Proportion of seafood in nutritious diet

If we want to give the most universal answer to the proportion of seafood in a nutritious diet, it is that seafood accounts for 15%-25% of the animal food consumed by healthy adults every week. When converted into specific weight, it is 200-350g per week. On average, an amount about the size of an egg is enough per day.

This range is not set on the head. It is a reference given by the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)" based on the dietary structure, nutritional needs and domestic food safety status of the Chinese people. If you don't like to eat red meat and have a light diet, it is perfectly fine to increase it by 10%. During the three years I have been working as a nutritionist, the most common question I have encountered is “Can I eat more?” ”Or “I don’t like seafood, is it okay if I don’t eat it? ”, in fact, there are not so many black and white standards. A while ago, a 28-year-old girl who works in the Internet came to me to adjust her diet. She used to be afraid of getting fat and hardly ate red meat. She only ate boiled chicken breasts at most. Her hair was falling out badly. I asked her to replace the three meals of chicken breasts a week with deep-sea fish and fresh shrimps, and increase the proportion of seafood. It has reached about 30%, which is about two months. She told me that half of the hair fell out when she combed her hair, and her low-density lipoprotein dropped a little during the physical examination. This is because trace elements such as DHA, high-quality protein and zinc in seafood have played a role.

Nowadays, the opinions in the food circle are diverse, and no one insists on this fixed ratio. For example, many bloggers who advocate primitive diets and ketogenic diets will increase the proportion of seafood to a very high proportion, even accounting for more than 40% of animal foods. They believe that the amino acid pattern of seafood is more consistent with the human body, the saturated fat content is much lower than that of red meat, and it can also supplement Omega-3, making it healthier than eating pork, beef, and sheep. I have a friend who has insisted on ketosis for two years. He eats seafood four or five times a week, switching between salmon, scallops, and cuttlefish. The physical examination indicators are indeed very good, but he also admitted that the prerequisite is that your wallet is thick enough and you do not have high uric acid problems. If you do not metabolize purine well, gout will easily come to you if you eat like this.

The opposite is also true. For example, for people with high uric acid and vegetarians, the proportion of seafood will be much lower, or even 0. An uncle who consulted me before had suffered from gout for 10 years. He used to get sick whenever he ate seafood and did not even dare to touch kelp. Later I told him that the purine content of jellyfish and sea cucumbers is lower than that of many green leafy vegetables. It is okay to eat 100g occasionally. He now eats cold jellyfish once a week, with seafood accounting for about 5%. He has never suffered from gout again. On the contrary, because he eats more types of food, his complexion is much better than the sallow look before.

The seafood pollution problem that many people are worried about is actually not necessary to overdo it. I have seen many people take seafood off the table because they read the news that "heavy metals in offshore seafood exceed the standard". This matter really depends on the situation. If you always buy wild seafood from unknown origins, or eat large carnivorous deep-sea fish such as bluefin tuna and shark, there is indeed a risk of mercury exceeding the standard. However, if you buy ordinary farmed shrimp, croaker, sea bass, oysters, etc. in regular supermarkets and markets, eat them in different types instead of focusing on one type. Control it within 350g per week. The harmful amount will not be reached at all, and you will not be guilty of giving up eating due to choking.

When I cook at home, I don’t deliberately calculate the weight. I buy seafood twice a week. Once I buy a half-pound steamed seabass, which is shared among the three members of my family. The other time I buy a pound of boiled prawns. Occasionally, I will buy skewered grilled squid as a roadside snack when I am greedy. Calculating, the seafood in a week is only about 300g, which is just within the recommended amount and is comfortable to eat.

In fact, there is no standard answer when it comes to diet. The proportion ultimately depends on your physical condition, spending power, and even taste preferences. If you like seafood, eat a few more bites. If you don’t like seafood, it’s perfectly fine to supplement DHA and high-quality protein with eggs and nuts. You can’t embarrass yourself just because of a number, right?