The benefits of eating a few weekly helpings of most fish or seafood outweigh the potential health risks associated with ingesting mercury and other contaminants, finds a new study commissioned by the U.S. government. Not only do eating fish and shellfish help protect against heart disease, claims the study, but women who do so during pregnancy or while nursing can promote healthy vision and brain development in their infants. Nutritionists have long touted seafood as a great, low-fat source of protein, full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. But at the same time, there have been troubling warnings of methyl mercury, dioxin and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination associated with some fish and shellfish. Jose Ordovas, a Tufts University researcher and member of the report committee, said he hopes the Institute of Medicine report takes away some of the confusion that may have ‘scared’ people out of eating something that’s beneficial for them and their offspring. ‘It seems that previous advice has been rather fragmented,’ added Dr. Susan Krebs-Smith, another member of the report committee and a research nutritionist with the U.S. National Cancer Institute. ‘What we wanted to try to do was to draw this information […]