Is Tuna Healthy for you?
Let’s explore the nutritional benefits and potential health risks of tuna, along with its environmental impact.
On Sept. 30, 2024 The New York Times published an article titled The Truth About Tuna, exploring the question: How much should you worry about mercury in tuna, and in other seafood?
this Post Includes:
Summary
Is Tuna Nutritious?
Mercury Concerns
Tuna and the Environment
Choosing Sustainable and Safe Tuna
Healthy Tuna Products*
* By Healthy Tuna Products we mean:
365 by Whole Foods Market, Unsalted Skipjack Tuna in Water, 5 Ounce (Pack of 1)
Ingredients: Chunk Light Skipjack Tuna, Water.
Wild Planet Skipjack Wild Tuna, No Salt Added, 5 Ounce (Pack of 12)
Ingredients: 100% pure Tuna and sea salt.
My
Take
Tuna is High in Histamine
I love tuna. Prepared all kinds of ways. Tuna melt. Tuna salad. Tuna steaks. Tuna tartare. And don’t get me started on tuna in sushi!
But I really don’t eat much tuna, unfortunately. Why? Because tuna is generally high in histamine.
What Does Histamine Do? My personal Experience
When I eat food high in histamine I tend to experience syptoms that feel like an allergic reaction—in my case usually in the form of sinus inflammation or headache. But if my diet has been relatively clean over a period of time, I can have the occasional high histamine food and not feel affected. Yet when I consume large amounts of foods that are generally outside of my diet, I experience a heightened sensitivity to foods that are high in histamine—tuna being one. Which means I experience more acutely the allergic reactions I mentioned above. And my bloodwork shows my basophils slightly elevated.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, histamine “plays a key role in your body’s inflammatory response.”
What is Histamine?
What is Histamine? Let’s again look to the Cleveland Clinic to explain.
Histamine has several functions, but it’s mainly known for its role in causing allergic and anaphylactic symptoms.
Allergies are your body’s reaction to a foreign protein. Usually, these proteins (allergens) are harmless. However, if you have an allergy to a particular protein, your immune system overreacts to its presence in your body.
A cascade of reactions leads to a release of histamine, which causes allergy symptoms. These symptoms are usually confined to one area of your body. If the immune reaction is severe, it causes anaphylaxis, which affects most of your body. Anaphylactic shock is life-threatening.
