Eating tuna fish salad during pregnancy is a common question for many expecting mothers. Tuna fish provides important nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, protein, vitamin D, and B vitamins that support a healthy pregnancy. However, tuna can also contain mercury, which in high amounts can be harmful to your developing baby. Understanding the benefits and risks of eating tuna fish salad while pregnant can help you make an informed choice about including it in your diet.
The Benefits of Tuna Fish During Pregnancy
Tuna fish salad contains many beneficial nutrients for pregnant women:
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Tuna is one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA These essential fats play a key role in your baby’s brain and eye development and can reduce their risk for vision or nervous system problems later in life Eating enough omega-3s may also lower your chances of depression, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and delivering prematurely.
Protein
Tuna fish is packed with high-quality protein needed for building your baby’s organs and tissues, Getting adequate protein ensures proper fetal growth and prevents low birth weight
Vitamin D
While tuna only contains small amounts, every little bit helps toward meeting your increased vitamin D needs during pregnancy. Vitamin D promotes healthy immunity, bone development, and may prevent complications like preeclampsia or miscarriage.
Vitamin B12
Tuna fish salad is an excellent source of vitamin B12, which is essential for your baby’s brain and nervous system. Adequate B12 intake minimizes the risk for birth defects and premature delivery.
Iron
This mineral found in tuna is vital for your developing baby’s brain health and preventing problems like anemia. Iron deficiency raises chances for low birth weight, preterm delivery, and poor infant development.
Selenium
Tuna contains the antioxidant mineral selenium, which may help prevent pregnancy complications like miscarriage, preeclampsia, and premature birth.
The Risks of Eating Tuna Fish While Pregnant
Despite these great benefits, tuna also contains mercury, a toxic heavy metal that can negatively impact your baby if you eat too much. Here are the main risks:
Mercury Exposure
The larger and older a fish is, the more mercury it accumulates. Tuna is a large, predatory fish that contains concerning mercury levels, especially albacore or “white” tuna. Eating too much mercury during pregnancy can impair your baby’s developing brain and nervous system.
Potential Health Problems
High mercury intake is associated with issues like learning disabilities, speech delays, poor coordination, lower IQ, and problems with memory, vision, or hearing. Significant exposure could lead to seizures, cerebral palsy, or death in severe cases.
Foodborne Illness
Eating raw or undercooked tuna poses a risk for foodborne infections like salmonella and listeria. These bacteria are especially dangerous during pregnancy and can cause miscarriage, preterm labor, or stillbirth.
How Much Tuna Can You Eat While Pregnant?
Because risks are dose-dependent, moderation is key if you want to eat tuna fish salad while pregnant. Here are the latest recommendations:
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Eat no more than 2-3 servings (6-12 oz) of lower mercury tuna per week. This includes canned “light” tuna.
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Limit higher mercury albacore tuna to 1 serving (3-4 oz) per week.
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Completely avoid large, high mercury tuna like bigeye or bluefin.
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Choose only thoroughly cooked tuna to reduce infection risk.
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Opt for tuna packed in water over oil, which is higher in calories and less nutritious.
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Spread out your servings over the week, rather than eating it all at once.
Choosing the Safest Tuna Fish Salad When Pregnant
If you want to enjoy tuna fish salad during pregnancy, here are some tips for reducing risks:
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Pick canned light tuna as it is smaller with lower mercury levels. Albacore should be limited.
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Choose a brand that tests every catch for mercury, like SafeCatch Elite tuna.
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Read labels and avoid additions like raw onions or sprouts, which can harbor bacteria.
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Make sure tuna is cooked through to kill any pathogens present. Flaking apart or opaque color indicates doneness.
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Avoid making tuna salad too far in advance and refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours to prevent bacterial growth.
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Use pasteurized mayonnaise or thoroughly cooked eggs in the salad to avoid salmonella.
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Wash all produce thoroughly and keep preparation areas sanitized.
The Bottom Line
Overall, eating tuna fish salad in moderation can be safe and healthy during pregnancy. To minimize risks, choose lower mercury canned light tuna, limit intake to 2-3 times a week, and follow food safety practices when preparing tuna salad. Pair it with fresh veggies, whole grains, fruits, and other clean protein sources as part of a balanced pregnancy diet. Speak with your doctor about any concerns over tuna or mercury exposure during pregnancy.
USING THE CHART
1. How do I use the chart?
Fish is a good choice for everyone because it has protein, healthy fats, and many vitamins and minerals. Fish that are lower in mercury are even better. It’s meant for people who might become pregnant, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have kids, but anyone can follow it.
Use the chart to help you choose which fish to eat or feed your child each week. It’s better for you and your child to eat different kinds of fish than to always eat the same kind of fish.
As an adult who is pregnant or might become pregnant or who is breastfeeding, you should eat two to three servings of “Best Choices” fish a week, which is four ounces. This is part of a healthy overall diet.
One serving of “Good Choices” fish a week is all you can eat. No other fish that week.
If a fish is in the “Choices to Avoid” list, you shouldn’t eat it, and kids shouldn’t be fed it either. If you still want to eat or serve fish from the “Choices to Avoid” list, pick fish with lower mercury levels from now on.
2. How did you decide which fish went in each category?
We took a cautious and highly protective approach in determining which types of fish belonged in each category. We figured out how many servings a pregnant woman could eat in a week by using the FDA’s database for commercial fish and other sources to find out how much mercury was in each type of fish. We put a fish type in the “Best Choices” section if it could be eaten at least three times a week. We put that kind of fish in the “Good Choices” section if it could only be eaten once or twice a week and not three times a week. That kind of fish was put in the “Choices to Avoid” section if it could not be eaten once a week.
For more information, please see our technical page.
3. How can some fish types be in more than one category?
There are different types (or species) of tuna, such as albacore, bigeye, and yellowfin. Because some tuna types are bigger or live longer, they tend to have higher mercury levels. This is why they are put into different groups. So light tuna in a can is one of the “Best Choices.” Albacore (also called white tuna) and yellowfin tuna are two “Good Choices,” and bigeye tuna is one of the “Choices to Avoid.” Also, the amount of mercury in fish from the same species caught in different places can be different. For instance, there are two types of tilefish because those that live in the Gulf of Mexico have higher levels of mercury than those that live in the Atlantic Ocean.
4. Why are some fish types not on the chart?
Look for a type of fish that isn’t on the chart, like mussels. That means we didn’t have enough accurate mercury data to include it. We plan to update the website if more data become available and as resources permit.
5. How can I find out more details on the mercury levels in fish?
Go to our more detailed table that shows the average mercury levels in commercial fish.
1. What is a serving?
For adults, a typical serving is 4 ounces of fish, measured before cooking. It’s best to eat two to three servings, or eight to twelve ounces, of different kinds of cooked fish every week. Please see III. CHILDREN below for information specific to children.
2. How can I tell how much 4 ounces is?
Four ounces is about the size and thickness of an adult’s palm.
3. What happens if I eat less fish than the 2 to 3 servings a week you recommend?
You could miss out on the protein, healthy omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins present in fish that are beneficial to overall health. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, vitamin D, iron, zinc, iodine, and choline found in fish are particularly important for those who are pregnant or breastfeeding and children. If you do not eat the recommended amount one week, try to eat the recommended amount from a variety of fish in the following weeks. However, it is possible to meet your nutrient needs through other foods that are sources of these nutrients. A healthy eating pattern consists of choices across all food groups (vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, and protein foods which can include nutritious options other than fish).
4. What happens if I eat more than 3 servings of fish in a week?
Try to vary the fish you eat. If you eat more than 3 servings in a week, eat fish in the “Best Choices” category. If you have a choice of fish that has higher mercury levels, try to eat fish with lower mercury levels over the next few weeks.
5. Should I make any changes to the advice based on my weight?
The advice provided here is intended as a general guideline. If you are an adult who weighs less than the average used to make our advice (165 pounds), you can stay within the limits of our advice by eating smaller portions or just two servings of fish from the “Best Choices” category a week. For example, you could eat 2. 5 ounces three times a week or you could eat 4 ounces two times a week. Please see below for advice for children.
6. How much fish does the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend?
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends at least 8 ounces of fish per week (based on a 2,000 calorie diet) and less for children. Those who might become or are pregnant or breastfeeding should eat between 8 and 12 ounces of a variety of fish per week, from choices that are lower in mercury.
1. Should children eat fish and if so, how much?
Yes. Fish have important nutrients that can help your child’s growth and development. We suggest that kids eat two servings of fish a week from a range of “Best Choices.” The servings should be smaller than adult portions and right for their age and weight. Most of the time, a serving size for kids ages 1 to 3 is 1 ounce, 2 ounces for kids ages 4 to 7, 3 ounces for kids ages 8 to 10, and 4 ounces for kids 11 and up.
For some children, the healthy dietary patterns in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Tables A3-1 and A3-2) include more fish than our advice. To consume those higher amounts, children should only be fed fish from the “Best Choices” list that are even lower in mercury – these fish are anchovies, Atlantic mackerel, catfish, clams, crab, crawfish, flounder, haddock, mullet, oysters, plaice, pollock, salmon, sardines, scallops, shad, shrimp, sole, squid, tilapia, trout, and whiting.
2. When can I start giving my child fish?
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, you can introduce nutritious foods like fish to complement human milk or infant formula in your baby’s diet once they are about 6 months of age. Starting around that time, complementary foods are necessary to ensure adequate nutrition and exposure to flavors, textures, and different types of foods. Give your baby age-and developmentally-appropriate foods to help prevent choking (advice from CDC and USDA). Signs that your baby is ready for complementary foods include:
- Being able to control head and neck
- Sitting up alone or with support
- Bringing objects to the mouth
- Trying to grasp small objects, such as toys or food
- Taking in food instead of pushing it back up onto the chin
3. How should I start giving my child fish?
Fish is a common food allergy. Before giving your child fish a second time, introduce them to fish and shellfish and watch for signs of an allergy for a few days. If someone in your family has had a food allergy or if your child shows any signs of having one, talk to your child’s doctor or nurse. It is not proven that delaying the introduction of allergenic foods beyond when other foods are introduced help stop food allergies.
NUTRIENTS IN FISH
1. What nutrients are in fish and why are they good for you?
Most fish are an excellent source of protein. Most of the fat that is present in fish is healthy polyunsaturated fat. The polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and omega-6 fatty acids are present in many types of fish and – along with iron, iodine, and choline – are among the key nutrients needed for the rapid brain development that occurs in early childhood. Fish are important sources of selenium, zinc, and other minerals needed by the body. Fish are also natural sources of many B vitamins, like vitamin B12, and oily fish provide vitamins A and D. Iron and zinc also support children’s immune systems, and choline also supports development of the baby’s spinal cord.
2. Why does the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend fish as part of a healthy eating pattern?
Strong evidence shows that eating fish, as part of a healthy eating pattern, may provide heart health benefits. While eating less red and processed meats, sugary drinks, and refined grains and more vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, low- or no-fat dairy, lean meats and poultry, nuts, and unsaturated vegetable oils is linked to better bone health, a lower risk of becoming overweight or obese, and a lower risk for colon and rectal cancers, there is some mild scientific evidence to support this. Fish intake during pregnancy is recommended because moderate evidence shows it can help the baby’s cognitive development.
3. Can I get the same benefits from omega-3 supplements than from eating fish?
Omega-3 fatty acids are one of the most important nutrients for brain development during early childhood. Fish, on the other hand, has protein, omega-6 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals that omega-3 supplements don’t. These are also important for your health and your child’s development. If you take supplements instead of eating fish, you will miss out on the extra nutrients that are good for you and your child that are found in fish. The research is still underway on the health benefits of omega-3 supplements.
Can I eat tuna salad while pregnant?
Can you eat tuna if you’re pregnant?
And canned chunk white tuna — also called albacore tuna — may be higher in mercury than canned light tuna. Although the mercury in seafood isn’t a concern for most adults, special precautions apply if you’re pregnant or planning to become pregnant. If you regularly eat fish high in mercury, mercury can build up in your bloodstream over time.
Is it safe to eat crab meat during pregnancy?
It is safe to eat crab meat during pregnancy as long as it comes from a reliable source, with appropriate hygienic and sanitary conditions for pre-preparation, preparation and packaging of this food.
How much tuna should I eat a week during pregnancy?
Other safe choices include: However, limit white tuna — also called albacore tuna — and tuna steaks to 6 ounces (170 grams) a week. Are there other guidelines for seafood during pregnancy?
Can you eat skipjack tuna while pregnant?
Skipjack tuna, sometimes sold as ‘chunk light tuna’ is one of the smaller types of tuna and likes to jump and ‘skip’ across the surface of the water. It therefore typically contains only a third of the mercury of albacore tuna and is therefore the best choice of tuna while pregnant or breastfeeding. How Much Tuna is Safe to eat?