Seafood Can Net You Better Health
Watching your waistline? Looking to lower your risk of cardiovascular disease? Trying to boost your brain power?
There’s no shortage of diets out there that claim they can help you
on one or all counts, but finding a diet medical experts agree actually
works isn’t quite so easy.
There seems to be little doubt, however, about the health benefits
of the American Heart Association’s “seafood” diet – the one that calls
for eating fish, particularly fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, trout
and anchovies, at least twice a week, not the one that lets you eat all
the food you see, as the old joke goes.
“Eating fish is essential to a healthy, balanced diet,” said John
Connelly, president of the National Fisheries Institute. “At a time in
our nation’s history when heart disease is the number one killer and
obesity is reaching epidemic proportions, it is essential to educate
the public about the benefits of eating fish rich in protein, vitamins
and fatty acids.”
Fish is low in saturated fat, but high in omega-3 fatty acids, which
have been shown to reduce the risk of irregular heartbeats, decrease
blood triglyceride levels, improve the function of blood vessels and
reduce blood clot formation, all of which can cut a person’s risk for
sudden cardiac death.
Other maladies in which omega-3s may play a beneficial role include
rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome and depression.
“There have been some studies that have shown that omega-3s help
with depression and mental health because your brain is made up mostly
of fatty tissue,” said Shannon Tolbert, a registered dietitian with
Health Promotion and Wellness at Wellmont. “About 60 percent of your
brain is fat, so the benefit from omega-3s is they help the brain to
function properly. And there has been a link between mood disorders
like depression and low concentrations of omega-3s.”
Eating fish can even aid in weight loss, Tolbert said, since fish
and other seafood offer high-quality protein with fewer calories than
similar-sized servings of other meats.
“Fish has about 25 calories per ounce, poultry has about 50 calories
per ounce and red meat has about 125 calories per ounce, so there’s a
big difference there,” she said. “You can eat a good-sized portion of
fish and still get a lot less calories than if you ate even six ounces
of red meat.”
But don’t drag out your deep-fryer just yet. Jennifer Persinger, a
registered dietitian with the Health Resources Center in Johnson City,
recommends baking or broiling fish, not dipping it in batter and frying
it in oil, which can wipe out the heart-healthy benefits you’re after.
“You can make a crispy kind of fish by using cereal such as corn
flakes, crushing those up and rolling the fish product in them, then
cooking it in the oven,” she said. “Some people like salmon cakes, but
instead of using a lot of vegetable oil, use either a little bit of
heart-healthy canola or olive oil or Pam or some other sort of cooking
spray to cook them in.”
Seasonings can also help make fish a little more palatable, Tolbert says.
“You can add teriyaki, a mesquite barbecue sauce or you could use
lemon pepper just to give it little more seasoning,” she said. “If you
like spiciness, you could maybe add a little Tabasco. Chipotle barbecue
is a good one a lot of people like to add to kind of get away from some
of the fish flavor.”
Some folks are steering clear of fish altogether, worried about the dangers of eating seafood contaminated with mercury.
Nearly all fish and shellfish contain traces of methylmercury, which
can harm developing nervous systems; however, larger, long-lived fish
contain the highest levels because they’ve had more time to accumulate
it in their bodies.
Both the EPA and FDA advise young children and women who are
pregnant, may become pregnant or are nursing to avoid shark, swordfish,
king mackerel and tilefish, which pose the greatest risk. But they
encourage eating up to 12 ounces a week of other varieties of fish and
shellfish because of the importance they play in healthy growth and
development.
Five of the most commonly eaten low-mercury fish are shrimp, canned
light tuna, salmon, pollock and catfish, according to the AHA.
For those who still turn up their noses at eating fish, there are
other sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Soybeans, walnuts and flax seed
all contain omega-3s as do some eggs now on the market.
Fish oil supplements are another option, but both Persinger and
Tolbert recommend people talk with their doctor or pharmacist before
adding them to their diet.
Side effects can include gastrointestinal upset. And because the
supplement industry isn’t regulated by the FDA, it’s hard to know
exactly how much omega-3 fatty acids you’re actually getting. “If
you’re on aspirin therapy or you’re taking any medication to thin the
blood, you want to ask your doctor or pharmacist about how much you
should take,” Tolbert said. “You don’t want to do both because it can
cause excessive bleeding.”
Red Chile-Crusted Salmon Steaks
“Bobby Flay’s Bold American Food” (Warner Books, $34.95)
1/4 cup ancho chili powder
2 Tbsp. ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 salmon steaks (about 6 ounces each)
1/2 cup olive oil
In a mixing bowl, combine the ancho chili powder, cumin, and salt
and pepper to taste. Dredge the salmon steaks in the mixture on one
side only. In a large saute pan over high heat, heat the olive oil
until it begins to smoke. Cook the salmon steaks, pepper side down, for
about one minute, or until a crust forms. Lower the heat to medium,
turn the steaks, and cook for five minutes more. The fish should be
rare to medium.
Makes six servings.