--- title: How to Eat All the Fish You Want, Minus the Mercury Danger description: Mix it up in your weekly diet and avoid eating the same kind too often canonical: https://time.com/3712062/fish-safe-eating/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-18T16:00:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:53.547Z article:section: Health og:title: How to Eat All the Fish You Want, Minus the Mercury Danger og:description: Mix up your fish food og:url: https://time.com/3712062/fish-safe-eating/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87d0c2b55b1f2693/69877f9655a85937d4a85daa/200571652-001-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3650 og:image:height: 2053 og:image:alt: salmon-dish og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Eat All the Fish You Want, Minus the Mercury Danger twitter:description: Mix up your fish food twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87d0c2b55b1f2693/69877f9655a85937d4a85daa/200571652-001-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Eat All the Fish You Want, Minus the Mercury Danger > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: Should I Eat Pizza? [Watch (HLS stream): Should I Eat Pizza?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NvpgAWn5.m3u8) (1:39)  _Published 2015-02-12. You might be surprised that four out of five health experts give pizza the thumbs up. But don’t be fooled: these are not greasy thumbs._ by [Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Health.com Contributor Feb 18, 2015 4:00 PM UTC  Getty Images by [Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Health.com Contributor Feb 18, 2015 4:00 PM UTC Fish: It’s one of the most confusing topics among health-conscious eaters. On one hand, it’s a great source of protein and healthy fat, and eating it has been linked to lower rates of several illnesses, including [heart disease](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20881315%5F3,00.html) and Alzheimer’s. Then again, some types are full of mercury or other pollutants. It seems like one day we’re told to eat less fish, and the next, to [eat more](http://news.health.com/2014/06/11/pregnant-or-breast-feeding-women-urged-to-eat-more-fish/). And in the last few weeks, the news gave us two more reasons to think twice about eating it at all: first, a study hinted at a link between [mercury and autoimmune disorders](http://news.health.com/2015/02/12/mercury-in-seafood-may-raise-risk-of-autoimmune-diseases-in-women-study/) in women. And before that, another report found that mercury contamination of [yellowfin tuna](http://news.health.com/2015/02/03/mercury-air-pollution-reflected-in-ocean-fish-study-says/) (also known as ahi) is growing far faster than previously thought. So, what are we supposed to do? **Read more:** [20 Things You Should Throw Away for Better Health](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20892663,00.html?xid=time-fish-021715) Keep it on the menu, but do it strategically. In general: “The rule of thumb for seafood is to mix it up. Eat it 2 to 3 times per week, but don’t eat the same type more than 2 to 3 times per month,” explains Timothy Harlan, MD, an internist and editor of [Dr. Gourmet](http://www.drgourmet.com/). “With the [wide variety of choices](http://www.drgourmet.com/column/dr/103006.shtml#.VNjR61q999l%20) you could eat a different type of seafood—shrimp, crab, salmon, scallops, cod, trout, mussels, catfish, tuna, halibut—and not have to repeat the same seafood choice twice in a month.” This is a helpful strategy because different types of ocean fare contain varying amounts of mercury. So while [halibut](http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/guide.asp) falls under the “moderate” mercury level category, according to the National Resources Defense Council, eating it in the same week with a low-mercury type (like wild salmon) can help you keep your exposure the the heavy metal under control. Spacing out intake of higher-mercury fish gives your body a chance to eliminate it before it builds up to dangerous levels. It’s a good idea to save or print the [NRDC list of mercury-containing fish](http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/guide.asp), so you always have it on hand. The trickiest thing about mercury is that the amount of danger depends on so many factors: not only the type of seafood and where it came from, but also what other types of seafood you’re eating and when, plus your body weight. That’s why, if you eat a lot of seafood, it’s not a bad idea to use the [NRDC’s mercury calculator](http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/calculator/start.asp) to plan your meals. **Read more:** [14 Types of Food That Can Make You Sick](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20310810,00.html?xid=time-fish-021715) Another option is to download the [Monterey Bay Aquarium](http://www.seafoodwatch.org/)’s Seafood Watch app (free from [iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/seafood-watch/id301269738?mt=8) or [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.montereybayaquarium.seafoodwatch)), which provides up-to-date guidance right from your smartphone. You can search for different types of seafood while you’re in the store or trying to decide what to order at a restaurant. The app will tell you what’s a “Best Choice,” “Good Alternative” or if you should “Avoid,” and it includes a special guide for sushi that decodes the Japanese names for different types of fish. Finally, if you find all of this way too confusing, you can limit your options by eating only from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s [Super Green List](http://www.seafoodwatch.org/consumers/seafood-and-your-health), recommended by _Health_‘s contributing nutrition editor, Cynthia Sass, RD. The five choices on this list—Atlantic mackerel, certain types of salmon (freshwater coho farmed, and wild-caught from Alaska) and Pacific sardines—are guaranteed to deliver 250 milligrams of heart- and brain-healthy omega-3s without worrisome levels of mercury. **Read more:** [10 Fish You Should Avoid (And Why)](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20708011,00.html?xid=time-fish-021715) [_This article originally appeared on Health.com._](http://news.health.com/2015/02/16/how-to-eat-all-the-fish-you-want-minus-the-mercury-danger/?xid=time-fish-021715) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3712062/fish-safe-eating/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3712062/fish-safe-eating/"},"headline":"How to Eat All the Fish You Want, Minus the Mercury Danger","datePublished":"2015-02-18T16:00:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:59:53.547Z","description":"Mix up your fish food","url":"https://time.com/3712062/fish-safe-eating/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","diet","mercury","fish","toxins","Healthy Eating"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87d0c2b55b1f2693/69877f9655a85937d4a85daa/200571652-001-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Health.com","jobTitle":"Contributor","url":"https://time.com/author/health-com/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87d0c2b55b1f2693/69877f9655a85937d4a85daa/200571652-001-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"salmon-dish","caption":"salmon-dish","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3712062/fish-safe-eating/","name":"How to Eat All the Fish You Want, Minus the Mercury Danger"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Should I Eat Pizza?","description":"You might be surprised that four out of five health experts give pizza the thumbs up. 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