If there really is such a thing as a superfood, then seafood must be it! The fact that humankind is thought to have evolved as a separate species while living in coastal regions (hence with good access to seafood) probably has a lot to do with it.

Seafood is packed full of many of the things our bodies need to operate as nature intended. Right from the earliest moments of life, at conception, we know that the nutrients in seafood provide vital ingredients to ensure optimal fertility. Through every stage of life thereafter, the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients in seafood help to ensure that the human body is kept in tip-top shape.

Seafood of course is a lot more than just a tasty source of long chain omega-3, though that is an important part of its uniqueness. The fact that no other food category even comes close to being able to supply sensible amounts of  the long chain omega-3's is a major factor behind the UK Government's recommendation  that we should all eat seafood at least twice a week. Research is adding more and more evidence to support this advice all the time, but is also adding to our knowledge about some of the other nutrient "bonuses" from seafood.

Vitamin D is one case in point. Once consigned to the nutritional "been there, done that" cubbyhole, we are now realising that Vitamin D is much more important than we once thought, and that many folks in the UK (particularly those in the North) do not have enough in their bodies to keep them as healthy as they could be.

At least twice a week it should be then, not just fish such as cod,mackerel or salmon, but also shellfish such as mussels, lobster and prawns. There is a great variety of super value seafood out there, so it is not hard to eat it twice a week, without eating the same things over and over again.

Ray Rice

Ray trained as a Food Scientist in London and the USA, graduating with a Doctorate from the University of Illinois in 1972. He has worked with omega-3 polyunsaturates for much of the past 30 years in one way or another. In 1986 he led the team which successfully obtained a UK Medicines Licence for a fish oil supplement (MaxEPA) that he helped to develop. In 1990, with the help of Seafish and others, he set up the Fish Foundation, a body dedicated to helping to spread awareness of the nutritional value of fish, in particular as a result of the  omega-3 polyunsaturates that fish provide. Ray has lectured Internationally on this subject  for more than 20 years, and is a recognised authority on the health effects of the omega-3 polyunsaturates.