Rant: Another Reminder--Eat More Seafood!

Eat More Seafood! Eat More Seafood! Eat More Seafood! Eat More Seafood! Eat More Seafood! 

Yes, I've said this repeatedly before, in multiple posts over the years. And it continues to bear repeating as many Americans still haven't stepped up as much as needed. Seafood consumption will significantly lessen your chances of dying from the leading cause of death in the U.S. That's a powerful reason why you should consume more seafood.

The Seafood Expo North America is in full swing, having started yesterday and it will end tomorrow. Once again, I'm walking its myriad aisles, exploring the various booths, tasting samples of seafood, learning about seafood issues, and much more. I'll be writing about my experiences at the Expo in the near future but wanted to begin my coverage with the most important issue, trying to convince more Americans to eat more seafood.

Annual seafood consumption had been on a depressing decline during recent years, with seven years of constant decline, down to 14.5 pounds in 2013. In 2014, there was a tiny increase, to 14.6 pounds, but the best news came in 2015 when annual consumption actually increased nearly a pound to 15.5 pounds. Is this an anomaly or the sign of a positive new trend?  The problem is that this amount still falls short of the recommendations of the USDA and many other bodies who state that Americans should consume at least 26 pounds of seafood each year, essentially meaning you should eat seafood twice a week. How do we get Americans to eat over 10 pounds more seafood each year?

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the leading cause of death in the U.S. is heart disease, killing over 614,000 people each year. We all have had family and friends who have died from heart disease, and we should be doing what we can to reduce our own chances of acquiring heart disease. Do you want to die prematurely, leaving your loved ones without your presence? Do you want to die from heart disease when you could have adopted a small lifestyle change which might have saved you?

Seafood consumption is a significant key to reducing your chances of heart disease. Since the 1970s, over 20,000 research studies have been conducted on the health benefits of seafood and they have concluded that eating seafood twice a week can reduce your chance of dying from heart disease by about 36%. You won't find another single food that has been scientifically proven to reduce heart disease so much. Low seafood consumption is blamed for 84,000 deaths in the U.S. and 1.4 million globally. Besides helping to reduce heart disease, research has also been providing growing evidence of the health benefits to the brain and bones as well as against cancers and inflammatory diseases.  Eating more seafood is such a simple change to your lifestyle and it can bring so many health benefits.

If we want this positive trend to continue, we need to continue to find ways to persuade people, overcoming their objections, to eat seafood more frequently. More outreach is needed. We need more positive articles in the media espousing the health benefits of eating seafood. We need to overcome the obstacles that prevent people from consuming more seafood, such as its high cost and the difficulties many people have cooking seafood at home. It's a formidable goal, but it can be accomplished. You owe it to yourself, and your family, to eat more seafood and benefit your health.

In the Boston area, we are fortunate that we have seen a recent surge of new seafood restaurants, which can help us reach our annual goal of 26 pounds of seafood. Consider places such as Island Creek Oyster Bar (with a second location newly opened in Burlington), Row 34, Select Oyster Bar, Il Molo, Saltie Girl, Luke's Lobster, and Haley.Henry. There are numerous other seafood restaurants which have been around for longer too. You can also go to the retail location of Red's Best at the Boston Public Market to purchase seafood meals or fresh fish which you can prepare at home.

Step up your game and eat more seafood. Try to consume seafood at least twice a week. Seafood is delicious, can be prepared in a myriad of ways, and is extremely healthy. So what's stopping you from reaching your seafood consumption goal?