Research
Mixed
High-level mercury exposure (occupational/accidental) causes neurotoxicity, but low-level exposure from typical fish consumption has unclear or modestly decreased cardiovascular benefits in adults, without clear adverse effects.
For most adults, the cardiovascular benefits of eating fish outweigh any potential negative effects of low-level mercury. However, those who eat very high amounts of fish (>5 servings/week) should be mindful of mercury levels in their chosen species.
ModerateQualifiesLOW confidence
Health effects of low-level methylmercury in adults are not clearly established; methylmercury may modestly decrease the cardiovascular benefits of fish intake.
Why this rating
Evidence is mixed and not clearly established for low-level exposure in adults.
Source
Fish Intake, Contaminants, and Human Health
Dariush Mozaffarian et al. · JAMA · 2006
DOI 10.1001/jama.296.15.1885
Meta-analysisCited 1,953×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- For women of childbearing age, consuming 2 seafood servings per week (limiting high-mercury species) provides neurodevelopmental benefits for the fetus that outweigh the risks of low-level methylmercury exposure.Limited
- Consuming 1-2 servings of fish per week (providing ~250 mg/d EPA+DHA) reduces the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) death by 36% and total mortality by 17% in adults, with benefits outweighing risks from contaminants.Weak
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