Many people think if they just eliminate red meat and poultry from their diets, their eating healthier. This is partly true, but there are hazards to eating fish and seafood as well. The harm that humans have done to the environment has had a direct effect on the fish and seafood we eat.

There are elements of fish and shellfish are an important part of a healthy diet. Fish and shellfish contain high-quality protein and other essential nutrients, are low in saturated fat, and contain omega-3 fatty acids. A well-balanced diet that includes a variety of fish and shellfish can contribute to heart health and children’s proper growth and development. So, women and young children in particular should include fish or shellfish in their diets due to the many nutritional benefits.

However, nearly all fish and shellfish contain traces of mercury. For most people, the risk from mercury by eating fish and shellfish is not a health concern. Yet, some fish and shellfish contain higher levels of mercury that may harm an unborn baby or young child’s developing nervous system. The risks from mercury in fish and shellfish depend on the amount of fish and shellfish eaten and the levels of mercury in the fish and shellfish. Therefore, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are advising women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and young children to avoid some types of fish and eat fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.

Is this anyway to eat? In fear of what unhealthy elements are lurking in the food we eat? Eliminating red meat and eating a more vegetarian diet is an excellent start on the road to more healthy eating. Eliminating fish and seafood is one of the final steps towards eating a complete vegetarian diet and the health benefits that are your reward for making that change.

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It’s actually pretty easy to eliminate red meat and poultry from our diets. When you give any thought whatsoever, the reasons are so compelling to stop eating them. Your reasons may be physical, because you need to lower your cholesterol or blood pressure. You may want to reduce your risk of cancers that may run in your family, and eliminating red meat from your diet is an important way to do this. You may also find that the way we mass-produce meat and poultry for consumption in this country is repugnant to you.

If we really thought about the way meat and poultry is raised, we’d never eat the stuff again. We’re consuming flesh that’s been produced from enormous pain and suffering. Even the smallest life has value on this earth; mass producing these animals to slaughter and eat them degrades their lives and degrades our own in the process of eating them.

It might feel like it’s carrying things to far to eliminate something as elemental as a shrimp or a scallop. But think about what we dump into the ocean where this food comes from. All our waste and trash gets hauled into the ocean, if it doesn’t go into a landfill. Think of the millions of gallons of oil that have been dumped from oil tanker accidents. Think of the impact that the erosion of the ozone layer in the atmosphere has had on every living thing on the planet. There are toxic levels of mercury in fish and seafood, so much so that if you’re a woman contemplating getting pregnant, you most definitely shouldn’t eat fish. Your risk of producing a baby with birth defects is extremely high if you do.

It can be hard to let go of fish and seafood, because this has a similar texture to red meat and poultry. It’s flesh after all, even though it’s marine flesh. It might take longer to eliminate fish and seafood from your diet, but keep at the effort. If you’ve been realizing the benefits of eating more vegetarian, then it’s really a small step to take to eliminate this last piece of animal flesh from your diet.

Imagine how good you’ll feel about yourself and what you’re doing for the planet when make that last step and eliminate all meat and animal products from your diet.

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If you haven’t been eating a vegetarian diet for years, and want to make the shift, it’s best to do so gradually, in stages. A good way to start is to eliminate red meat and substitute fish or poultry for the red meat you’ve been eating. While it’s not eating more vegetarian, you’re at least eliminating the biggest offender in disease-enhancing foods, red meat.

After you’ve successfully eliminated red meat, then start reducing the amount of poultry you eat. While it’s not as bad for you as red meat, because it’s not as high in fat, it’s still meat that’s been raised on a farm in terrible, cramped and inhumane conditions. Poultry is so laden with growth hormones and antibiotics that’s it’s nothing like a chicken or turkey that we might have hunted for food centuries ago. Chickens are raised in horrible conditions, overfed and then slaughtered.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s just as detrimental to our physical and spiritual health as eating red meat. It’s also fairly easy to eliminate poultry from our diets because let’s face it – it’s like eating wood pulp, it’s so tasteless. All the antibiotics and abnormal living conditions have processed any natural flavor that poultry ever had in the first place.

Add more fish and seafood, if you’re not quite ready to replace poultry with grains and vegetables and legumes yet. While there is risk in eating fish and seafood, because of the high levels of mercury they contain, it’s a better alternative to poultry and red meat. This may be as far as you ever get in moving towards vegetarianism, or at least eliminating meat from your diet. Give yourself time to get used to this. You won’t miss poultry for a minute.

We usually eat chicken and chicken breasts because it’s lower in fat and calories, but it’s also lower in any kind of nutritional value. When we’re not getting essential proteins and vitamins, we’re still starving our bodies, regardless of how healthy we think we’re being. Eliminating poultry is one of the most positive steps you can take towards a healthy diet and a healthy planet.

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Using fish as part of a healthy eating plan
Tony Robinson

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.

Even those who do not cook, however, can enjoy the many benefits
of fish in the diet. There are a number of canned seafood
products on the market, including canned salmon, sardines and
the ever popular tuna. So there is no reason fish cannot fit
into your healthy eating plan.

About the author:

Tony Robinson is a Company CEO, webmaster husband and dad. In
his busy lifestyle he has placed importance on health and
fitness. Visit http://www.eat-healthily.com for good eating tips
and techniques to assist you maintain a healthy lifestyle.

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