U.S. children are not eating enough shellfish in comparison to other animal protein, according to a new study.
The study, published by the American Society of Pediatrics (AAP), showed parents may be hesitant to feed their children shellfish for fear of mercury consumption — but their children may be missing on health benefits by not consuming enough fish.
Many fish species have “high levels of vitamin D and calcium,” the study said. Some varieties have high amounts of iron, or other nutrients like selenium and iodine.
While more study is needed, it is thought that fish potentially protect and help prevent against things like certain allergies, eczema and asthma, the AAP said. It is also thought increased fish consumption help decrease things like cardiovascular disease.
However, since 2007, children’s consumption of seafood has declined every year. Low levels of seafood consumption have reached numbers “not seen since the early 1980s,” the study said.
“On average, less than 10% of children’s animal protein intake comes from fish,” the study said.
“For families who eat meat, fish should be a welcome part of a child’s diet,” the report’s lead author Aaron Bernstein, MD, MPH, FAAP, an executive committee member of the AAP Council on Environmental Health said in a statement.
Mercury contamination in fish may be a concern for some parents, which could contribute to declining consumption in a child’s diet, the study said.
“When it settles into water, bacteria convert mercury into a more dangerous form, methylmercury. Methylmercury can build up in fish–especially those that eat other fish and live longer. These tend to be larger ocean species such as shark, swordfish, and orange roughy, but freshwater fish also can contain mercury, depending on where it is caught,” a statement from the AAP said.
By following guidelines from the FDA and EPA, it is possible to minimize or avoid risks from mercury exposure, however.
“The agencies recommend children and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding eat 1-2 weekly servings of a variety of fish among the ‘best’ and ‘good’ choices identified. Families who eat freshwater fish they catch locally should check advisories and limit servings to once a week if the body of water where they fish is not monitored,” the AAP said in a statement.
In addition to providing a multitude of health benefits, fish also require less irrigated water and nitrogen fertilizer than beef. Fish also produce 10 times less greenhouse gas emissions than pork or poultry, the study said.
Buying from fisheries that are located in the U.S. can help minimize risks, and provide more sustainable options.
“For most types of seafood, the nutritional benefits far outweigh the risks,” Burnstein said in a statement.
