Whether you are a meat eater that has recently been stimulated to abstain from mammals or a vegetarian seeking more flexibility in your food choices, the pescatarian diet could be what you are looking for. It opens your nutrition to an entire ecosystem that may not regularly occupy your plate, while offering serious advantages to your heart, brain and overall health.
Here’s how to follow a Pescatarian diet and why you would like in the first place.
What is a pescatarian regime?
A pescatarian diet follows mainly vegetarian dietApart from adding fish and seafood. Some pescatarians also include dairy and eggs in their diet, while others are not.
“Most pescatarians eat many vegetarian meals and include only fish or seafood sometimes a week,” said Jenn Cassetta, CN, MSMaster of Science in Nutrition and Certified Nutritionnist in Santa Monica, which has followed a pescatarian diet for over 15 years.
Advantages of a pescatarian diet
According to Monika Jacobson, RDNA nutritionist dietitian in Spokane, Washington, the Pescatarian regime can offer important advantages:
1. Brain health and heart
Many fish – such as salmon, sardines and mackerel – are Omega-3 chopswho are beneficial for cardiovascular and glycemic health and can support brain health.
2. Weight management
“Eating fish or crustaceans alongside a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, healthy fats and whole grains with the appropriate calorie range is very beneficial for weight loss,” explains Jacobson.
3. Skinny protein
Most seafood are protein -rich but lower in calories and saturated fat that other types of meat, allowing you to meet your protein needs with fewer calories.
4. Sustainability
A pescatarian diet is generally more sustainable That eating meat, because fishing can have a smaller carbon footprint than raising the animals we consume.
What to look for on a pescatarian diet
Nutrients
Once well done, a pescatarian diet can have great health benefits; It is traditionally lower in saturated fats and focuses on nutritious plant foods and lean proteins.
However, “there are still ways to transform unhealthy healthy diets,” says Ha nguyenRD, LDN, a dietitian recorded in Philadelphia. “Technically, a pescatarian diet can be pop tarts for breakfast, frozen fish sticks for lunch and fries for dinner.”
Thus, instead of filling up on processed or fried foods, Cassetta recommends to grill, cook or poach your seafood and choose plant protein sources such as beans, nuts and seeds.
For example, try a lens salad or a houmous as an accompaniment instead of potatoes and other simple starchs. Or opt for a unique pack or two tablespoons of almond butter with fresh vegetables such as noon snack instead of a coffee pastry or everything in the nearest automatic distributor.
Mercury
The state of our environment means that almost all fish contains mercury. But it is not a reason to eliminate fish from your diet or avoid the Pescatarian diet.
“Mercury levels in the range of fish spectacularly, but if you choose the right seafood, you will have very little exposure,” explains the registered dietitian Janis JibrinAuxiliary professor at the University of Georgetown.
This table From the FDA is a good resource to keep track of the latest recommendations on mercury in fish. But as a rule, Jibrin suggests avoiding larger catches such as the swordfish, the shark, the king of the mackerel and the killer fish because they have more time to accumulate higher levels of mercury.
Low Mercury options include shrimps, salmon, pollock and catfish. While the canned light tuna is safe for regular consumption, the canned albacore tuna is very Mercury top And should be consumed sparingly.
Quality
Your principal principle to obtain the best quality of seafood is to choose fish caught in the wild and to avoid those which are high.
“When buying an animal protein, always choose the best quality you can afford,” explains Cassetta. “Regarding fish and seafood, I like to go to a fish market where I can talk to someone and discover what is the coolest and be able to see where the fish comes from. Wild fishing fish eat what they are naturally intended to eat and therefore generally have higher relationships of omega-3. The high fish of the farm eat corn and soybeans and are fed by antibiotics. »»
Most fish can also be bought frozen, which means that it can be deflected and ate if you need so that you don’t worry to waste. According to the American Department of Commerce, most of the seafood frozen today are equal of quality in Fresh. Discover their Tips to buy and manage seafood.
How to start a pescatarian diet
Ready to try a pescatarian diet? Sharon PalmerRD, suggests creating some recipes of choice that you like and that you are easy to prepare, such as tacos of black beans or vegetarian jigsters. “In this way, you can make these recipes that are so easy to play in your busiest days.” It can also be as easy as replacing beef or chicken in some of your favorite recipes with fish.
Configure a Meal preparation calendar It works for you, suggests Nguyen. Since fresh seafood should be prepared in one or two days, start with this at the start of the week and the frozen options stored in the freezer for half.
“The shrimps are ideal for jumped dishes, the fish can be roasted in a pan for easy cleaning, and mussels and scallops are perfect for large battles of seafood”, explains Nguyen. “Look at the canned tuna and the sardines, which are both rich in omega-3, for easy lunch options.”
In order for vegetarians to relax in the diet, start by falling into a seafood dish several times a week, suggests Jibrin. “Being a pescatarian is essentially a vegetarian with the addition of seafood, so the transition for vegetarians is really easy. You could be a vegetarian Monday, Tuesday Pescatarian and Vegans on Wednesday. »»
