Tea and Fish - a healthy mouthful!

I just found this interesting new research on the good relationship between fish and tea. If you drink tea (black or green) while you eat fish that may contain mercury, research indicates that the tea may positively inhibit the absorption of mercury.

And then add slices of lemon to the fish (and/or the tea) and enhance the bioavailability of the healthy benefits of tea!

This should encourage cooking with fish, tea, and citrus fruits. What a healthy mouthful!

Yours in Tea!

Kirsten

Here is the abstract:

Impact of phytochemical-rich foods on bioaccessibility of mercury from fish, Food Chemistry, Volume 112, Issue 1, 1 January 2009, Pages 46-50Soon-Mi Shim, Mario G. Ferruzzi, Young-Cheul Kim, Elsa M. Janle, Charles R. Santerre

The effects of phytochemical-rich foods on bioaccessibility of mercury in fish tissue (the amount of mercury that is released from fish into gastrointestinal tract fluid following a simulated digestion) were investigated using an in vitro digestion. Total mercury in the aqueous phase following a simulated digestion of fish with added food treatments was used to measure mercury bioaccessibility. Green tea extract (31–2000 mg), black tea extract (31–2000 mg), and soy protein (50–100 mg) significantly reduced mercury bioaccessibility by 82–92%, 88–91%, and 44–87%, respectively. Grapefruit juice (0.5–10 ml) did not reduce mercury in the aqueous phase. Wheat bran (50–1000 mg) decreased mercury bioaccessibility (84%); oat bran and psyllium reduced bioaccessibility (by 59–75%, 15–31%, respectively) at amounts greater than 500 mg. We therefore suggest that co-consumption of foods containing phytochemicals at the same time as fish that contains mercury may potentially reduce mercury absorption compared to eating fish alone.