Sushi is often recommended as a low-fat dietary alternative to Western cuisine -- according to nutritionist Alyse Levine, sushi can be helpful in controlling your weight. However, sushi should not be relied upon as the main part of your diet -- there are dangers associated with the consumption of raw fish in sushi, and dangers associated with mercury content. Always consult your doctor before making any significant dietary changes.
Types
Sushi is a traditional Japanese food that features a wide range of seafood together with vegetables and rice. The presentation of sushi dishes is often very aesthetically pleasing, with colorful small portions of sushi arranged artfully in a pattern. Vegetarian sushi options are available, although many traditional sushi dishes feature fish or shellfish including tuna, salmon, mackerel, crab, shrimp or swordfish. The seafood in sushi is often consumed raw, although some sushi dishes feature cooked seafood. If you are dieting for weight control or weight loss, some low-calorie and low-fat sushi options include vegetable rolls, known as maki, or fish rolls, known as nigiri.
Benefits
Most types of sushi are low in calories, notes MayoClinic.com. Therefore, sushi is a good dietary choice if you are trying to lose weight through restricting or limiting your calorie intake. Additionally, sushi is typically low in saturated fat -- seafood typically provides unsaturated fat, and certain kinds of seafood contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are considered generally beneficial to health. Furthermore, sushi that contains seafood is an excellent source of lean protein.
Considerations
Mayo Clinic dietitian Katherine Zeratsky states that the nutritional values of sushi vary according to the type of sushi dish and the chef's method of preparing the food. Zeratsky notes that the nutritional profile of the same sushi dish may be quite different when it is made by a different chef. To make your sushi as healthy as possible -- low in calories, overall fat and saturated fat content -- Zeratsky recommends avoiding mayonnaise or additional sauce, or any sushi that is prepared by frying.
Expert Insight
A survey of sushi products was carried out in 2008 by researchers from the Institute of Food Quality and Food Safety in Hannover, Germany. The results, reported in the April, 2008, issue of the "Journal of Food Protection," indicate that potentially dangerous microbes or bacteria were present in some of the sushi obtained from sushi bars and sushi retailers. Because the fish in sushi is often consumed raw, it is more dangerous to consume than cooked fish. The German researchers found salmonella to be present in 1.6 percent of the sushi sampled, while Listeria monocytogenes was present in 1.20 percent of samples. Industrially-processed sushi was generally found to be safer than freshly-prepared sushi.
Warning
A 2008 New York Times study of sushi retailers in Manhattan found certain types of sushi may contain dangerously high levels of mercury. The analysis, conducted for the Times by Dr. Michael Gochfeld and Dr. Joanna Burger, surmises that consuming as few as six pieces of tuna-based sushi each week could cause you to have higher blood mercury levels than are considered safe by the United States government. Though the study surveyed Manhattan restaurants, the experts believe the findings are widely applicable. Therefore, you should limit your intake of sushi that could contain mercury. This is particularly important if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are nursing.
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