Healthy & Unhealthy Sushi Ingredients
Unhealthy SushiBluefin tuna
Deep red bluefin tuna is a popular sushi ingredient, but unfortunately it’s one of the unhealthiest fish to eat, raw or otherwise. It has among the highest mercury contents, not to mention chemical PCBs. Eating bluefin tuna is also bad for the environment: Due to overfishing, bluefin is now being replaced on many sushi menus with more common (and inexpensive) yellowfin or albacore tuna.
Tobiko sushi is made full of eggs — fish roe and quail eggs. Those quail eggs, however, are an unhealthy sushi choice. Similar to chicken eggs, quail eggs are high in cholesterol and saturated fat. There is also the risk of salmonella poisoning since the eggs are eaten raw. There is folate in quail eggs, but that won’t do you any good if you get sick.
Lovers of deep-fried goodies live by the motto, “if it aint fried, it aint food.” Tempura is the usual sushi menu choice for those averse to raw fish. Both seafood and veggies can be served with tempura, meaning deep-fried in tempura batter. The batter consists of water, flour and eggs. Frying anything raises the total calorie and total fat content.
Soy sauce is a high-sodium condiment served with sushi, making it an unhealthy sushi ingredient. Anyone with high blood pressure or following a low-sodium diet should not eat soy sauce. Despite the fact that it’s made from soy beans, the sauce does not contain soy isoflavones and has negligible amounts of vitamins and minerals, except sodium (Na+). One tablespoon of soy sauce has 1,006 milligrams of sodium — nearly half the recommended daily value.