Eat Fish, Avoid Mercury

Worried about mercury overload in your diet? It's no mystery that too much of the stuff is bad for your brain, but unless you've been following Entourage star Jeremy Piven's diet, chances are you're probably not getting enough of the scaly swimmers.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) put out a review in 2007 that concludes that the benefits of consumption of fish far outweigh any risks from mercury. New recommendations actually urge all people, including pregnant women, to eat a minimum of 12 ounces (2 to 3 servings) of fish per week in order to get enough of those coveted omega-3s (you know--the super-healthy fat that's been shown to prevent heart disease, depression and stroke).

On the flip side, many types of seafood do contain mercury--and at very high levels, mercury kills brain cells.

Still, getting mercury poisoning isn't easy--your body removes most of it naturally via the filtering action of your kidneys and other metabolic pathways. In order to rack up a dangerous amount of the toxin, you'd have to consume the most mercury-laden fish several times a month.