A past Liddell newsletter contained the report Should You Stop Eating Fish? This report contains new study information released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that supports our previous recommendations.
The findings bolster previous recommendations that pregnant women follow guidelines on the consumption of fish, a leading source of mercury in people.
Exposure to too much mercury can permanently damage the brain and kidneys. "Mercury is particularly risky for women of childbearing age, because a fetus is highly susceptible to adverse effects", says Dr. Susan Schober of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The New Study
In the just-published study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers assessed fish consumption and measured levels of mercury in the blood of 1,709 women between the ages of 16 and 49 and 705 children between the ages of one and five. About one in 12 U.S. women of childbearing age have mercury in their blood at levels considered potentially hazardous, government scientists reported Tuesday, and dietary fish may be to blame.
Approximately eight percent of the women tested had levels that exceeded the reference dose, the study indicates. The reference dose is the level "below which exposures are considered to be without adverse effects," according to the report.
Women who reported consuming at least three servings of fish in the 30 days prior to the study had mercury levels of nearly two micrograms per liter -- about four times higher than levels in women who reported no fish consumption. The blood levels of mercury were roughly three times higher in adult women compared to children, partly because children in general may eat less fish than adults, the authors note.
Currently, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that pregnant women and those who may become pregnant avoid eating shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tile fish known to contain elevated levels of methylmercury.
"Some fish and shellfish species, such as haddock, tilapia, salmon, cod, pollock and sole, as well as most shellfish are relatively low in methylmercury," the authors write.
Action We Can Take
Since many of us have been eating fish for some time, it is important that we begin to help our bodies eliminate the mercury already present. Liddell's Detox Metals is an effective and safe way to eliminate mercury and other toxic metals from our body. You can learn more about Detox Metals by clicking here. | 
