Pregnant Moms Getting Fishy Advice
Pregnant Moms Getting Fishy Advice
Fishy Warnings
The Environmental Protection Agency's method for setting limits on mercury levels is different from the FDA's. The EPA limit, which is also endorsed by the National Academy of Sciences, allows up to 0.1 micrograms per kilogram of a person's body weight per day. The EWG claims that's eight times more protective than the FDA's limit.
But Lasser says he thinks none of the data the government agencies are going on is completely sound. "There's a great deal of uncertainty and lack of knowledge" about how much mercury is safe to eat, he says. "We don't know the half of it."
He says he warns his patients about the risks of eating fish, but he also tells them about the benefits. Lacking precise scientific data on how much is too much, he says, "How crazy you're going to get about it becomes a matter of personal choice."
Pregnant Moms Getting Fishy Advice
Fishy Warnings
How Much Is Too Much? continued...
The Environmental Protection Agency's method for setting limits on mercury levels is different from the FDA's. The EPA limit, which is also endorsed by the National Academy of Sciences, allows up to 0.1 micrograms per kilogram of a person's body weight per day. The EWG claims that's eight times more protective than the FDA's limit.
But Lasser says he thinks none of the data the government agencies are going on is completely sound. "There's a great deal of uncertainty and lack of knowledge" about how much mercury is safe to eat, he says. "We don't know the half of it."
He says he warns his patients about the risks of eating fish, but he also tells them about the benefits. Lacking precise scientific data on how much is too much, he says, "How crazy you're going to get about it becomes a matter of personal choice."
