Salmon is healthiest catch

WASHINGTON — Fish are heart-healthy, and most Americans should eat more. But fish also can contain mercury, and too much mercury can harm brain cells, especially in the very young.

So what are the best choices for both the heart and the brain?

Salmon tops the list as high in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and very low in mercury, and there are numerous other low-mercury choices, too, such as oysters.

Yet the government has no consumer-friendly list of its own mercury testing results to help people of different ages choose seafood.

In fact, the good news about low-mercury choices has been far overshadowed by a battle over which fish the Food and Drug Administration should warn people most at risk from mercury, pregnant women and young children, to avoid. That controversy made headlines again recently as the FDA grappled with whether certain types of ever-popular tuna should be on the do-not-eat list for those people.

The potential backlash effect, even mercury critics acknowledge, is that many Americans could be scared away from fish in general — a bad choice.

The American Heart Association recommends that most people eat a variety of fish rich in omega-3s at least twice a week, even more for those diagnosed with heart disease.

"The message should be: ‘Eat more fish for your health while minimizing your mercury intake,’ " adds Ned Groth, a scientist with Consumers Union, a nonprofit group that is pushing the FDA to publicize low-mercury choices.

Mercury pollution washes into waterways and builds up in fish. The bigger the fish, the more mercury it contains.

Over time, the metal can accumulate in fish-eaters’ bodies, too. High enough levels can damage the growing brains of fetuses and young children. About 8 percent of women of childbearing age have enough mercury in their blood to put a fetus at risk.

Far less is known about the potential dangers of mercury-containing seafood in other people. Consumer advocates say about 3 million people are extreme seafood lovers, eating so much of it per week that, depending on what varieties they choose, they might be at risk, too.

Still, exposure by fetuses and young children are clearly the biggest concern. The FDA’s scientific advisers recently urged the government to stress low-mercury choices for women of childbearing age and youngsters, so the FDA is rewriting its seafood recommendations. The new list is due out next spring.

The FDA advises women of childbearing age to avoid shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish, which contain the most mercury of species tested to date.