How to Become a Pescatarian

A pescatarian is a person who refrains from eating land animals and birds, but includes fish, mollusks, and crustaceans in addition to fruits, vegetables, plants, legumes, nuts, and grains. This is a common form of “vegetarianism” and is generally considered a very healthy diet. It can also be a stepping stone to full vegetarianism. Pescatarians can enjoy lowfat protein sources that are high in fish oils, which contain Omega 3 fatty acids—the “good fats” that reduce inflammation. Follow these steps to become a pescatarian,

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Recipe magazines or cookbooks

How to Become a Pescatarian

1. Make a list of your favorite seafood meals. You’ll be surprised at how many there are.

2. Peruse recipes in magazines and cookbooks to find new recipes you might want to try. Don’t think you have to jump straight to sushi—the tuna casserole your mom used to make is a pescatarian recipe!

3. Slowly start replacing meat and poultry with vegetarian or pescatarian recipes. A hamburger, for example, can be replaced with a grilled tuna steak. Enjoy fish tacos instead of ground beef. You can get seafood at just about any restaurant these days.

4. Completely phase out meat and poultry from your diet. Eat fish and seafood twice a week, and go “vegetarian” the rest of the days. Congratulations—you’re now a pescatarian!

Tips & Warnings

• Eating too much fish and shellfish can increase the amount of mercury in your diet to unhealthy levels. The FDA/EPA offers these guidelines for avoiding mercury poisoning:
• Nearly all fish and shellfish contain traces of mercury. For most people, the risk from mercury by eating fish and shellfish is not a health concern. Yet, some fish and shellfish contain higher levels of mercury that may harm an unborn baby or young child's developing nervous system. The risks from mercury in fish and shellfish depend on the amount of fish and shellfish eaten and the levels of mercury in the fish and shellfish. Therefore, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are advising women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and young children to avoid some types of fish and to eat fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.
• By following these three recommendations, for selecting and eating fish or shellfish, women and young children will receive the benefits of eating fish and shellfish and be confident that they have reduced their exposure to the harmful effects of mercury.
• Do not eat shark, swordfish, King Mackerel or tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.
• Eat up to 12 ounces (two average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.
• Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.
• Another commonly eaten fish, albacore ("white") tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your two meals of fish and shellfish, you may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna per week.
• Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in your local lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. If no advice is available, eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) per week of fish you catch from local waters, but don't consume any other fish during that week.

Resources

• FDA/EPA resources

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