Get Real About Seafood

The DGA recommends that everyone, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, increase the amount of seafood they eat to a minimum of two servings each week for heart and brain benefits. At a time when people are told to limit many foods, seafood is among the handful of “winning” foods Americans are encouraged to eat more of for their health.

Yes! The DGA encourages pregnant and breastfeeding women to eat a minimum of 2 meals of a variety of seafood each week. Eating seafood 2 to 3 times a week during pregnancy and breastfeeding improves eye and brain development in babies.

Start by learning the basics. This bookmark shows three simple ways to prepare the perfect seafood – on the grill, on the oven and on the stove. Find quick and easy recipes here, as well as a meal planner.

Teach your kids to look forward to eating, to anticipate with pleasure the meal to come. Tell them how much they are going to love their food, as opposed to asking questions like "do you like that?"

For lunches and dinners, make one tasty meal for everyone to eat. This saves time and money while ensuring kids get the same flavorful, wholesome meal as adults.

Use new spices and ingredients to help develop your child's palate. Working new flavors in to a familiar food – like capers in to canned tuna – is a good way to introduce an exciting taste.

Find recipes for tuna and other seafood, as well as a meal planner for quick meal ideas.

The DGA recommends eating a variety of seafood. Adults, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, should eat a minimum of two meals a week of seafood.

The top 10 seafood choices with the highest omega-3s include: farm-raised salmon, herring, wild salmon, mackerel, sardines, trout, anchovies, canned white tuna, mussels and oysters.

New research shows that selenium may balance the naturally-occurring mercury in fish. More studies are needed to better understand this finding. Selenium also has antioxidant properties and most people will get the recommended amounts of selenium from the foods they eat. Natural sources of selenium are fish, nuts, beef and poultry.

The answer is YES! Health and nutrition experts, including the expert committee that developed the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, have explored all aspects of seafood and conclude that eating a variety of fish and shellfish is safe.

Don't miss out on the powerful health benefits of seafood because of the misinformation about safety.

The DGA recommends adults, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, eat a minimum of 2 meals of seafood a week. For the general population there are no types of commercial (store or restaurant purchased) fish or shellfish to limit or avoid. For pregnant women, the experts suggest four rarely eaten fish to avoid during pregnancy and breastfeeding: shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish. Most Americans already do not eat these types of seafood.

Health and nutrition experts, including the expert committee that developed the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, have explored all aspects of seafood and conclude that eating a variety of fish and shellfish provides health benefits that are far too beneficial to give up for any reason.
 
According to the experts, the general population should eat a minimum of two meals a week of a variety of seafood. For pregnant and breastfeeding women, there are only four fish to avoid: shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish. Most women in the U.S. already do not eat these types of seafood.  If you are not pregnant or breastfeeding, there are no types of commercial seafood to avoid.

For recreational fish, pay attention to local advisories.

Ten species of seafood represent the most popular choices in the U.S. (which make up more than 90 percent of all the seafood Americans eat) and none are considered high in mercury. The ten most commonly-eaten types vary slightly from year to year but most often include: shrimp, canned tuna, salmon, tilapia, pollock, catfish, crab, cod, pangasius and clams. Health and nutrition experts, including the expert committee that developed the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, suggest eating 2 to 3 servings of a variety of seafood each week for health benefits.

Top 10 Commonly-Eaten Seafood Types

The types of fish Americans regularly like to eat aren’t high in mercury. Of the top 10 most popular fish in the U.S. (which make up more than 90 percent of all the seafood Americans eat), none are considered high in mercury.

Pregnant and breastfeeding women are advised to avoid four rarely eaten fish species: shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish.  However, most women in the U.S. already do not eat these types of seafood.  For everyone else there are no types of commercial seafood to avoid.

Omega-3s from plant sources like flax seed (called ALA), while healthful, do not have the same benefits as the omega-3s found in fish (called EPA and DHA). Fish-based omega-3s are the most powerful at improving heart and brain health.

In short, no. Taking fish oil supplements provides you only with omega-3s – not with any of the other good-for-you nutrients found in fish. Plus, when you eat fish as a meal, you are not eating a higher-fat protein. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that you should choose a variety of whole foods, including fish, to obtain all of the vitamins and minerals you need every day for good health.

Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) believes that taking supplements of up to 3 grams of omega-3 fatty acids from fish per day is generally safe, you should consult your doctor or registered dietitian before taking any supplements. 

Unlike the nutrients found in whole foods (which naturally occur in smaller and commonly safe amounts), the nutrients in supplements may be extremely concentrated. This means it can be easier to take more than the recommended amount of a nutrient when you supplement. 

Seafood is naturally gluten-free. Sometimes gluten may be added to products during processing. So, choose fish or shellfish without gluten seasonings, coating or breading. Canned tuna packed in oil or water with salt is a great gluten-free food!

Studies show that, from a nutrition perspective, farm-raised and wild caught fish are essentially comparable. At least half of the fish Americans eat comes from aquaculture, which is an important complement to wild-catch for sustainability, affordability and availability reasons. So for most families, the preference comes down to price and taste.

There is no health reason to recommend one over the other, as farm-raised and wild (as well as domestic and imported) seafood are regulated under and must meet U.S. safety standards. 

Fish stocks must be monitored to measure for overfishing. When overfishing is discovered for any stock, rules are put in place to help the stock recover. In 2009, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) assessed the status of stocks and concluded that the majority are healthy. That is that 72 percent are under to fully utilized, 19 percent are over utilized and 8 percent are depleted.