How much sardine per week is safe?

Mercury: FDA testing 1990 to 2012. Groups and servings: FDA and EPA advice for people who are or may become pregnant, are breastfeeding, and for children. A serving is 4 oz (113 g) for adults.

• Level E The FDA and EPA advice about eating fish tells readers to eat 2 to 3 servings a week from its Best Choices list. US FDA and EPA, Advice about Eating Fish
• Level E FDA and EPA advise 2 to 3 servings a week of Best Choices fish in pregnancy and breastfeeding, 2 servings a week for children, and list king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, shark, swordfish, Gulf of Mexico tilefish and bigeye tuna as Choices to Avoid with the highest mercury levels. FDA and EPA, Advice about Eating Fish

One serving (4 oz) = 4 oz (113 g). USDA FoodData Central, Fish, sardine, Atlantic, canned in oil, drained solids with bone. Limits count everything you eat and drink that day, so other foods and supplements use up part of each one.

Each row is a separate USDA analysis of the same food. The spread comes from variety, growing conditions and sampling, and it changes the answer.

• Level B In a randomized crossover trial in 18 people with plaque psoriasis, 6 oz (170 g) of oily fish daily for 6 weeks, with sardine among the fish named, gave a modest 11 to 15% clinical improvement that white fish did not. Eur J Clin Nutr, 1993
• Level B In a 1-year randomized trial in 152 adults aged 65 or older with prediabetes, adding 7.1 oz (200 g) of sardine a week lowered insulin resistance and the share at very high diabetes risk compared with diet advice alone. Clin Nutr, 2021
• Level B In a 6-month randomized pilot in 35 drug-naive people with type 2 diabetes, 3.5 oz (100 g) of sardines 5 days a week did not improve glycemic control but raised the omega-3 index by 2.6% against 0.6%. Lipids Health Dis, 2016
• Level B In a randomized trial in 94 postpartum women, a higher protein diet built on 4.4 oz (125 g) of sardine a week gave more weight loss among overweight and obese women than standard advice. Matern Child Nutr, 2019

Only studies that give the amount eaten. Levels: A is a meta-analysis of trials, B a randomized trial, C an observational study. How we grade evidence.

• Level E NIH ODS sets the adult upper limit for calcium at 2,000 to 2,500 mg a day, and lists constipation among the effects of too much calcium in the blood. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Calcium Fact Sheet for Health Professionals
• Level E FDA kept a Daily Value of 300 mg for cholesterol on US food labels, as an intake not to exceed to lower heart disease risk. FDA, 2016, Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, final rule (FR Doc. 2016-11867)
• Level E FDA testing of 90 sardine samples found a mean mercury level of 0.013 ppm (median 0.010, maximum 0.083). US FDA, Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish (1990-2012), content current as of 02/25/2022
• Level C Among 81 fish-allergic patients in Spain, 42% had anaphylaxis and the average specific IgE to sardine was 18.4 kUA/L. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol, 2020
• Level E NIAMS (NIH), gout: Avoiding certain seafood, such as shellfish (shrimp and lobster), sardines, and anchovies. NIAMS (NIH), accessed 2026-10-12

If you have kidney disease, take blood thinners or other medicines, or are pregnant, the right amount for you is a question for your clinician.

Canned sardines with bones are high in calcium and cholesterol. A 4 oz serving carries 433 mg of calcium and 161 mg of cholesterol in the USDA record, so about 1.8 servings reach the 300 mg label Daily Value for cholesterol. That is a label figure, not an upper limit. The same serving has 348 mg of sodium, 15% of the 2,300 mg daily limit.

In 152 adults aged 65 or older with prediabetes, adding 7 oz (200 g) of sardine a week for a year lowered insulin resistance compared with diet advice alone (Level B).

If you have gout, NIH (NIAMS) lists sardines among the seafood to avoid. Fish allergy can be severe: among 81 fish-allergic patients in Spain, 42% had anaphylaxis (Level C).

Evidence behind this note

1. Level E FDA testing of 90 sardine samples found a mean mercury level of 0.013 ppm (median 0.010, maximum 0.083). US FDA, Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish (1990-2012), content current as of 02/25/2022
2. Level E FDA kept a Daily Value of 300 mg for cholesterol on US food labels, as an intake not to exceed to lower heart disease risk. FDA, 2016, Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, final rule (FR Doc. 2016-11867)
3. Level B In a 1-year randomized trial in 152 adults aged 65 or older with prediabetes, adding 7.1 oz (200 g) of sardine a week lowered insulin resistance and the share at very high diabetes risk compared with diet advice alone. Clin Nutr, 2021
4. Level C Among 81 fish-allergic patients in Spain, 42% had anaphylaxis and the average specific IgE to sardine was 18.4 kUA/L. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol, 2020

Written from the data and studies on this page, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.

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