It’s among the healthiest foods you can
get—and it’s growing in popularity all over
the country. It’s easy to see why. Sushi
doesn’t just taste great—it’s also good for
your health. Here, we’ll look at the healthy
properties in the building blocks of a sushi
roll: the fish, the seaweed, the rice, the
ginger, and the wasabi. Any one of these
gives you a great reason to give sushi a
try—and altogether, they’re an unbeatable
combination. Fish is good for
you. Some fish contain more fat
than others. Typically, salmon, tuna, and
other large fish that love cold, deep water
also have higher fat concentrations to
insulate their bodies. However, the fat
comes in the form of Omega-3 fatty
acids—which, unlike typical animal fats,
have several important health benefits.
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for
healthy brains and nervous systems. These
fatty acids coat the sheaths that house our
nerves. Eating fish is said to sharpen
memory and mental capacity, and to guard
against Alzheimer’s and other degenerative
mental diseases.
However, Omega-3 fatty acids aren’t just
brain food. They also do your heart and
circulatory system some good. They’ve been
linked with increased saturation of HDL, the
“good” cholesterol—which in turn is linked
to a decrease in risk for heart disease.
In addition, Omega-3 fatty acids give you a
variety of other health benefits to varying
degrees: they’ve been suggested to improve
the body’s efficiency in sugar processing,
which is good news for diabetics. It’s also
been said that they can lessen the pain of
arthritis, make you less prone to
depression, and boost your immune system.
If you want the full health benefits of
Omega-3 fatty acids, raw fish is the way to
go. Fat will leach out of the fish at high
temperatures, so you’ll get a smaller amount
of Omega-3 fatty acids in a piece of cooked
salmon than you would in a raw hand roll. In
addition, cooking changes the properties of
Omega-3 fatty acids, transforming them into
more common forms of animal fat that have
fewer health benefits.
If you’re looking for healthy sushi,
however, it’s important to make sure your
fish is wild-caught. In most cases, farmed
fish have much lower concentrations of
Omega-3 fatty acids than wild-caught fish—so
don’t hesitate to ask the staff of your
favorite sushi restaurant where their fish
comes from.
Wasabi protects your teeth.
It’s mean, it’s green, it clears out your
sinuses—and it’s good for your teeth. A
recent Japanese study suggests that the
strong-flavored green horseradish paste that
traditionally accompanies a sushi meal can
prevent tooth decay by inhibiting the growth
of Streptococcus mutans, bacteria that eats
away at our tooth enamel.
Other studies over the years have also
suggested that wasabi has anti-carcinogenic,
blood-thinning, and anti-asthmatic
properties. If you usually avoid the wasabi
because it’s too overwhelming in flavor, try
just a tiny dab, spread in a thin layer. It
provides a nice kick in small quantities
without being overwhelming—and with its
health benefits, it just might be worth
getting used to.
Seaweed is a superfood.
Most sushi rolls are wrapped in Nori—a flat
sheet of toasted seaweed. Scientists and
nutritionists are only beginning to realize
the full health properties of seaweed—and
already they’re discovering a wealth of
benefits. Seaweed is one of the richest
sources of healthy minerals on earth,
including calcium, magnesium, iron, and
phosphorous—minerals the modern diet is
often sorely lacking.
In addition, seaweed has the rare property
of being able to flush our bodies of heavy
metals. Industrial pollution pours high
concentrations of heavy metal pollution into
our air and waters. In our bodies, these
pollutants can wreak havoc, often damaging
our nerves and brain function irreparably.
Seaweed is one of the few substances that
can remove these dangerous substances from
our bodies.
Seaweed
also has other
health benefits, including protection
against cancer and heart disease. Its
calcium concentrations are higher than in
dairy products, and it is believed to
strengthen bones and teeth as well.
Sushi rice isn’t your typical carb. There has been a lot of controversy lately
about the dangers of too many carbohydrates
in the diet. All carbs are made of complex
sugars. More complex carbohydrates, such as
rice, are known as “high GI” foods—meaning
that they break down quickly in the
gastro-intestinal tract, causing a sharp
spike in the sugar content of the
blood—which isn’t healthy.
Sushi rice, however, is a sticky rice that
does not digest quickly as other rices do.
Sticky rice is a “low GI” food, meaning it
digests slowly and releases its sugars into
the bloodstream at a more measured rate.
This makes sushi rice much better for your
health than most other white rices.
Ginger is like aspirin
- but
better. In ancient times, the Japanese
believed that ginger provided protection
against plague. Today, scientists in Japan
are discovering that ginger acts much like
aspirin, thinning the blood and providing
relief from headaches and protection from
blood clots. Aspirin can be corrosive to the
stomach lining, however—unlike ginger. While
the research is not complete yet,
preliminary studies have shown that ginger
may also provide relief from migraine
headaches and arthritis pain.
It’s no wonder that the Japanese are so
healthy. The Japanese suffer lower instances
of cancer and heart disease than people in
the U. S. and in Britain—and with all the
health benefits of Japanese cuisine, it’s
easy to see why. If you’re interested in a
meal that’s just as delicious as a Big
Mac—but without the danger to your
health—there’s no better food than sushi.
Have a question, comment, or
suggestion?Chef Ozaki
loves to talk with his customers—both at the
restaurant and online.Feel free to email him at
Ozaki@Allsushirecipes.com if you have any
questions—or any suggestions on how he can
make this site better
Find local
Japanese sushi bar restaurant at
Allsushirecipes.com
