad idea.

[Yggdrasil]

I'm not an expert on the subject, but I think it could be bad for you. Mercury will accumulate in your body since your body cannot get rid of it quickly. Therefore, consuming it often could be problematic as it would slowly build up to higher-and-higher levels.

[donkey]

I don't know the full story (I didn't want to pry) but my friend used to love tuna and eat it all the time and eventually she got sick because of it and had to take a year off uni and now she can't eat fish anymore! I don't think it's worth it. Clearly a balanced diet is the way forward - sorry

 

I'm sure tuna fairly often with salad and lots of vegetables is probably not do you harm and is a pretty healthy, cheap meal.

[coquina]

There are other sources of protein that are inexpensive. Eggs are one example. On the vegetarian side, beans have protein and are far better for you than pasta. Salmon may be a little more expensive than tuna, but it doesn't have the mercury problem. I also eat sardines.

 

Another way to save money is to go to the grocery store and look at the "past its prime" meats and fresh veggies. They mark them down on the last day they can be sold. They are fine if you are going to cook them that night and are generally less than half price.

 

If you have a decent size freezer, I can give you recipes for some meals that are quite inexpensive to make in bulk. You can freeze them in individual freezer containers or bags, and zap them when you get home.

 

For example - Brunswick Stew. Use bulk chicken thighs and legs for the meat - you should be able to get them for around fifty cents a pound.

 

The vegetables that go in it are canned crushed tomatoes, frozen lima beans, corn, and green beans (family size bags) - you can add other veggies you like - I always put onions and peppers in mine.

 

Nuke the veggies to give them a head start on cooking - if possible, grill the chicken - if not, bake it. Pull most of the meat off the bones and set it aside. In a large pan simmer the bones with enough water to cover - you can add spices of your choice - I like plenty of white pepper and some garlic. This makes the stock, and the marrow from the bones is a source of additional protein.

 

Add a large can of crushed tomatoes and the nuked veggies and simmer uncovered to reduce the water. Take you fingers and pull the chicken meat into fine shreads and add it to the mixture.

 

Freeze in individual containers. You have a meal of meats and vegetables that tastes good and only takes a few minutes to reheat.

 

If you're interested, I can give you recipes for 15 bean ham soup, chili, and "everything but the kitchen sink" spaghetti sauce.

 

It does take a little initial investment, and some time, but it sure beats eating the same thing night after night.

[Bluenoise]

The amount of mercury in a can of light tuna is actually fairly low, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Tuna steaks on the other hand have quite a bit more mercury in them, since they come from larger fish which bioaccumilate more mercury during their life time. This is mostly a concern for pregnant women since a fetus is far more suseptable to the negative effects of mercury. Especially so during the 8 week period where the brain is developing but the blood brain barrier hasn't yet. However there are no recommendations for limiting tuna intake for other people.

 

I'd be more concerned with not having a balanced diet then I would be from being exposed to that amount of mercury. Trying to survive of tuna alone isn't a good idea. There is no simple miracle food, you need to mix up your diet a bit to be healthy.

[Phi for All]

According to the book Protein Power by Drs. Richard and Mary Eades, for your body weight you need 70 grams of protein/day. A can of tuna has 52 grams of protein.

 

Add an egg or two, some raw spinach, and 2 oz of baked chicken and your protein needs are served for the day. But you do need more variety than just tuna to stay healthy. I'm not a big fan of the bottom of the food pyramid (breads & cereals). I think these foods tend to make you hungrier. And unless your day is full of strenuous activity you probably eat more than you need to.

 

Get a membership to Costco or Sam's Club. It costs $40/year but is fully refundable if it doesn't work out. I get extra lean ham there for $7 for 3 lbs (48 servings @ 5 grams of protein/serving). 2 lbs of fresh spinach is less than $3.

 

As with most things in life, focusing on just one thing is never good.

[Evangelante]

Many types of deli meat contain sodium nitrites which may cause mutations to DNA.

Therefore, I try not to eat too much deli meat.

 

I have drunk eggs in a cup and slammed it down before. Eggs seem to be the second best way to actually obtain a decent amount of protein. Since I weightlift I try to bring in at least 150 grams of protein a day for myself.

 

Carbohydrates do have a tendency to increase appetite because they don't have as much fat and protein to notify the stomach that it has digested something and will be just fine.

 

Tuna just seems to be one of the better options because you don't need to refrigerate or cook it. It's something that can be taken on the go.

 

Now here's my next question:

 

Let's say I ate three cans of tuna in one day, 5 hours apart.

How long would it take for that mercury to get out of my body?

[Rakista]

I'm a vegetarian and I would suggest you alternate foods as much as possible as diets that lack diversity tend to give you the best and the worst of the food. For example not only will you aquire mercury in a strict fish diet but other fat soluble pollutants such as DDT.

 

I eat leftovers, tofu and miso soup almost every morning. Leftovers can be anything from vegatables to fried brown rice. I usually eat a spinach salad at school as it only costs about 2 dollars from the salad bar. For dinner I am a big fan of the following.

 

 

1 small onion

4-5 cloves of garlic (I love garlic)

1 cup brown rice

1/2 cup millet or buckwheat grouts

1/2 cup lentils

1/2 can of corn or large handful of frozen corn

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or another high temp oil NOT olive oil if you are going to fry it the next day. It will burn and taste icky.)

Spices to taste. I use Fresh Rosemary and Cilantro or Ground hot peppers and Cumin

I add other things as I have them, this is pry the largest chunk of calories in my diet.

 

I use a wok which I preheat to about 300 degrees or around when a drop of water will vaporize when it hits the pan. Add the oil in slowly so it does not run up the side of the pan, lol. Saute the onions and garlic than add the rest of ingredients and brown them before adding water to cover. Brind to a boil and turn the wok OFF. Let the rice pick up the water in the fridge or covered on the counter for about 10 minutes.

 

To fry this you need to make sure your mix is cold first. Than add an egg ( I don't eat them usually ) to mix into the cold rice before you add it to hot oil in a wok. If you add it after the egg will be in large clumps.

[C3H5(NO3)3]

Some scientists did an experiment with how much Mercury in a fish is needed to seriously harm a human being (something like that...) so they ate fish 3 times a day, 7 days a week for an allotted amount of time. They also, to counter the Mercury affecting the body, had 6 cups of "black" tea everyday. It isn't an antidote, but it sure did help.

[LucidDreamer]

Tips for eating for free:

 

1) Walk into a fast food joint and tell them that the last time you ordered they messed up your order and you are an unhappy customer. Free tacos!

2) 7 eleven throws away perfectly edible food every night around 3:00 am or so. Make yourself a friend at one of them and get a bag full of slightly stale donuts and breakfast burritos a couple of times a week.

3) Alot of large cities will have coupon manufactures that make large coupon books full of buy one, get one free coupons. Get one of your equally poor friends to go with you and you can both eat at half price.

[rakuenso]

"

2) 7 eleven throws away perfectly edible food every night around 3:00 am or so. Make yourself a friend at one of them and get a bag full of slightly stale donuts and breakfast burritos a couple of times a week.

"

 

Rofl I don't know how you knew about this...

[donkey]

why would a 7 eleven be throwing food away at 3am? don't they cloe at 11pm? are the staff still there for 4 hours!?

 

when I was in stockholm this summer the place was full of 7 elevens. I don't thnk you get them in the uk.

[LucidDreamer]

"

2) 7 eleven throws away perfectly edible food every night around 3:00 am or so. Make yourself a friend at one of them and get a bag full of slightly stale donuts and breakfast burritos a couple of times a week.

"

 

Rofl I don't know how you knew about this...

All I will say is munchies.

 

why would a 7 eleven be throwing food away at 3am? don't they cloe at 11pm? are the staff still there for 4 hours!?

 

when I was in stockholm this summer the place was full of 7 elevens. I don't thnk you get them in the uk.

In the US alot are 24/7 and they throw away the refrigerated food after like two or three days after it starts to loose freshness, but before it goes bad.

[donkey]

yeah, retail is so wasteful - I've worked in a supermarket and a convenience store. Both threw out quite a lot of good food.

 

getting back on thread, canned tuna lasts for ages!

 

also, I'm sure you're all interested to know that I ate a tin of tuna the other day (well actually over 2 days), largely inspired by this thread! Although I had already bought it so i guess i would have had it sooner or later...