Seafood: The Dieter's Friend

As well as being high in essential nutrients, seafood is a fantastic aid for dieters looking to lose weight on a healthy and balanced diet.
Seafood is very low in calories in comparison to many other types of food, which makes it ideal for dieters on reduced calorie diets. Of course, if you're intending to benefit from the low number of calories in fish and shellfish, it's important to use healthy cooking methods such as steaming, grilling or baking.
Most of the calories in seafood come from protein, and protein is vital in keeping us feeling 'full'. In the 1990s, researchers at the University of Sydney found that 240-calorie portions of seafood kept participants feeling more satiated than portions of other foods with the same calorific contents.
What's more, omega-3 is essential for the thyroid gland, which helps to control metabolism, which in turn plays a large part in controlling weight. Several studies have found links between low levels of omega-3 and obesity, which provides even more reason to keep your seafood intake high when dieting.
Even if you are not on a diet, swapping your meat for seafood can reduce your calorific intake and provide you with additional nutrients such as Omega-3, selenium and Vitamin D. For example, try swapping the chicken in your stir-fry for a healthier alternative.

Best Choices at Seafood Restaurants

When you want to eat out healthfully, you just head to your local seafood joint, right? After all, fish is low in calories and saturated fat, and can be one of the best sources of brain-boosting, heart-healthy omega-3s.
Not so fast. Fish may start out as a wonder protein, but it can undergo a drastic transformation when it hits a commercial kitchen. Seafood restaurants have a long history of serving heaping baskets of heavily battered, deep-fried fish paired with even more deep-fried accompaniments. If there's a green vegetable to be found, it's the cabbage slaw swaddled in mayo.
But that's changing. Many chains now devote entire menu sections to blackened and broiled options. Red Lobster, the biggest national seafood chain, even offers half-portions (a satisfying 5 ounces) of grilled fish. This makes us happy as clams. Speaking of which, when steamed or boiled, clams and other shellfish are great choices—as long as you skip tartar sauce or melted butter.
We analyzed dishes at a number of restaurants. Dishes marked as "Splurge Only" aren't untouchable but can be a really big splurge. Nutrition numbers are estimates: Results vary widely among restaurants.
SPLURGE ONLY:
Fish and Chips
943 calories
A thick batter and oil that's slightly too cool will cause whatever's being fried to soak up oil—and fat and calories—like a sponge. Split one order among a group, and order a healthier appetizer to fill you up.
Fish and Shellfish Platters
1,194 calories
In addition to thickly coated, deep-fried seafood, you're getting fried starches, slaw, sauce, melted butter, and maybe a biscuit or two. It's obviously (and deliciously) true: Go for grilled instead.
ASK YOUR SERVER:
Mixed Grill
667 calories
Mixed grills generally offer several types of grilled seafood; the calorie and fat savings help mitigate the cup of slaw and fries. Still, start with a healthy salad, and split this entrée.
Crab Cakes
492 calories
These may be a lower-calorie choice, but there's probably more saturated fat from the mayo in the filling and butter in which they're cooked than you need. That's OK for an occasional treat, though.
HEALTHY CHOICE:
Cup of Clam Chowder
262 calories
Contrary to popular belief, most restaurants make chowder with milk and flour, not cream. (Confirm that with your server.) It's hearty and filling, so by all means have a cup to start.
Blackened (or Grilled) Fish
367 calories
Blackened fish is usually cooked with very little, if any, fat. If spicy heat doesn't light your fire, go for the grilled version, and appreciate the inherently sweet, delicate flavor of the fish.
Beware the Land-Lubber's Choices
Chicken dishes at seafood restaurants are notoriously high in calories. Often, it's because the chicken is fried, but even when it's not, it may be drowning in a mayonnaise- or cream-based sauce.

Are Shrimp a Healthy Choice?

Yes, shrimp are a healthy food choice! Second only to canned tuna as a favorite seafood in the United States, shrimp are full of tryptophan, selenium, protein, vitamin D, vitamin B12, iron, phosphorus, omega 3 fatty acids, niacin, zinc, copper and magnesium. In fact, shrimp is so nutrient dense that a mere 4 ounce serving provides over 47% of your daily protein requirements while only giving you 112 calories.

Are Shrimp High in Cholesterol

Since everyone is talking about the lack of vitamin D we get, shrimp are an excellent choice. It provides over 40% of the vitamin D you need in your daily diet. While shrimp is high in cholesterol, it is low in fat. In a study, people were divided into groups to ascertain if the cholesterol in shrimp was bad or not.

One group at shrimp every day while the other group ate large eggs. Eating shrimp raised LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol) by 7%, but it also raised HDL cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol that we need) by 12%. The eggs showed the opposite. Triglycerides, that other level that our doctors test for, were actually decreased by 13% when eating shrimp.

Other Health Benefits

Adding shrimp to your diet can help prevent high blood pressure and help control it if you already have it. Shrimp can help protect against heart arrhythmias and some types of cancer. Shrimp is good for your brain. It can help protect against Alzheimer’s and other age-related cognitive problems. Shrimp not only taste good, they can help improve your mood and reduce the incidence of depression.

Can You Eat Shrimp While Pregnant?

Can pregnant women eat shrimp, you bet! Shrimp is highly nutritious and beneficial during pregnancy. The only caveat is that it should be fully cooked. Do not eat raw seafood of any kind during pregnancy. Cooking removes any danger of bacteria, viruses or other problems that may arise with seafood.

While there is reason to worry about mercury in seafood, shrimp is fairly safe in this case. Fish that should be avoided tend to be at the top of the food chain, like sharks and tile fish.

They not only get mercury from their environment, they eat smaller fish and thus carry a much larger load of mercury in their bodies. They are also long-lived, giving more time to collecting mercury. Shrimp are small, short-lived, and as long as they are cooked, should not be a danger in regards to mercury.

Seafood like shrimp provides a lot of omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients that grow healthy babies. Cook them in whatever manner you like as long as they are thoroughly cooked.

If your shrimp are local, do pay attention to local news about seafood advisories. Sometimes things happen that make the local seafood unsafe to eat. Likewise, if you know where your shrimp comes from, pay attention to what is going on in that area. The recent oil spill in the Gulf is a great example. You would not want to eat shrimp or other seafood from that region until it gets the all clear.

Omega-3 How Eating Fish Helps your Heart

If you're worried about heart disease, eating one to two servings of fish a week could reduce your risk of passing of a cardiac arrest.
For many years, the American Heart Association has recommended that people eat fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids at least twice a week. Doctors have long believed that the unsaturated fats in fish, called omega-3 fatty acids, are the nutrients that reduce the risk of mortality of heart disease. However, more recent research suggests that other nutrients in fish or a combination of omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients in fish may actually be responsible for the health benefits from fish.
What are omega-3 fatty acids, and why are they good for your heart?
Fish contain unsaturated fatty acids, which, when substituted for saturated fatty acids such as those in meat, may lower your cholesterol. But the main beneficial nutrient appears to be omega-3 fatty acids in fatty fish. Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of unsaturated fatty acid that may reduce inflammation throughout the body. Inflammation in the body can damage your blood vessels and lead to heart disease.
Omega-3 fatty acids may decrease triglycerides, lower blood pressure, reduce blood clotting, decrease stroke and heart failure risk, reduce irregular heartbeats, and in children may improve learning ability. Eating at least one to two servings a week of fish, particularly fish that's rich in omega-3 fatty acids, appears to reduce the risk of heart disease, particularly sudden cardiac arrest.
Are there any kinds of fish you should avoid?
Some fish, such as tilapia and catfish, don't appear to be as heart healthy because they contain higher levels of unhealthy fatty acids. Keep in mind that any fish can be unhealthy depending on how it's prepared. For example, broiling or baking fish is a healthier option than is deep-frying.
Some researchers are concerned about eating fish produced on farms as opposed to wild-caught fish. Researchers think antibiotics, pesticides and other chemicals used in raising farmed fish may cause harmful effects to people who eat the fish.
Does it matter what kind of fish you eat?
Fatty fish, such as salmon, lake trout, herring, sardines and tuna, contain the most omega-3 fatty acids and therefore the most benefit, but many types of seafood contain small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.
How much fish should you eat?
For adults, at least two servings of omega-3-rich fish a week are recommended. A serving size is 3.5 ounces (99 grams), or about the size of a deck of cards. Women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant and young children should limit the amount of fish they eat because they're most susceptible to the potential effects of toxins in fish.

Are you in need of a date night?

Then this is the perfect place to start your evening out right. Join us for dinner at Sinbad's Restaurant.
Sinbad's Pier2 Restaurant is a renowned waterfront San Francisco seafood restaurant conveniently located in the heart of San Francisco’s financial district. We offer exceptional fresh seafood, pasta, and steak dishes, along with friendly, devoted service, to ensure that we always provide you with an unbeatable dining experience.