Q. I love fish, and eat it five or six times a week, but the mercury risk troubles me. Are there certain fish that contain less mercury than others? — Muriel
A. Yes, and you definitely should be focusing on them. Fish isn’t called “brain food” for nothing. Not only does it help ease depression and potentially reduce Alzheimer’s risk, you’re just plain smart for eating it: Just one or two 6-ounce servings of omega-3-rich fish every week reduces your risk of dying prematurely of any cause by 17 percent and dying of heart disease by 36 percent. But as you mention, mercury — which can affect the development of the brain and nervous system of a fetus (that’s why limits are placed on fish for pregnant women) and is toxic in large doses to adults, too — gives you some bad with the good. If you’re eating five or six fish meals a week, you may be getting too much of the bad thing that’s in that good thing.
