{"id":894,"date":"2019-09-09T03:19:42","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T03:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/?p=894"},"modified":"2023-07-25T14:04:33","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T18:04:33","slug":"do-you-eat-seafood-three-or-more-times-a-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/do-you-eat-seafood-three-or-more-times-a-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Eat Seafood Three or More Times a Week?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The average \u201chigh-frequency\u201d seafood consumer annually devours almost 90 pounds\u00a0<\/em>of finfish and shellfish.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In general, health experts believe that fish and shellfish consumption is beneficial and that the advantages of seafood consumption far outweigh the disadvantages. While some seafood items may have elevated levels of environmental contaminants that could pose health risks, all seafood provides a good source of lean protein and contains an abundance of Omega-3 fatty acids \u2014 a type of polyunsaturated fat. It\u2019s rich in vitamins and minerals, including iodine, zinc, potassium and vitamin B. Thus, from a public health perspective, it’s important to understand seafood consumption patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ample government data and research documents seafood consumption for the average person. For example, in 2017, Americans consumed on average 16.1 pounds of fish and shellfish per year. Although that might sound like a lot, during the same time period, Americans consumed on average 102 pounds of red meat (beef, veal, pork, lamb) and 77 pounds of poultry (chicken and turkey). On average, we ate more turkey alone (16.8 pounds per person) than seafood in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, we know very little about high-frequency consumers \u2014 people who eat three or more meals of fish per week. As expected, this category includes some anglers who exclusively consume self-caught fish. Again, while these people might be healthier than others who consume less, high levels of seafood consumption also might lead to increased exposure to environmental contaminants.<\/p>\n\n\n\nResearch Need<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n