Page 115 - How to Be a Conscious Eater - Making Food Choices That Are Good for You

studies have confirmed the health-promoting powers of the
Mediterranean diet, and omega-3s from fatty fish like sardines
and salmon are a major part of the diet’s strong merits.

THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE BRIGHT SPOTS IN THE QUEST TO UP
YOUR OMEGA-3 INTAKE:

1 You don’t need to eat that much to reap the health benefits.
2 Many of the oily fish low on the food chain are packed full of
the good stuff without having bad stuff; humble anchovies,
in the cute little can, give you 500 milligrams of omega-3s,
which is the daily recommended amount for most people.

3 Foods other than fish contain EPA and DHA—just in smaller
amounts, like chicken and eggs—and beans, nuts, seeds,
fruits, and vegetables have alpha-linolenic acid, the third
type of omega-3 fatty acid, which your body converts to EPA
and DHA. By eating a variety of foods, you can gradually
rack up a decent log of omega-3s without eating fish.

WHAT ABOUT MERCURY?
The biggest concern with methylmercury—a toxic substance
found in some seafood, especially in waters near industrial
pollution—is damage to the brain and nervous systems of
developing fetuses. Wait, aren’t those the same parts that ben-
efit from DHA and EPA intake? Why, yes indeed. Pretty critical
parts of the body, you’d have to say. Hence all this real estate
I’m dedicating to duking out the two sides of the argument.
What’s mercury doing in our rivers and lakes and oceans?
It can get there naturally, from volcanoes, or from man-made
causes—most significantly coal-fired power plants, which
make up a significant amount of US mercury emissions into
the atmosphere.
Although current mercury intake isn’t a threat for most
adults, those with elevated risk are pregnant women, women

104 how to be a Conscious Eater

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