Something Fishy? 7 Health and Safety Stats Sushi Eaters Should Know

As a born-and-raised Kansas girl, I didn't get into sushi until slightly later in life. It took me a few tries to acquire a taste for it, and a few more tries to be able to eat sashimi, but now it's one of those special meals I truly enjoy. Plus, sushi seems healthy. It's one more way to get some fish in my diet, it tastes fresh and light and it's oh-so-filling. But, as is true with everything fishy, you have to watch out for mercury, and a recent study in the Journal of Risk Research suggests that regularly eating sushi can post a significant risk to people from increased mercury exposure. It's disheartening that any benefit you may get from eating a "healthy protein" like fish might be negated by the negative effects of mercury. So do you need to put down the chopsticks? Not necessarily. But there are a few ways to make sure your sushi is good for you. Because besides mercury, sushi can go bad in a hurry; when you start frying the fish or adding cream cheese, its "healthy" designation gets revoked. Read on for ways to make your next sushi excursion healthy, from mercury and beyond. - By Erin Whitehead


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