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.

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.

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.