A pescatarian diet is like a vegetarian diet but includes fish or other aquatic animals. Those who follow this diet are referred to as pes-co-vegetarians or pescetarians.
There are no clear rules that indicate what pescatarian vs. what is vegetarian, aside from the addition of seafood. There are no standards dictating how frequently you must consume fish to be termed a pescatarian. For example, you could be a vegetarian who only eats fish on occasion, or you could eat it at every meal.
Because not all pescatarian-compliant options are inherently healthy, it is critical to make balanced choices.
Variations of this eating plan that focus on nutrient-dense foods can be a healthy way to eat.
Diet Plan for 7 Days
Fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, and seafood are part of a well-balanced pescetarian diet. Most have eggs and dairy items as well. Flavorful foods like whole grains, farro and quinoa, olives, spicy peppers, nuts, seeds, vegetable oils, and other nutritious, filling items are common in a pescatarian diet.
- Day 1 : 1/2 grapefruit, poached eggs with dill, quinoa avocado bowl, lemon garlic fish
- Day 2 : includes a mango-chia berry smoothie, a grilled cheese sandwich, and a vegetarian lasagna.
- Day 3 : Scrambled spinach and eggs; white bean soup; spicy shrimp tacos
- Day 4 : Oatmeal overnight, Niçoise salad, curried lentils, and dark chocolate dates
- Day 5 : consists of avocado toast, an egg salad sandwich, and an ahi tuna poke bowl.
- Day 6 : includes a banana walnut muffin, an Israeli couscous bowl, and a black bean burger.
- Day 7 : dried-cherry muesli; salmon burger; artichoke-stuffed butternut squash
What You Can Consume
Pescatarians can consume a wide variety of foods that have a balanced macronutrient profile and supply the vitamins and minerals required for good health.
Seafood
Freshwater fish like trout or perch, saltwater fish like salmon or tuna, and shellfish like shrimp, oysters, clams, and more can all be found in a pescatarian diet.
Dairy Products and Eggs
Most pescatarians consume eggs and dairy products, cheese, yogurt, and milk, although some do not. A pescatarian who consumes eggs and dairy is known as a lacto-ovo-pescatarian.
Vegetables and fruits
This eating plan makes no restrictions on the sorts of fruits and vegetables that can be consumed. To reap the full health advantages, eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables. Including dark leafy greens, vivid red, yellow, and orange peppers, eggplant, corn, blueberries, kiwi, and other fruits and vegetables.
Legumes and beans
Because they are high in plant-based protein, beans, and legumes are a wonderful addition to the pescatarian diet.
High-protein foods include edamame, fava beans, lentils, chickpeas, and split peas.
Seeds and nuts
Because they are high in healthful fats, seeds and nuts are an excellent addition to a pescatarian diet. Walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, and chia seeds are all excellent alternatives.
Grains
Pescatarians can consume grains such as wheat, corn, barley, rye, rice, oats, and others. Gluten is also avoided on the pescatarian diet by people with celiac disease or others who avoid gluten.
Oils
People who adopt a pescatarian diet can cook with and season their meals with a wide variety of oils. Sesame oil, olive oil, walnut oil, and canola oil are some common examples. Several varieties of oil are great in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are beneficial to cardiovascular health.
Things You Can’t Eat
There is only one type of food that a pescatarian does not consume: meat. You won’t eat meat or meat products if you follow the pescatarian diet. Regardless of whether you eat some animal products like yogurt or cheese.
It implies you’ll avoid not only red meat (such as beef or bison) but also chicken, lamb, hog, and game (such as venison).
Tips for Preparing a Pescatarian Diet
The pescatarian diet is a way of life. If you choose a pescatarian diet, you can consume meals and snacks whenever you like, with no precise guidelines or portion size limitations.
If you have diabetes, celiac disease, or heart disease, the pescatarian diet is probably safe and possibly advantageous. But, you should always consult with a healthcare expert to ensure you’re getting the correct combination of nutrients for your body.
Shopping List Example
Stock up on tuna packages or canned fish. In this way, you always have a seafood source ready to go.
The following shopping list provides suggestions for getting started on the pescatarian diet. This sample shopping list is only an example of what you might buy if you follow a pescatarian diet. It is by no means exhaustive, and many other foods are included in a nutrient-dense pescatarian diet.
- Greens with dark leaves, like spinach, kale, and chard.
- Veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, bell peppers, eggplant)
- Fruits, both fresh and frozen (grapefruit, oranges, berries, bananas, apples)
- Fats that are good for you (avocados, walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, olive oil)
- 100% whole wheat bread, brown rice pasta, quinoa, and barley
- Legumes and plant-based protein (tofu, soybeans, black beans, lentils, chickpeas)
- Fish that has been canned or packaged (tuna, sardines, anchovies, salmon, herring)
- Frozen or fresh fish (halibut, cod, salmon, snapper, sea bass)
- Milk and dairy products (cheeses, yogurt, milk, cottage cheese)
- Eggs
Lunch Plan Example
Because the pescatarian diet has no rules other than replacing animal protein with plant-based protein or seafood, you should always choose nutritiously balanced meals.
Select healthy cooking methods. For example, if you only eat fried fish and highly processed meals, you may not gain the health benefits of this eating approach.
Broil or grill fish using healthy cooking oils, steam seafood, or prepare meals in different ways such as stewing, sautéing, and baking.
The three-day meal plan that follows is not exhaustive, but it should give you a broad idea of what a pescatarian diet might include. If you decide to stick to the diet, other meals may suit your likes and preferences better. Also, the portions/servings are simply guidelines. You can eat more or less depending on your hunger signals.
Day 1:
- Breakfast : avocado and egg toast; berry smoothie
- Lunch : Tuna wrap with 1/4 cup roasted red beet hummus and carrot sticks
- Dinner: 4-ounce pan-seared fish served with Mediterranean quinoa and wilted spinach
Day 2 :
- Breakfast: Oatmeal with spinach and feta; 1/2 grapefruit
- Lunch : Baked crab cakes; 1 ounce of nuts
- Dinner: 4-ounce halibut with Za’atar spices, blistered cherry tomatoes, and barley
Day 3 :
- Breakfast : 1.5 cup tofu breakfast scramble with your choice of vegetables; 8-ounce of orange juice
- Lunch : 1.5 cups Mediterranean chopped salad; 1 can sardine with whole-grain crackers for lunch
- Dinner : 1 cup Trinidad-style curried chickpea chana; 1 cup brown rice
Advantages of Pescatarian Diet
According to certain research, pescatarians have a lower risk of diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, and metabolic disorders. All of which raise the risk of heart attacks and stroke.
Some people who choose to be a vegetarian may find that choosing a pescatarian diet is easier to maintain. Because it is easier to receive the adequate daily protein you need with the addition of seafood.
May Encourage a Healthy Weight: When you replace meat-based meals with plant-based meals, you are more likely to reduce your calorie and fat intake, allowing you to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
Can Help the Environment: Some people eat a pescatarian diet because of the environmental benefits of certain sustainable seafood options. Meat production and processing consume land and add harmful pollutants. We contribute to a healthier earth by lowering our reliance on meat and choosing sustainable fish.
The Disadvantages of a Pescatarian Diet
While the pescatarian diet has many advantages, it also has a few drawbacks.
Certain seafood contains a lot of mercury: All seafood and shellfish contain some mercury, with certain fish having a higher quantity than others. Mercury is absorbed through digestion and into circulation when you consume fish, where it travels to every organ in your body. It has the ability to pass the blood-brain barrier and, in excess, can harm your central nervous system.
Grocery Can Be Expensive: Purchasing the key components of this diet (fruits, vegetables, and fresh seafood) can be costly. Nevertheless, you don’t necessarily have to buy fresh—many large containers of frozen fruits and veggies are just as nutritious as fresh versions. Canned fish is inexpensive and simple to store.
Is a Pescatarian Diet a Good Option for You?
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends filling your plate with a balanced mix of protein (from meat, fish, or plant-based sources), grains, fruits, vegetables, and dairy. When meals are balanced with USDA-recommended foods and nutrients, the pescatarian diet meets that requirement.
There is no official calorie count for the pescatarian diet. Hence there is no need to count calories. The number of calories you require will vary depending on your goals (weight reduction, weight maintenance, or weight growth), age, weight, gender, and degree of exercise. Use this calculator to establish your ideal calorie intake.
Health Advantages
Fish has low saturated fat and is high in protein. Fish is also a complete protein source, so you won’t need to combine proteins to receive the nutrients you need, but you will want to include grains, vegetables, and legumes in your meals.
By eating specific types of fish (such as salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, or sablefish), you can increase your intake of omega-3 acids. While some people take supplements to get their RDA, most health experts recommend getting your RDA through food whenever possible. Omega-3 fatty acids increase heart health, may alleviate rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, and may even benefit brain and eye function.
Following a balanced vegan or vegetarian diet (including the pescatarian diet) has also been linked to a reduced BMI, according to research (BMI).
Additional research suggests that persons who consume a flexitarian diet (mainly vegetarian but occasionally incorporating meat or fish) have advantages such as healthy body weight, improved metabolic health markers, blood pressure, and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
Health Dangers
Vitamin B12 is normally found in animal foods, so unless you consume a lot of B12-rich foods like tuna and sardines, eggs, dairy foods like yogurt, nutritional yeast, and fortified cereals, you may get less of it on a pescatarian diet.
You should get lots of vitamin B12 (cobalamin) since it helps maintain a healthy nervous system and aids in the formation of red blood cells, as well as DNA and protein metabolism.
You should also avoid eating seafood with high mercury levels, especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Fish are classified as “best options,” “excellent choices,” or “fish to avoid” by the FDA and EPA, Environmental Protection Agency. Their materials are intended to assist consumers in making healthy and safe selections while purchasing seafood in order to decrease their consumption of dangerous pollutants.
To Conclude
The pescatarian diet has many advantages, but no diet is perfect. If you’re thinking about going on a pescatarian diet but aren’t sure if it’s for you, give it a week or two and see how you feel.
When you increase your consumption of grains, veggies, and other fiber-rich foods, you may notice that you eat less and feel more satisfied. You may also feel more energetic. At the absolute least, trying new cuisines and flavors will help you.
If you’re unsure where to start, seek the assistance of a trained nutritionist or a local cooking school to learn how to prepare fish so that you may enjoy your meals and feel fulfilled.
Note that a long-term or short-term diet may not be essential for you, and many diets, especially long-term diets, simply do not work.
While we do not support fad diets or unsustainable weight loss approaches, we do give the facts so that you can make an informed decision that best suits your nutritional needs, genetic blueprint, budget, and goals.
If weight loss is your aim, keep in mind that reducing weight isn’t always synonymous with having optimal health, and there are many other methods to achieve it. Exercise, sleep, and other lifestyle factors all have an impact on your overall health. The best diet is one that fits your lifestyle and is well-balanced for you.