In the 1920's, anything Japanese was considered cool in the U.S. We adopted their garden architecture, art, and food. Then the first sushi restaurants opened in New York and San Fransisco, and we have not looked back since.
Yes, we know it supposed to be healthy. Yes, we know the presentation can seem sooo exotic. Yes, we know it makes chicks moist when they eat it. That last reason should be enough to get us to condone the eating of sushi, but it is not gonna' happen because mercury in the fish supply is way more unhealthy than the benefits of eating certain raw fish.
From: http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/sushi.asp
Guide to Mercury in Sushi
Women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant should be especially careful about eating sushi. Many of the fish chosen for sushi are the apex predators of the fish food chain, which means they can bear high concentrations of mercury. The following list highlights sushi choices highest and lowest in mercury.
LOWER MERCURYAkagai (ark shell) 1Anago (conger eel) 1Aoyagi (round clam) Awabi (abalone) 1Ayu (sweetfish) Ebi (shrimp)* Hamaguri (clam) Hamo (pike conger; sea eel) 1Hatahata (sandfish) Himo (ark shell) 1Hokkigai (surf clam) Hotategai (scallop)* Ika (squid) Ikura (salmon roe) Kaibashira (shellfish) Kani (crab) Karei (flatfish) Kohada (gizzard shad) Masago (smelt egg) Masu (trout) Mirugai (surf clam) Sake (salmon) Sayori (halfbeak) 1Shako (mantis shrimp) Tai (sea bream) 1Tairagai (razor-shell clam) 1Tako (octopus) Tobikko (flying fish egg)
Torigai (cockle) Tsubugai (shellfish) Unagi (freshwater eel) 1Uni (sea urchin roe)HIGH MERCURYAhi (yellowfin tuna)Aji (horse mackerel) 1Buri (adult yellowtail) 1Hamachi (young yellowtail)
1Inada (very young yellowtail) 1Kanpachi (very young yellowtail) 1Katsuo (bonito) 1Kajiki (swordfish)*Maguro (bigeye*, bluefin* or yellowfin tuna)Makjiki (blue marlin)*Meji (young bigeye*, bluefin* or yellowfin tuna)Saba (mackerel)Sawara (Spanish mackerel)Seigo (young sea bass)*Shiro (albacore tuna)Suzuki (sea bass)*Toro (bigeye*, bluefin* or yellowfin tuna)O.K. Then there's the fact that the greed of the Japanese tuna market is poised to destroy what is left of the planet's bluefin tuna population. A bluefin caught off the coast of Maine is shipped to Japan and then back to your plate after the price has been gouged more times than a middle-aged courtesan.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/revealed-the-bid-to-corner-worlds-bluefin-tuna-market-1695479.html
and
http://trueslant.com/hivemind/2009/07/10/is-the-mafia-stealing-your-tuna/your-tuna/
So the next time your partner suggest that you go out to eat sushi, make sure you accept to make them happy and horny, then go to the bathroom and use your fingers to get rid of the poison, order some saki, and reap the benefits of a sushi-induced aphrodisiac evening. Bluefin tuna sashimi supercedes blue balls everytime.
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