Is Sushi Healthy? – What you need to know

Is Sushi Healthy?

Well it really depends on what is in your sushi, but by the end of this article you will be able to easily to tell which types of sushi and sushi rolls are the healthiest.

Case #1

We sit down at our favorite sushi restaurant, look through the menu, and order the deep fried rolls with a tasty creamy sauce on top.  Then while waiting for our food to come we ask our self, is sushi healthy?

Well in this case, not really.  Aside from the rice there is not much healthy food in this roll.  We need to always be wary when ordering anything that is deep fried when trying to be healthy.  There is not a food item I can think of that is deep fried and healthy at the same time but feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.  Next lets look at the creamy sauce they put on top, usually a light orange or pinkish color, while this sauce is certainly tasty it is not a wise choice when you are trying to eat healthy.  Some of these types of rolls can amount to over 500 calories.

Case #2

We make it back to our restaurant the following week.  This time we decide to order the vegetarian rolls with cucumber and avocados. Again we wait for our food and can’t help but think, is sushi healthy for me?

Well right from the start this looks like a pretty healthy roll, we have rice, cucumbers, and avocados with have lots of healthy stuff in them.  So we have our carbohydrates and good fats from avocado, but we are missing one thing, protein.  While this is a much healthier roll that what we first ordered I think we can still do better.

Case #3

We come back to our restaurant for a third time and thoroughly go thru the menu. Now we decide on the spicy tuna roll with avocado on top.  Now what is your guess on is sushi healthy?

I would say this is a very healthy and well balanced roll.  It has carbohydrates from the rice, good fats from the avocado, and now you have protein from the meet.  Also as a bonus spicy foods are said to speed up your metabolism, but be careful because spicy foods can also encourage you to eat more.

Recommended: Calories in Sushi

So after all this, is sushi healthy?

Yes sushi is very healthy for the most part.  The fish not only provides protein that need but also essential oils, nutrients, and Omega-3′s.  Also most sushi rolls contain foods that are whole and not processed which is much better for you body.  For those of you who are concerned about carbs or are on one of those low carb diets, you can also order sashimi, which is just raw fish without the rice.  Sushi is truly an awesome food, and I would definitely recommend anyone include it into their diet.  I’ll admit I never tried sushi out until I was older.

When I use to think of sushi, like most people do, I pictured chunks of raw fish and could not see how that could be appetizing.  I finally made it too my first sushi restaurant while in college and made sure nothing I ordered contained raw fish, but as the food was delivered I took a look at what everyone else had ordered and it did not look too bad at all.

My next trip I ordered one roll that contained raw fish and one that didn’t, and while it tasted pretty good I was still a little grossed out by the thought of eating raw meat.  As time went one I thought less and less about it and was able to enjoy my sushi more and more, eventually working my way up to sashimi which I have to admit was another big step.

Today I order sushi at least once a week and could not be happier and love it more than ever.  I have spent lots of time learning about sushi and its health benefits, ready everything I could find online and even going to the library.   I have also been able to get many of my friends to try sushi for the first time too and they love it.  So if you have not given it a try yet, please do, but remember to pick a well established restaurant, one that you would trust to take care of the fish properly as it can be very delicate.

So next time someone ask you, is sushi healthy, what are you going to tell them?