Before you decide to sit down for a side dish of cicadas, you should think again. Researchers released cautions against eating cicadas after they found significant levels of mercury in the insects that they studied from three local communities. Most of the concentration levels ranged from 0.02 to 0.20 parts per million, however some exceeded these levels.
Experts warned pregnant women and young children against the consumption of cicadas and expressed concerns over pregnant women passing on the toxic effects of mercury into the nervous system of their unborn children.
Further investigations have been initiated to determine whether the mercury concentration in the cicadas came from man-made factors or occurred from natural sources such as soil.
Two scientists completed a study that involved taking measurements of mercury in cicadas, particularly in areas where there were power plants. Their goal was to use their method as a type of indicator that the soil they were in would become polluted.
Researchers cautioned people against eating any kind of insect like cicadas, which had been dormant underground for 17 years and were the carriers of heavy metals.
Science Daily June 1, 2004
Similar to the recent warnings on fish, researchers have recommended that humans, particularly pregnant women and children, limit the amount of cicadas they eat due to mercury concerns.
This article presents some interesting findings on the mercury levels in cicadas. Fortunately, most people shouldn’t have a hard time cutting down their cicada intake or eliminating them from their diet altogether.
The most pressing and wide spread concern when it comes to dangerous mercury levels in our bodies pertains to the fish we eat. Unfortunately, most all fish, with small types like sardines and anchovies being the exception, contain mercury that will absolutely compromise your health.
It is my strong recommendation to avoid all fish, unless you are absolutely certain that it has been tested in a laboratory and shown not to contain detectable levels of mercury and other toxins. This can be difficult to find, but the Vital Choice brand of salmon available on this site was found--via independent laboratory testing we had performed on their fish--to be completely safe from mercury and other toxins, and it is now the only fish I will eat.
This is an especially dangerous issue to pregnant women and infants, because methyl mercury is particularly toxic when the nervous system and brain are developing.
Omega-3 fats, which are found in most types of fish, are a critical component to your diet, however it’s important to get them from a clean source. I highly recommend routinely consuming fish oil or cod liver oil, which are rich in omega-3 fats, instead of getting them from fish, as the oils are purified of mercury and other toxins.
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