Joe Rogan Says He Gave Himself Arsenic Poisoning From Eating Too Many Sardines
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Joe Rogan once feared that somebody was trying to poison him after he got bloodwork done and low levels of arsenic were detected—but it turned out something fishy was going on.
During a recent episode of his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, he told guest Elon Musk that at one point, he suspected he was being poisoned after his doctors found traces of arsenic in his blood. "I got my bloodwork done and the doctor says, 'You have arsenic in your blood,'" he said. "I go, 'Is somebody poisoning me?'"
But far from being surreptitiously and continually fed small doses of arsenic like a character in a Victorian novel, it turns out Rogan's own go-to snack may have been the culprit: sardines. "You can get arsenic from sardines," Rogan told Musk. "I found that out the hard way."
He explained that once he told doctors about his habit of eating three cans of sardines every night, the mystery was swiftly solved: it was naturally occurring arsenic that is found in sardines and other foods, including mushrooms. After cutting the fish from his diet, he went back for bloodwork three months later and the arsenic was gone from his system.
But can sardines really give you arsenic poisoning?
"Sardines are known to have arsenic in them. Because of this, and because of the fact that sardines also can be contaminated with mercury, they should not be eaten more than three to four times a week, one can at a time," says MH advisor Abby Langer, RD, author of Good Food, Bad Diet. "While I would not recommend eating sardines every single day, three cans at a time, I still do recommend eating them because they’re still healthy choice."
In reality, having trace amounts of arsenic in your blood does not necessarily translate to arsenic poisoning. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the estimated average dietary intake of arsenic by adults in the United States is 40 micrograms per day, with meat, fish, and poultry accounting for 80 percent of this intake. In other words, a tin of sardines is not going to lead to acute poisoning.
Ultimately, you shouldn't let Rogan put you off from enjoying sardines as part of a balanced diet: sardines are also rich in protein and Omega-3s.
"Most tinned fish is a protein packed, nutritious, inexpensive, accessible choice, especially right now when the price of groceries is at an all-time high," says Langer. "A healthy diet has a variety of foods in it, and this includes a variety of protein sources. Sardines, other fish, maybe some meat, plenty of plant proteins… they can all fit into a healthy diet."
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