Best Type of Tuna: Albacore vs. Yellowfin vs others?!
Best Type of Tuna: Albacore vs. Yellowfin vs others?
There are many types of tuna (albacore, yellowfin, bluefin, etc.) and I eat both fresh and canned. Some say to limit the intake of canned albacore tuna because of its potentially high mercury content. Some say yellowfin is actually the bad one. Which one is good/bad for you? There are so many reports and I'd like to make the most-informed choice.
thanks!
Answers:
If you are eating canned, Albacore is much worse than Chunk Light. Albacore has .353 parts per million of mercury, while Chunk Light only has .118 ppm. Thats because chunk light is usually skipjack tuna which is smaller and less contaminated. But sometimes chunk light contains Yellowfin, which has .325 ppm.
In terms of tuna steaks, Bigeye is the absolute worst with .639 ppm - avoid it totally. Albacore caught by long-line is pretty contaminated (.353 ppm) because they are giant, older fish. Albacore caught by troll fishing, on the other hand, is much better (.20ppm) because they are young and small. Yellowfin is better than Bigeye and Long-Line Albacore at .325 ppm. Keep in mind, Ahi tuna is actually either Bigeye or Yellowfin - if you dont know which, dont eat it.
Source(s):
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.h... (FDA mercury charts)
http://www.gotmercury.org/ (mercury calculator)
Chicken of the Sea! Duh it's the best Chicke....I mean tuna out there!
Seriously, I like yellowfin but I am not sure which is good or bad really. I mean if you only eat it maybe once a week it shouldn't be to harmful...or I hope not anyways.
Bonita tuna. Even if caught in warmer water, still seems to maintain a bit more body fat than usual and make for great sashimi.
albacore all the way!