Eat fish twice a week
Get at least 8 ounces of seafood a week, favoring fatty fish that is low in mercury.
- How often
- Weekly
- Time
- Two meals a week
- Recommended for
- 2 factors
How to do it
- Aim for at least 8 ounces of seafood a week, about two palm-sized 4-ounce servings.
- Choose fatty fish often, such as salmon, sardines, Atlantic mackerel, herring or anchovies.
- Stick mostly to the FDA's "Best Choices" list, which includes salmon, sardines, shrimp, pollock, tilapia, cod and canned light tuna.
- For fish you or friends catch, check your state or tribal fish advisory first. If there isn't one, the FDA says to eat at most one serving of that fish in a week and no other fish that week.
- If you don't eat fish, get the plant omega-3 (ALA) from walnuts, flaxseed, chia seeds and canola or soybean oil. The adequate intake is 1.6 g a day for men and 1.1 g for women.
Why it helps
Fish and seafood are the main food source of the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA, which your cell membranes, heart, brain and eyes use. Fatty cold-water fish has the most.
Be careful
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, aim for 8 to 12 ounces a week of lower-mercury fish. Avoid king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, shark, swordfish, bigeye tuna and Gulf of Mexico tilefish. Fish oil supplements at high doses can increase bleeding risk with warfarin or other blood thinners, so check with a doctor or pharmacist before taking them.