Advice About Eating Fish

For Those Who Might Become or Are Pregnant or Breastfeeding 

and Children Ages 1 – 11 Year

 

Fish‡ provide key nutrients that support a child’s brain development.

Fish are part of a healthy eating pattern and provide key nutrients during pregnancy, breastfeeding, and/or early childhood to support a child’s brain development:

• Omega-3 (called DHA and EPA) and omega-6 fats
• Iron
• Iodine (during pregnancy)
• Choline

 

Choline also supports the development of the baby’s spinal cord. Fish provide iron and zinc to support children’s immune systems. Fish are a source of other nutrients like protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and selenium.

Choose a variety of fish that are lower in mercury.

While it is important to limit mercury in the diets of those who are pregnant or breastfeeding and children, many types of fish are both nutritious and lower in mercury.

This chart can help you choose which fish to eat, and how often to eat them, based on their mercury levels.

What is a serving? As a guide, use the palm of your hand.
Pregnancy and breast-feeding: 1 serving is 4 ounces

 

Childhood:
On average, a serving is about:
1 ounce at age 1 to 3
2 ounces at age 4 to 7
3 ounces at age 8 to 10
4 ounces at age 11
Eat 2 to 3 servings a week from the “Best Choices” list (OR 1 serving from the “Good Choices” list).

Best Choices
Eat 2 to 3 servings a week

1. Anchovy
2. Atlantic croaker
3. Atlantic mackerel
4. Black sea bass
5. Butterfish
6. Catfish
7. Clam
8. Cod
9. Crab
10. Crawfish
11. Flounder
12. Haddock
13. Hake
14. Herring
15. Lobster, American and spiny
16. Mullet
17. Oyster
18. Pacific chub mackerel
19. Perch, freshwater and ocean
20. Pickerel
21. Plaice
22. Pollock
23. Salmon
24. Sardine
25. Scallop
26. Shad
27. Shrimp
28. Skate
29. Smelt
30. Sole
31. Squid
32. Tilapia
33. Trout, freshwater
34. Tuna, canned light (includes skipjack)
35. Whitefish
36. Whiting

Good Choices
Eat 1 serving a week

1. Bluefish
2. Buffalofish
3. Carp
4. Chilean sea bass/Patagonian toothfish
5. Grouper
6. Halibut
7. Mahi mahi/dolphinfish
8. Monkfish
9. Rockfish
10. Sablefish
11. Sheepshead
12. Snapper
13. Spanish mackerel
14. Striped bass (ocean)
15. Tilefish (Atlantic Ocean)
16. Tuna, albacore/white tuna, canned and fresh/frozen
17. Tuna, yellowfin
18. Weakfish/seatrout
19. White croaker/Pacific croaker

Choices to Avoid
Highest Mercury Levels

1. King mackerel
2. Marlin
3. Orange roughy
4. Shark
5. Swordfish
6. Tilefish (Gulf of Mexico)
7. Tuna, bigeye

What about fish caught by family or friends?

Check for fish and shellfish advisories to tell you how often you can safely eat those fish. If there is no advisory, eat only one serving and no other fish that week. Some fish caught by family and friends, such as larger carp, catfish, trout, and perch, are more likely to have fish advisories due to mercury or other contaminants.

 

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends eating fish as part of a healthy eating pattern.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends:

At least 8 ounces of seafood (less for children$) per week based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Those who are pregnant or breastfeeding consume between 8 and 12 ounces per week of a variety of seafood from choices that are lower in mercury.

 

Eating fish can provide other health benefits too.

Fish intake during pregnancy is recommended because moderate scientific evidence shows it can help your baby’s cognitive development.

Strong evidence shows that eating fish, as part of a healthy eating pattern, may have heart health benefits. Healthy eating patterns that include fish may have other benefits too. Moderate scientific evidence shows that eating patterns relatively higher in fish but also in other foods, including vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, low- or non-fat dairy, lean meats and poultry, nuts, and unsaturated vegetable oils, and lower in red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, and refined grains, are associated with:

• Promotion of bone health – decreases the risk for hip fractures*
• Decreases in the risk of becoming overweight or obese
• Decreases in the risk for colon and rectal cancers

A healthy eating pattern

A healthy eating pattern consists of choices across all food groups (vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, and protein foods, which includes fish), eaten in recommended amounts, and within calorie needs. Healthy eating patterns include foods that provide vitamins, minerals, and other health-promoting components and have no or little added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium.