Fish:
Using It as part of a healthy eating plan
It is hard to beat fish and seafood for high protein and low fat. Fish has been
shown in study after study to have a positive impact on health, and to lower
the risk of heart disease and other diseases.
In addition, fish is delicious and easy to prepare.
Many nutrition experts recommend eating
fish at least once or twice every week.
The most nutritious varieties of fish, and those that contain the
greatest amounts of heart protecting omega-3 fatty acids, tend to be those that
live in cold ocean waters. These
varieties of fish include salmon and sardines.
The benefits of a fishy diet
Fish has long been thought to have a
positive benefit on the heart. So far
the results of clinical studies have been inconclusive, but research into the
heart healthy effects of fish continues.
No matter what the benefits, there is little doubt that fish is a
healthy food, containing significant levels of protein and smaller amounts of
fat and calories than other types of meat.
As a matter of fact, fish is one of the best sources of protein there is.
Everyone needs protein for building muscles and repairing damaged body
tissues. In addition, protein plays a
vital role in the growth of nails and hair, in hormone production and in many
other vital bodily processes.
In addition to fish, many other animal
based products, such as meat, eggs, poultry and dairy products, contain
significant amounts of protein. Plant
based sources of protein exist as well, in nuts, beans and lentils, among
others.
The key to getting sufficient protein in
the diet is to balance the healthy effects of protein on the diet against the
large amounts of fat and cholesterol that protein rich foods often
contain. The combination of high protein
and low fat is one of the things that makes a diet rich in fish so appealing.
With the exception of salmon, almost all
commonly eaten varieties of fish are very low in fat, and even salmon contains
lower levels of fat than many varieties of meats. In addition, fish is low in saturated fat,
the type of fat that is most associated with heart disease and clogged
arteries.
Fish is low in unsaturated fat because of
the nature of where and how they live.
Instead of storing energy in the form of saturated fat as land animals
do, fish store their fat in the form of polyunsaturated oils. That adaptation allows their bodies to
function normally in the cool oceans and streams where they swim. It also makes them a great choice for anyone
seeking to cut levels of saturated fat in the diet.
For all these reasons, fish remains an
important part of any low fat, heart healthy lifestyle. Substituting high fat, greasy foods like
hamburgers and ribs is a great way to make a change for healthy living.
One note about fish and pollution,
however. It is true that many fish
caught in polluted waters contain high levels of mercury. While most commercially caught and grown fish
is low in mercury, it is important for fisherman to limit their consumption of
locally caught fish. Pregnant women are
also advised to limit their intake of fish, due to the potential harm to the
baby.
Fitting fish into your busy lifestyle
Many people avoid fish because they do not
know how to prepare and cook it. While
it is true that fish can present more of a challenge for the inexperienced,
there are many recipes and cookbooks that make preparation easier. In addition, many packaged seafood products
contain cooking tips and serving suggestions that take some of the mystery out
of preparing a nutritious and delicious meal of fresh fish.