Plenty of Fish in The Sea - Living a Pescetarian Lifestyle

Pescetarianism is a sect of Vegetarianism in which followers exclude all sources of meat except for fish. This type of diet can have positive and negative effects on the body and environment, the positive outweighing the negative. Most converts to this diet claim that it is the best alternative to all meat diets and vegetarian lifestyles. Pescetarianism provides the protein which vegan and vegetarian diets lack, this type of diet is also beneficial to a wide variety of people because of all the nutrients found in fish. The diet also includes other essential foods such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, dairy, eggs, honey, and beans. Fish is not only a great source of protein; it provides almost all the healthy omega-3 fatty acids the body needs, providing the body with an ample amount of lipids and long-term energy.

 

 

Fish is very low in unhealthy saturated fats which cause CHD and type two diabetes, and very high in those omega-3 fatty acids which can ward off or reduce the symptoms of CHD, diabetes, and cancer. A study conducted by the Yale College Vegetarian Society suggested that up to 80 percent of cancer cases are preventable through healthy diets that contain low amounts of fats and oils, and high amounts of fiber, a model Pescetarian diet. Fish also is very high in iron, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin B. Iron is extremely important to women who are more prone to iron-deficiency amenia because it provides the body with oxygen for the blood. Magnesium is used in the body to build bones and provide energy to the muscles; zinc is used to support the immune system. The Pescetarian diet provides all of these essential nutrients and vitamins without unhealthy consequences found in an all meat diet.

 Speaking of consequences, there are few consequences associated with the Pescetarian diet. The only consequence regarding personal health is mercury poisoning, commonly found in larger fish. Mercury is a natural-occurring element in the environment found in plants and animals. Due to human industrial activity the amount of airborne mercury increases and eventually ends up in lakes, rivers, and the ocean. This leads to fish consumption of mercury and with the influence of the food chain, larger fish generally contain more mercury in their bodies. An excess amount of mercury in humans can lead to reproductive troubles and immune system failure. One report from The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that human fetuses exposed to mercury before birth “may be at an increased risk of poor performance on neurobehavioral tasks, such as those measuring attention, fine motor function, language skills, visual-spatial abilities and verbal memory.” However, this is the main risk and/or consequences of Pescetarianism. All in all Pescetarianism’s benefits outweigh the negatives. Converting to Pescetarianism is the first step in gaining a healthy lifestyle for yourself and the environment.

This is a video by Robb Wolf, renown alternative health author and supporter of Pescetarianism.