The word "pescatarian" refers to people who consume fish and seafood as their sole source of animal protein in their diet. It is a semi-vegetarian category, which takes advantage of the fact that animal meat offers benefits to humans, such as high biological value protein, fat, nutrients, and vitamins, but also gives importance to other factors in the individual's food choices.
In particular, some arguments behind the choice to become a pescatarian are that red meat, especially processed meat, is associated with increased mortality and the incidence of cardiovascular disease, type B diabetes, and some types of gastrointestinal cancer. Also, increasing consumer demand for meat raises bioethical problems related to the well-being and living conditions of animals slaughtered for their meat, the cruelty and pain that mammals and poultry suffer in order to end up on our plate, as well as raising issues of ecology, and food safety. Finally, some people adopt the pescetarian diet in order to smoothly transition to vegetarianism.
How does this diet benefit human health?
These diets have benefits for body weight, improved metabolic health indicators, blood pressure and reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, and can play a positive role in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.
Fish is an excellent source of animal protein without burdening us with a lot of fat. At the same time, it provides us with other valuable nutrients, such as vitamins D and B2 (riboflavin), calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, iodine, magnesium and potassium. As for omega-3 fatty acids, we need them through food to produce important compounds that play a role in the overall health of the body and especially the brain. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in every type of fish but mainly in the ones with a particularly high content of fatty fish, such as salmon, tuna, sardines, herring, kohlrabi, and mackerel.
What changes do I need to make to follow it?
All fish and seafood are allowed, but lower mercury fish options are preferred, such as anchovies, sardines, salmon, cod, scallops, shrimp, and lobster. The days of the week when fish is not consumed must be fortified with plant protein of high biological value, such as nuts, seeds, and legumes.
Caution is needed in the consumption of fish with high levels of methylmercury (MeHg), which neutralizes the cardioprotective effects of omega-3 fatty acids. For this reason, the FDA recommends that young children and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding avoid fish high in mercury, such as swordfish, squid, shark, mackerel, and some types of tuna.