Making Your Restaurant Better

Top 3 Fish to Eat & Avoid When You Go Out for Seafood

12 August 2015

Virginia Caballero

If you don't feel like preparing your own food, but you still want to eat something healthy, consider going to a seafood restaurant for dinner. Seafood offers a host of health benefits since they are a great source of Vitamin D and Omega-3 fatty acids. However, in order to take advantage of all of those healthy benefits, you need to pay attention to what you order when you go out for seafood.

Fish to Enjoy

Not all kinds of fish are created equally, and some types of fish are far more healthy for you than others. The following fish tend to fall in the healthy fish category and offer you the most benefits.

Albacore Tuna

Many types of tuna are known to contain high amounts of mercury. If you want to enjoy some tuna but avoid the mercury, you should order albacore tuna. Albacore tuna tends to have lower mercury ratings, especially if it is caught using the troll or pole method. This method is used to catch younger tuna who have not been exposed to the same level of mercury as older and larger tuna caught using different fishing methods.

Salmon

Another great seafood choice is salmon. Salmon helps fight inflammation, improves cognitive function, helps prevent certain types of cancer, keeps your eyes healthy, and even improves your cardiovascular health. The salmon industry is also highly regulated, which results in healthy fish that are not full of chemicals. If you really want to enjoy all the health benefits of salmon, make sure that the salmon you order is grilled and is not deep fried or smothered in sauce. 

Sardines

Sardines often get a bad rap since most people experience them from a can. However, sardines actually have some of the highest levels of Omega-3 fats of any fish you can order. Additionally, sardines tend to be high in calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and protein. 

Fish to Avoid

As mentioned before, not are all fish are as healthy as those listed above. There are also some fish that you should not eat because they are an endangered species whose populations are being driven to extinction.

Bluefin Tuna

Not all tuna is created equally. Bluefin tuna are considered an endangered species due to overfishing. These fish are lucrative to catch because they are the largest species of tuna. However, they also tend to contain dangerous amounts of mercury, which should be avoided at all costs. 

Grouper

The grouper has a very long lifespan, which is a good thing for the fish but not for you. The grouper's long life spans means they are exposed to lots of mercury. Groupers tend to have relatively higher levels of mercury than is safe to consume. Additionally, just like bluefin tuna, groupers are also at risk of being overfished. 

Orange Roughy

The oldest roughy ever recorded was 149 years old. With such an extremely long life span, the orange roughy is exposed to and absorbs extremely high levels of mercury. Due to the high levels of mercury, you should exercise caution and try your best to avoid consuming orange roughy. Additionally, this is yet another species of fish that is in danger of going extinct due to fishing practices.

When you go out for seafood, stick to the classics like albacore tuna, salmon, and sardines in order to enjoy the many health benefits of eating fish. Try to avoid fish that are large and have long life spans, because they tend to be high in mercury. The negative effects of high mercury levels outweigh the healthy benefits.  

Find a seafood restaurant, like Tin Top Restaurant & Oyster Bar, in your area for dinner tonight.

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