What Is a Pescatarian Diet? Does It Help You to Lose Weight?

A pescatarian diet includes only fish and other seafood, such as shrimp, as the main protein source.

People following a pescatarian diet have a lot in common with vegetarians, as they have fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, beans, eggs, and dairy, and stay away from meat and poultry.

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What can you eat on a pescatarian diet?

This diet can include the following food items:

• Whole grains and grain products
• Legumes, including beans, lentils, and hummus
• Soy, including tofu and soy sauce
• Nuts and nut butter
• Seeds, including chia and flaxseeds
• Dairy, including yogurt, milk, and cheese
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Fish (all kinds)
• Eggs (occasional)

The following items are not included in the diet:

• Beef
• Chicken
• Pork
• Lamb
• Turkey

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Health benefits of Pescatarian diet

Fish, especially fatty fish like salmon, herring, and trout, are rich in beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential to heart and liver health. They're also important in regulating and controlling inflammation.

The nutritional value of 100 grams of salmon is as follows:

• Calories: 280 kcal
• Fat: 12.5 grams
• Sodium: 86 mg
• Carbohydrates: 0 grams
• Fiber: 0 grams
• Sugars: 0 grams
• Protein: 39.2 grams

Fish are rich in vitamin B12, zinc, calcium, and protein. Humans need about 0.8 grams of protein per one kg of bodyweight daily. That’s about 54 grams for a 68 kg sedentary adult man.

To reach this target, a pescatarian diet is ideal, as fish and other seafood offer an excellent source of bioavailable and high quality protein.

Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of essential polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA). The omega-3 fatty acids in fish include eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids contain the precursor of active omega-3 known as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).

This diet can prevent premature aging and inflammation. A pescatarian diet can maintain healthy functioning of the immune, respiratory, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems.

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Does a pescatarian diet help you lose weight?

The best diet for weight loss often contain whole grains, fresh vegetables, and fresh fish. Whole grains and fresh vegetables can improve insulin sensitivity, resulting in weight loss.

Improved insulin sensitivity can help people suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus. Fatty fish are known to help reduce inflammation. This diet can also protect the liver and heart. Nuts and seeds in this diet are among the best plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids.

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Why do some people follow a pescatarian diet?

There are several ethical and environmental factors that inspire many people to follow this kind of diet.

Some of them are as follows:

• Prevention of animal cruelty: Animal lovers don’t want to kill animals for food. Farming fish and shrimp is often considered to be less cruel due to mass production..
• Inhumane factory culture: Factory farms often raise animals in inhumane conditions, which is opposed by environmentalists and animal lovers.
• Poor labor conditions: People on this diet often avoid processed foods because of the inhumane work conditions of workers in the food industry.
• Humanitarian reasons: Producing grains for livestock animals is often considered unnecessary, as there's already a shortage of grains for humans.

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Sample 24-hour meal plan for a pescatarian diet

Here's a sample menu for a pescatarian diet:

Early morning (62 calories)

• 1 orange or an apple

Breakfast (278 calories)

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 serving of Granola

Lunch (365 calories)

• 1 serving of shrimp and veggies
• 1 large pear

Evening Snack (37 calories)

• 1 medium bell pepper, grilled

Dinner (468 calories)

• 1 serving of baked salmon and spinach
• 2 cups mixed greens
• 1/2 avocado, sliced

Nutritional value:

• 1,209 calories
• 57 g protein
• 149 g carbohydrates
• 37 g fiber
• 50 g fat
• 937 mg sodium

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Takeaway

A pescatarian diet can often be beneficial to the body. Whole grains, fresh vegetables, and fish are naturally nutritious and have various health benefits. There are ethical and environmental reasons for following this diet as well.

This diet is free of animal cruelty and has less impact on the environment. Fishing is a low carbon footprint activity than livestock farming. However, this diet might feel boring and restrictive for meat lovers. Fish often contain heavy metals like mercury, which can be harmful for health.