Hilary Swank Mercury Poisoning From “Million Dollar Baby”
Written by Vegetarian Star on January 5th, 2011 in Actresses, Environment-Eco-Green, Food & Drink, Nutrition-Health-Fitness, pescatarian.
Hilary Swank
Hilary Swank joins Jeremy Piven in the group of fishing eating vegetarian celebrities who came down with a case of mercury poisoning.
Swank said for her role in “Million Dollar Baby,” she increased her consumption of seafood for more protein to put on weight and paid severely.
“I put on 19 pounds of muscle: I was 29, I was a vegetarian and suddenly I was eating so much fish that I got elevated mercury problems,” Swank was quoted as saying.
“It plagued me for a couple of years after that movie. When I discovered that my health was suffering, I had to change my diet. So now I eat pork and beef.”
Pork and beef isn’t exactly what we’d call the miracle alternative to mercury-laden fish…sure hope she doesn’t come down with cholesterol or heart issues later.
The NRDC lists seafood containing the lowest and highest levels of mercury. An interesting note: Only 14% of fish with the lowest mercury levels have either 1.) been fished to dangerously low numbers or 2.) are caught using environmentally destructive methods. Eighty-six percent of fish with the highest mercury levels fit this criteria while 50% in the High Mercury category fit the criteria and only 35% of fish in the moderate mercury category fit this criteria.
Coincidence? Flipper’s revenge?
What bad for the environment is bad for the human.
Toss the fish back into the waters and make tofu or avocado sushi instead.
Photo: gdcgraphics/Creative Commons
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January 5th, 2011 at 7:45 pm
Her comment makes zero sense…her health was suffering from eating fish (meat) so she decided to eat possibly the two most unhealthiest meats there are in order to fix it? lol
January 6th, 2011 at 4:56 am
This is one of the drawbacks of being pescatarian. Mercury blocks the uptake of B12, so then you’re more likely to become mercury poisoned as well as B12 deficient. Feeling weak you then “have to” eat red meat.
Those almost veg*ns who still have meat cravings (so they eat fish) or think they can’t be completely healthy without meat (so they eat the “healthiest” — fish) actually set themselves back.
There are over a trillion fish pulled out of the oceans each year for food. When you consider the environmental impact of excluding fish and chicken rather than beef from your diet, it could be just as significant. There are billions more chickens slaughtered each year since chicken has come to be considered a healthier meat. Hence high tranportation and feed transport costs contributing to emissions.
But chicken has not been a lean meat for decades. According to USDA figures, chicken now has 10 times more calories and fat than it did 100 years ago. Because of production methods chicken now has 2 or 3 times more fat than protein.
Vegan Outreach advocates giving up poultry first on the road to becoming veg, because you’re reducing the most suffering immediately that way. It takes almost 200 chickens to equal the meat of one steer.
So all things considered, eliminating beef and pork from your diet last may be kinder and healthier overall. But once someone has become a failed pescatarian and turned to beef and pork, it seems much less likely they will ever go vegetarian or vegan.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:45 am
That makes more sense now. Hope that she does go back though.
January 6th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
She never came off as being too bright to me. Here’s proof.