Many nutritionists recommend incorporating fish into your weekly diet because of all the widely known health benefits. Fish is extremely high in protein, omega 3’s, and it is also a very low fat alternative to other meats.

Growing up my family never really ate much seafood because my mom refuses to eat any and all seafood. I have just recently started becoming open-minded to trying different types of seafood, but still can’t wrap my head around the idea of eating sushi. I guess part of my reservations toward sushi come from the fact that it is raw fish and the dangers of raw meat have always been pounded into my head from every nutrition class I have ever taken. So why is there such a craze about eating raw meat? More importantly, why are more people not questioning the possible health risks?

There are many health concerns that are taken into consideration while preparing raw fish. Parasites are not the only harmful threat in raw fish, “Raw fish poses several potential hazards for consumers besides parasites. Bacteria can develop in non-fresh fish and produce enzymes called histamines that may result in Scombroid poisoning. Certain tropical-water fish may also have a natural toxin called ciguatera which causes gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms.” Scombroid poisoning is essentially just seafood poisoning that comes from eating contaminated fish.

There are many precautions that need to be taken when preparing sushi that ensure that it is safe to eat. To help reduce the risk, “The FDA has required all fish (with the exception of tuna) destined to be served raw in the U.S. to be frozen at a minimum of minus four degrees Fahrenheit for seven days or minus thirty-one degrees Fahrenheit for fifteen hours.” Having these precautions in place helps to protect people and eliminates most of the risk and hesitation that comes along with eating raw fish.

In cases where people do get sick from eating sushi, most of the time it is actually the rice making them sick. Rice develops a harmful bacteria when it sits at room temperature for extensive periods of time. One of the other major reasons people get sick is due to them attempting to make sushi at home. This is more dangerous because freezing fish at home is ineffective because a home freezer does not reach the temperatures that are required to kill all of the harmful parasites. There are individuals
who should be more cautious when eating sushi, like pregnant women, women who want to become pregnant, the elderly, young children, and individuals who have lesser immune systems.

Although there are precautions taken in the preparation of sushi along with many health benefits, I still don’t think I will be trying sushi anytime soon.