Pescatarian Diet Benefits to Know

Eating a plant-based diet has many health benefits. But if you are considering cutting out meat from your diet, you could still eat fish and other kinds of seafood as part of a pescatarian diet. Please continue reading to learn about the health benefits of a pescatarian diet.

How is a pescatarian diet different from a vegetarian diet?

A pescatarian diet means you eat primarily plant-based food sources with the addition of fish and seafood.

Eating fish and seafood can enhance the health benefits of plant-based diets. These diets are associated with a lower risk of inflammation, infection, heart disease, and cancer. In addition, vegetarian diets are high in fiber and can help you maintain a healthy weight.

By eating seafood and fish, especially fatty fish, in addition to a vegetarian diet, you can get important nutrients and natural compounds, such as omega-3 fatty acids and healthy fats, while avoiding the risks associated with eating red meat.

What do I need to know about being a pescatarian?

Eating a pescetarian diet means eating a vegetarian-based diet with fish and seafood. In addition to plant-based foods like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds, pescatarians also eat eggs and dairy products.

There are no strict rules about the quantity of allowed food groups you can or cannot eat as part of a pescatarian diet. However, if you are following a pescatarian diet, you will have to give up poultry (chicken, turkey), red meat (beef, pork, lamb), and wild game (bison, venison).

Are there any health benefits to being pescatarian?

There are many health benefits to a pescatarian diet, including:

Heart Health Benefits

Research has shown that regular fish consumption is associated with a significantly lower incidence of coronary heart disease. Fish contain heart-healthy polyunsaturated fats, unlike red meat, which contains saturated fat. Also, a pescatarian diet is mainly a plant-based vegetarian diet associated with improved blood lipids and lower blood pressure. This lowers the risk of metabolic syndrome, obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.

Reduced Risk of Colorectal Cancers

Studies have found that a pescatarian diet can lower the risk of colon cancer and rectal cancer, even more so than a vegetarian or semi-vegetarian diet. In addition, plant-based diets are associated with a lower risk of other types of cancers, including head and neck, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, and prostate.

Lower Risk of Inflammation

The omega-3s found in fish, especially fatty fish, have powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Eating 1-2 servings of seafood or fish per week can lower the risk of inflammation, cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and stroke, especially if the fish replaces less healthy foods such as processed meats.

Lowered Risk of Diabetes

A pescatarian diet consists primarily of plant foods along with fish and seafood. Research suggests that a plant-based diet contains flavonoids which have anti-diabetic effects. Studies have shown that flavonoid intake is the highest among pesco-vegetarians. Therefore, eating a pescatarian diet can help lower your risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Improved Gut Health

A plant-based diet has a high nutritional quality due to its high fiber content. Eating fiber is not only good for gut health but also for cardiovascular health. Eating soluble fiber can also help with reduced body fat and weight loss.

What are the disadvantages of a pescatarian diet?

Unhealthy food choices

One of the disadvantages of a pescatarian diet is that you may eat unhealthy foods as substitutes for meats. For example, meat eaters may give up meat but include chips, cookies, and sugary cereals in a pescatarian diet, which are unhealthy choices. So, it’s important to replace meat with fish and other seafood rather than unhealthy snacks. Avocado toast, hummus, nuts, and chia seeds are examples of healthy food choices that can be part of a pescatarian diet.

Cooking methods

It’s also important to choose a healthy method of cooking fish and seafood. You can buy fresh fish and grill it, eat canned fish like canned tuna, or eat fish sticks. However, fried fish should be avoided, as it increases the amount of fat you consume. If you decide to fry the fish, pan-fry it in olive oil instead of deep frying it.

Mercury poisoning

Most fish contain trace amounts of mercury which is a toxic metal. You can lower your risk of mercury poisoning by avoiding large predatory ocean fish such as sharks, king mackerel, and swordfish, which contain the highest amounts of mercury.

Sustainable seafood choices

Overfishing is a threat to the world’s oceans. If you’re thinking of following a pescatarian eating plan, try to make sustainable fish choices for a healthier planet.

What deficiencies does a pescatarian have?

The absence of red meat in a pescatarian diet means you may not get enough iron. However, some plant-based foods are good sources of iron, such as broccoli and spinach. Also, fortified breakfast cereals contain essential nutrients that can help make up for any deficiencies.

If you are following a pescatarian diet but not eating animal products such as eggs and dairy products, your diet may be lacking in essential nutrients such as calcium, vitamin B12, and zinc. A registered dietitian nutritionist can help you understand what foods you can eat to get adequate nutrition if you are not going to eat meat as part of a pescatarian diet.

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