Tuna questions

[Turboem1]

Hey guys I am thinking of switching over to tuna for a lot more of my food and just want to make sure what I might be doing is okay.

I am 6 foot 222 lbs. Down from a max of 292 lbs. I am still trying to lose weight as my goal is under 200 lbs right now. Anyway I have been running out of ideas for healthy foods and just started eating some tuna. This is the nutritional facts for a can of the regular albacore and light in parenthesis.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: About 2.5
Calories: 60.00
Calories from Fat: 10 (5 in light tuna)
Total Fat: 1.00 g. (.5g in light tuna)
Saturated Fat: 0 g.
Cholesterol: 25.00 mg. (30.00mg in light tuna)
Sodium: 250.00 mg. (125.00mg in light tuna)
Total Carbohydrates: 0 g.
Dietary Fiber: 0 g.
Sugars: 0 g.
Protein: 13.00 g.
Vitamin A: 0%
Vitamin C: 0%
Calcium: 0%
Iron: 0% (2% in light tuna)

So here are my questions....


1. Is tuna a healthy choice for weight loss? I eat chicken of the sea albacore tuna and light tuna. Always packed in water not oil. How much is acceptable to eat. A can is 2.5 servings. I can definately eat a can. How bad would 2 cans be as I could eat that too?

2. It looks healthy to me (low in fat, low in calories, high in protein). The thing that worries me most is the cholesterol. If i were to have 2 cans that would be 150mg of cholesterol or roughly 50% of the cholesterol you should have for the day.

3. It is also pretty high in salt but that worries me a little less. I sweat like crazy and drink a lot of water but still 2 cans is a little over 50% of the salt you should have for the day.

4. I can eat tuna plain out of the can but are there any healthy mayo substitutes to use to make it more creamy. I have heard of people using other things too but I am looking for suggestions.

Thanks

[WCroadie]

instead of mayo I mix the tuna with 2 tblspoons of honey mustard, 1 tblspoon of basalmic vinager, pepper, and sometimes add chopped celery and apple. Delicious!!

[FatguyRacer]

instead of mayo I mix the tuna with 2 tblspoons of honey mustard, 1 tblspoon of basalmic vinager, pepper, and sometimes add chopped celery and apple. Delicious!!

That does sound good. I dont have any tuna at home, but i do have a several big cans of chicken. That should probably taste almost the same.

[WCroadie]

yes I mix chicken with that as well. Very tasty and way better for you then mayo.

[HardyWeinberg]

Light tuna has ~1/3 the mercury (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/2007/2007_14_e.html)of albacore, might be worth considering if you're talking about many cans a day for a long period of time.

[Pedal Wench]

Some of the lower-fat mayo's are good, some are awful. I prefer to use a little less of the 'light' mayo's because I've yet to find a fat-free mayo that tastes good.

You might also look into the flavored tuna-in-a-pouch options. I LOVE the hickory-smoked flavor, and can eat it plain. It's also great to take backpacking - easy to open, easy to eat, and minimal trash to pack out.

[p2000]

Solid white Albaore packed in water is my standard lunch. Out of the can, mixed with salsa, salsa & rice, little bit of light mayo, relish, mustard, hot sauce..... You get the idea. Pouches are great too.

I don't worry about over-eating tuna. Of course you can and I'm guessing 2 cans per sitting is bordering on that. But like with anything else if you're excersice is commensurate with your diet you shouldn't have any problems.

[SSP]

Solid white Albaore packed in water is my standard lunch. Out of the can, mixed with salsa, salsa & rice, little bit of light mayo, relish, mustard, hot sauce..... You get the idea. Pouches are great too.

I don't worry about over-eating tuna. Of course you can and I'm guessing 2 cans per sitting is bordering on that. But like with anything else if you're excersice is commensurate with your diet you shouldn't have any problems.

The recommendations for albacore tuna are to limit it to one can per week to avoid overexposure to mercury. For the chunk-light tuna, it's 3 cans per week.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/food/tuna-safety/overview/0607_tuna_ov.htm


Here's an online calculator that you can use to assess your exposure to mercury:

http://www.gotmercury.org/

[Jarery]

Albacore is the WORST of the 3 typical tuna's sold in a can.

The older a fish lives, the more mercury it contains. Albacore living the longest has the most, yellowfin is in the middle, and skipjack has the least. So buy skipjack tuna, packed in water, and you can eat about 2x-3x the amount that you can of albacore.

[HardyWeinberg]

I probably shouldn't have been surprised when I finally got around to trying fresh albacore that it tasted ... just like canned albacore! That funny anchovy-esque flavor that I am fine with, but never sought out in a tuna-steak sized dose before.

Albacore aren't hugely long-lived fish, they top out at less than 10 yrs, I think mercury has more to do w/ fat content than lifespan. Albacore are fattier than bluefin even (which live longer yet, but tuna won't be giving rockfish or sturgeon a run for lifespan money at all). But albacore are still longer lived than skipjack so I'm sure their exposure time does play some role.

[socalrider]

I mix up 2 cans of regular tuna + 1 can of albacore tuna, a little low fat mayo and relish and mix it all together and keep in the fridge for making sandwiches.. I use ezekial whole grain bread, only 80 calories a slice, no preservatives, good protein and low carbs.. Makes for quick fast meal..

[skandal20]

I would be a bit weary of basing your diet considerably around canned tuna. A roommate of mine in college once ate about 2 cans a day for a couple weeks, and found that he was getting very depressed. He went to the doctor and they did some blood tests, found out that he had mercury poisoning. As soon as he cut the tuna back a bit, he was fine. I would say, eat it for a bit and see how your body handles it - if you start feeling a little low or depressed cut back.

[UmneyDurak]

There is also Kirkland canned Chicken. 99% fat free. Tastes descent, and no mercury poisoning downside.

[BeckyW]

It's pricey, so I don't use it often, but soft goat cheese (Chavrie), especially the kind with garlic and herbs, makes a great mayo substitute on sandwiches and with tuna/salmon. 25 calories/tablespoon!

[spencejm]

Don't forget about canned Salmon. I think it tastes better. Make sure you buy Alaskan, wild caught. It has much fewer pesticides, etc. than Atlantic farm raised. It probably has higher fat than your tuna but this is fat you can use.

Joe

[DataJunkie]

Personally, I would not base my diet around any one single food. Variety is needed to keep one from either going insane with boredom or producing a deficiency in a particular vitamin\mineral\food group\ blah blah blah. I try to consume a variety of different healthy foods with a small amount of garbage food mixed in. No junk food makes me crave it more and more. A bit of junk food keeps me from falling off the wagon, so to speak.

[HardyWeinberg]

Canned salmon is oily enough that you don't need as much mayo to make the whole thing stick together. Worth looking for the stuff that is chopped, or whatever they call it, not just a skin-on, bone-in filet rolled up and jammed into a tube. More calcium in the latter, though!

[Jarery]

Chopped canned salmon ? I have not found that yet. I love salmon, but i absolutely hate the skin and bone in the can. I end up spending several minutes going thru and removing the skin and bones before I use it for a sandwhich.

So if they do make canned wild salmon, that I can just open and use like tuna, I'm all over it :)

[HardyWeinberg]

So if they do make canned wild salmon, that I can just open and use like tuna, I'm all over it

Unfortunately I haven't found that precisely, I just experimented w/ canned farmed Atlantics from Costco. Pretty heretical of me, and I can totally see why someone would boycott it. But it's got logistics going for it!

[Pedal Wench]

Chopped canned salmon ? I have not found that yet. I love salmon, but i absolutely hate the skin and bone in the can. I end up spending several minutes going thru and removing the skin and bones before I use it for a sandwhich.

So if they do make canned wild salmon, that I can just open and use like tuna, I'm all over it :)

They do make it! It's in the pouches like the tuna - and good enough to eat straight out of the pouch too. Just need a fork. No bones, no skin, all yum!
From Chicken Of The Sea:
Studies have shown that particles found in farm-raised salmon can be dangerous to your health.
Is Chicken of the Sea's salmon farm-raised or wild-caught?

All Chicken of the Sea salmon is wild-caught in the waters of the Pacific. None of our canned and pouched salmon, which include traditional red salmon, traditional pink salmon and boneless & skinless pink salmon, are farm-raised. High in the fatty acid omega-3, which positively impacts heart health and more, our salmon is a good source of protein and nutrients and can be enjoyed without the fear or health concerns related to farm-raised salmon.

[AverageCommuter]

On the one hand I agree with DataJunkie that you should not base your diet around just one food. On the other hand if you plan to eat a lot of canned fish, the wild caught alaskan salmon is the way to go. Here (http://www.chickenofthesea.com/product_line_detail.aspx?did=4800006444) is the version that Chicken Of The Sea sells without bones or skin. I have a can at least a couple of times a week.

[zeytoun]

One Omega-3 egg (chickens fed with flax seed) has the same amount of Omega-3 as 1 ounce of salmon, and none of the mercury.

[GrantParkerB]

Everybody seems to have some great tuna ideas, I'll have to try it with some apple... I like to use one can or pouch with some mayo, deli mustard, relish, red onion, green olives, garlic, celery and black pepper. Throw that on some toasted Rye bread and it makes a great sandwich! I wouldn't worry about eating a pouch or can of the good stuff a day but that's just me.

[kuan]

I like music too, in fact I listen to a tuna day everyday. Not the canned variety though.

[El_Scorchio]

Sorry but i have read your post a couple of times, but am at a loss to understand what it is you are trying to do.

Eating tonnes of tuna wont help you lose weight.

or

Give you the ability to have enough energy to lose weight through weight training/ riding or any other kind of fitness.

[PDay]

Instead of mayo, avocado. I find this is tasty if done right.

[pwrpwr3]

Use low fat yorgat in the mix then roll it up in a lettuce leaf, lettuce zero cali.:D

[dubstylee]

My usual recipe for tuna is

1 can tuna (light, water packed)
~3/4 tablespoon of Olive Oil
~1/2 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
tsp of minced garlic
capers
dijon mustard

mush that all together and put on bread, even better with lettuce and tomato.

[Zan]

Just so I understand... is canned salmon really that bad for you health-wise when it comes to mercury count? According to SSP's link to gotmercury, there is practically no mercury in canned salmon and very little in fresh salmon.

They say on the site that the highest count in salmon is 0.19 PPM, which is still lower than canned tuna by almost 0.1 ppm.

[edzo]

you people you worry about the mercury in tuna don't really know the chemistry between different
types of mercury do ya ????

even though there is mercury in fish, you are not going to be affected by any buildup you may
acquire from eating fish, unless you figure out a way to eat 200lbs of fish a week.


Dimethylmercury is the extremely toxic form of mercury

methylmercury is the form found in fish, which is far less toxic

the FDA recommended amounts are way too low.

I won't go on a diatribe about ld50 and toxicity and crap, I could fill pages.

Cliff note version. 1 can of tuna a day is fine and won't hurt anyone

[SSP]

you people you worry about the mercury in tuna don't really know the chemistry between different
types of mercury do ya ????

even though there is mercury in fish, you are not going to be affected by any buildup you may
acquire from eating fish, unless you figure out a way to eat 200lbs of fish a week.


Dimethylmercury is the extremely toxic form of mercury

methylmercury is the form found in fish, which is far less toxic

the FDA recommended amounts are way too low.

I won't go on a diatribe about ld50 and toxicity and crap, I could fill pages.

Cliff note version. 1 can of tuna a day is fine and won't hurt anyone

I feel so comforted now. Some anonymous guy on the internet has assured me that the mercury in tuna is not a health risk, despite what real scientists at many public health agencies say. :rolleyes:

FWIW, if you have links to any legitimate studies regarding the safety issues of mercury in tuna, please post them.

[Terex]

Instead of mayo, avocado. I find this is tasty if done right.

I mix low sodium white chunk with balsamic vinegar and honey mustard in a bowl, dump onto two halves of an avocado, with low sodium crackers on the side, or plated up with mixed greens. Really tasty from time to time, but not all the time.