What’s so healthy about seafood?

Seafood is an important part of a healthy diet and is becoming the food of choice for the health-conscious. Some great reasons to eat seafood are shown in the nutrition information table below. It’s good for our brains, and lots more!

In Australia, we don’t eat enough seafood. The Australian Dietary Guidelines and Heart Foundation advise eating one or two fish-based meals per week (a serve of fish is 80 to 120 grams cooked weight), but according to the last National Dietary Survey, only one in four of us reported eating fish at least once a week.

“The evidence is now largely unequivocal that some fish each week is an advantage to health and longevity”.

This view is supported by a great deal of scientific and medical research. A good starting point to understand this information is FRDC's publication What’s so healthy about seafood?

• What’s so healthy about seafood? (booklet)
• What’s so healthy about seafood? (brochure)
• What’s so great about seafood? (brochure)

What are Omega-3s?

Omega-3s are essential nutrients just like vitamins and minerals and they play many critical roles. Omega-3s are a type of polyunsaturated fat which our bodies cannot make naturally.

The three most important types of Omega-3s are ALA, DHA, and EPA. ALA is mainly found in plants, whilst DHA and EPA occur predominantly in animal foods and algae. 

Sources of Omega-3s

Seafood is commonly referred to as a great source of Omega-3s. Supplements of fish oil are rich in long chain Omega-3s and foods enriched with long chain Omega-3s are beginning to appear in supermarkets.

There is a vegetarian source of Omega-3 (called DHA) made from marine algae, which is used in a variety of Omega-3 enriched foods and infant formulas. Interestingly, it is the marine algae that fish feed on which helps make them a rich source of long chain Omega-3s.

How much do you need?

To prevent a deficiency of long chain Omega-3s, health authorities recommend 430mg/day for women and 610mg/day for men. 

For some health conditions (such as arthritis and high blood triglyceride levels) doctors recommend higher intakes, which include additional fish oil supplements if required.