Why seafood is so important to our health

It’s never too late to make a healthy change; begin this New Year with a new outlook on seafood.

The benefits of eating as little as 100g of seafood 1-4 times per week are astounding.

I’m sure you’ve seen Omega 3 supplements advertised or in stores, along with fish oil andsh oil capsules, all singing the benefits of what they contain; but aren’t you sick of supplements and pills? In the first study of its kind, Deakin University recently discovered that roughly one third of Aussies are deficient in Vitamin D, a vitamin usually absorbed via exposure to UVB rays from the Sun.

Seafood is the best dietary source of Vitamin D there is. Fresh seafood (particularly finfish) is also a high-protein, low calorie food that is packed full of vitamins and minerals. Vitamin D is essential to the absorption of calcium, and it helps to maintain the strength and health of our bones and muscles. Once you consider the other vitamins and minerals found in seafood (including: Selenium, Omegas 3 and 6, Taurine and co-Enzyme Q10), upping your weekly intake of fresh fish becomes an achievable and obvious step to maintaining good overall health.

‘The highest rates

of heart disease have been recorded

for men who ate no finfish at all.’

 – What’s so healthy about seafood http://www.mfma.com.au (29.07.2016)

Study after study has shown links between consuming fresh seafood and long-term health benefits, such as: a reduced risk of high blood pressure, arthritis, depression and obesity, better memory function and even a potential link to cancer prevention.

Now for the really good news: fish is also delicious.

In Australia we are lucky enough to have access to some of the best seafood in the world, and the recipe options are endless. Some finfish (such as cod & butterfish) are delicately flavoured and light. Others (such as tuna and salmon) are meatier, with a more distinctive flavour. Exchanging as little as two meat-based meals a week for fish-based meals is likely to have a long lasting, positive affect on your overall health.

It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s delicious and it’s filled with vitamins and minerals essential to your health, so make a change this January; go to your local fishmonger or fresh-seafood provider and enjoy your choices, safe in the knowledge that you are maintaining a balanced, nutritious diet!