Whether you are a meat eater that has recently been spurred on to abstain from mammals or a vegetarian seeking more flexibility in your food choices, the pescatarian diet may be what you are looking for. It opens your nutrition to a whole ecosystem that may not occupy your plate regularly, while providing serious benefits to your heart, brain and general health.
Here’s how to follow a pescatarian diet and why you would like in the first place.
What is a pescatarian diet?
A pescatarian diet follows a mostly vegetarian diet except for the addition of seafood. Some pescatarians also include dairy and eggs in their diet, while others don’t.
“Most pescatarians eat many vegetarian meals and only include seafood a few times a week,” says Jenn Cassetta, CN, MS, Master of Science in Nutrition and Certified Nutrition Physiologist in Santa Monica, who has been on a pescatarian diet for more than 15 years.
The benefits of a pescatarian diet
According to Monika Jacobson, RDN, a registered dietitian nutrition physiologist in Spokane, Washington, the pescatarian diet can provide significant benefits:
1. Brain and Heart Health
Many fish-like salmon, sardines and mackerel-are high in omega-3s, which are beneficial to cardiovascular and glycemic health and can support brain health.
2. Weight control
“Eating seafood together with a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, healthy fats and whole grains in the relevant calorie area is very beneficial for weight loss,” says Jacobson.
3. Lean Protein
Most seafood contains high protein, but lower in calories and saturated fat than other types of meat, so you can meet your protein requirements with fewer calories.
4. Sustainability
A pescatarian diet is generally more sustainable than eating meat, as fishing can have a smaller carbon imprint than raising the animals we eat.
What to look for on a pescatarian diet
Nutrients
When done right, a pescatarian diet can have great health benefits; It is traditionally lower in saturated fat and focuses on nourishing plant food and lean protein.
However, “there are always ways to become healthy diets unhealthy,” says Ha Nguyen, RD, LDN, a registered dietitian in Philadelphia. “Technically, a pescatarian diet can be pop-tarts for breakfast, frozen fishing rods for lunch and french fries for dinner.”
So instead of filling up on processed or fried foods, Cassetta grilling, baking or poaching your seafood and choice of plant -based protein sources such as beans, nuts and seeds.
Try e.g. A lentil salad or hummus as a side dish instead of potatoes and other simple starch. Or go to a single serving package or two tablespoons of almond butter with some fresh vegetables like a dinner snack instead of a coffee-shop-wien bread or whatever is in the nearest vending machine.
Mercury
The state of our environment means that almost every fish contains mercury. But it’s not a reason to eliminate fish from your diet or avoid the pescatarian diet.
“Levels of mercury in fishing range dramatically, but if you choose the right seafood, you have very little exposure,” says registered dietitian Janis Jibrin, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.
This table from the FDA is a good resource to keep track of the latest recommendations on Mercury in Fish. But as a rule of thumb, jibrin suggests avoiding greater catches such as swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tile fish because they have more time to accumulate larger levels of mercury.
Low Mercury options include shrimp, salmon, pollock and catfish. While canned light tuna is safe for regular consumption, canned albacore tuna is very high in mercury and should be consumed sparingly.
Quality
Your guiding principle for getting the best quality of seafood is to choose wild fish whenever possible, and avoid those who are farm.
“When you buy any animal protein, you always have to choose the best quality you can afford,” says Cassetta. “When it comes to seafood, I like to go to a fishing market where I can talk to someone and find out what is freshest and be able to see where the fish come from the wilds of what they are naturally intended to eat, and therefore usually have greater relationship between omega-3s.
Most fish can also be bought frozen, which means it can be thawed and eaten when needed so you don’t worry about wasting something. According to the US Ministry of Commerce, most frozen seafood are today the same in quality as fresh. Check their tips for buying and handling seafood.
How to get started with a pescatarian diet
Ready to try a pescatarian diet? Sharon Palmer, RD, suggests creating a few go-to recipes that you enjoy and are easy to cook, like black bean taco or vegetarian stirring. “That way you can do these recipes that easy go to your busiest days.” It can also be as easy as subbuilding the beef or chicken in some of your favorite recipes with fish.
Create a meal preparation that works for you, the Nguyen suggests. Since fresh seafood needs to be prepared for one or two days, start with it at the beginning of the week and have frozen options stored in the freezer in the middle of the week.
“Shrimp is great for pipes that fish can be toasted in a pot for light clean -up, and mussels and tongues are good for large batches of seafood pasta,” says Nguyen. “Look at canned tuna and sardines, both of which are tall in omega-3s, for easy lunch options.”
For vegetarians to lighten into the diet, start by falling into a seafood bowl a few times a week, jibrin suggests. “Being Pescatarian is basically being a vegetarian with the addition of seafood, so the transition to vegetarians is really easy. You can be vegetarian Monday, a pescatarian Tuesday and a vegan Wednesday.”