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How Much Sushi Is Too Much?

Your friend loves sushi like most people love their children, pets, and sports teams. Their eyes bore into a spicy salmon roll with the intensity of a wild animal sizing up its prey. They appear to eat the stuff for every meal.

You’ve never seen someone stuff that much raw fish, seaweed, and rice down their gullet. It’s awe-inspiring and a bit nauseating. Doesn’t fish have mercury? And the fact that it's raw has to be upping their chance of acquiring some kind of parasite, right?

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Featured

  No! Sushi – the parasitic nightmare in your lunchbox

Don’t fancy a worm with your nigiri? Freezing or cooking the fish is the answer.

 Is Sushi Healthy? Nutritionists Weigh In

With fresh, vibrantly colored ingredients aesthetically arranged into satisfying little rolls, sushi is a true culinary art form. But is sushi healthy? According to registered dietitians, while the Japanese dish can be a source of protein, fiber, and omega-3, the healthiness is dependent on the fish quality, the amount of soy sauce, and portion sizes.

 What's In *Your* Sushi?

This bad boy is Anisakis, a worm that would much rather be off in the sea than in your gut. Its eggs float through alll the world’s oceans until they’re scarfed up by a crustacean, inside of which they mature into a new larval stage. Their next host is the fish that eats the crustacean–they escape from its gut and drill into its muscle. Finally, the fish is eaten by a dolphin or a seal, whereupon the worm becomes an adult and lives harmlessly and happily, churning out eggs that the predators kindly squirt out with their poop. In other words, the good life.

Articles of Interest

Get More Than Sushi With Your Sushi

Eating sushi can be hazardous, but then again so can eating healthy.

Jeremy Piven = Soy or Sushi - NOT

Jeremy Piven seems to have a serious case of food OCD. The Entourage actor finds a food he likes and just goes for it - all or nothing. Recently, the 43-year-old actor claimed he developed Mercury poisoning from sushi and was forced to leave a Broadway play he was starring in.

Beyond Nigiri and Anisakiasis, The Tale of Sushi: History and Regulation

This paper is an exploration of the history of sushi consumption in the United States and how the ingredients of sushi are regulated. The paper delineates the course of sushi’s culinary history in Japan, and will attempt to present an overview on the incremental process by which sushi as a cuisine evolved from a humble street food with scarce recognition to an immensely sophisticated popular cuisine in Japan and America.

How the sushi boom is fuelling tapeworm infections

As eating raw fish has become more popular, gruesome tapeworm tales have emerged. But how worried should sashimi lovers be – and how else might we become infected?

How to be sushi smart: tips on avoiding anisakis disease

From sushi and sashimi (Japan) to poke bowls (Hawaii) and ceviche (Peru), consumption of raw or undercooked fish and other seafood is becoming increasingly popular. Appealing as such dishes can be, they can also increase the risk of exposure to fish-borne parasites. It’s not a matter to take lightly. Every year, almost one in ten people fall ill from eating contaminated food. The World Health Organisation estimates that some 56 million cases of parasitic infections associated with the consumption of fish products occur annually

Is Poke the New Sushi?

This Hawaiian fish dish is taking mainstream sushi spots by storm.

Is Sushi Healthy? Here's What Nutritionists Suggest Ordering

Sushi can be a healthy option, but this delicacy is not without its faults, and with the benefits come a couple of risks to be considered as well.

Is Sushi Healthy? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Even if you’re not concerned about sushi’s effect on your waistline, experts say sushi lovers should still be cautious when it comes to eating raw fish. When “eating anything that’s raw, there is some inherent risk” of getting sick from bacteria and parasites, says Zeratsky, so people should make sure their fish is from a reputable restaurant and has been refrigerated properly.

Popularity of sushi has brought rise in parasitic infections, warn doctors

Doctors have highlighted the need for awareness of anisakiasis, caused by the larvae of a worm found in contaminated undercooked or raw fish or seafood.

Should I Eat Sushi?

You now have the blessing of five health experts to eat sushi—but there are some things you should know before ordering.

Should raw sushi-eaters be worried about tapeworms?

The good news is that even if you are unlucky enough to contract a tapeworm from eating sushi, it’s very treatable. A single dose of the antiparasitic* drug praziquantel can effectively treat fish tapeworm.

Sushi Is Actually Pretty Healthy. Mostly

The bottom line is that, yes, sushi is healthy. It contains high-quality protein and omega-3 fatty acids from fish, plus a great combination of vitamins and minerals. White rice provides carbs for energy, and won’t raise your blood sugar too high because it’s combined with fat and protein. To make sushi a balanced meal, add a side of vegetables or a seaweed salad for fiber and a nutrient boost.

Sushi's Secret: Why We Get Hooked On Raw Fish

But why do so many of us find utter bliss in eating raw sea creatures but aren't so inclined to chow down on uncooked birds, cows or pigs? A big part of it is gravity — or the effective lack of it in the ocean, says biophysicist Ole Mouritsen, author of Sushi: Food for the Eye, the Body and the Soul.

Sushi, Crudo, or Ceviche? Here's Your Guide to Raw Seafood—And How to Make Each Dish

Learn all about the different types of raw seafood.

The real secret to sushi isn't fish

It wasn’t until this preservation method made its way to Japan, during the eighth century, that the rice would be eaten with the fish. In the 1960s, Sushi landed in America via the sushi bar Kawafuku in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo. Since then, sushi has been shaped and rolled with copious amounts of food from all over the world, but rice has always been integral.

The Untold Story of Sushi in America

In the beginning, God did not create a sushi company.

Tuna Scrape: The Food Safety Risk Lurking in Supermarket Sushi

As sushi's gone mainstream, the supply of raw fish has expanded beyond the traditional cuts to a new product called "scrape."

What Is "Sushi-Grade," Anyway? A Guide to Eating Raw Fish at Home

Few foods can rival a sliver of raw fish, impeccably fresh and minimally adorned, whether it's perched atop a mound of sushi rice or swimming in a spicy citrus bath. And yet, despite the popularity of incredibly simple dishes like sushi, sashimi, crudo, poke, and tartares on restaurant menus, for many cooks, preparing raw fish at home remains a daunting task.

Why Freezing Didn't Keep Sushi Tuna Safe From Salmonella

But as this case highlights, freezing doesn't guarantee your sushi is pathogen-free. While freezing will slow down the growth of Salmonella, cooking or pasteurizing are the only ways to kill the bacteria. And the CDC recommends that people at higher risk for serious foodborne illness — kids under 5, adults over 65, pregnant women and other people with weakened immune systems — shouldn't eat raw seafood, regardless of whether there's an outbreak happening.

Your Opinion of Sushi Is a Good Predictor of How Willing You Are to Eat Insects

Individuals who frequently dine on sushi are more likely to try insects than their raw fish-rejecting counterparts.

Resources

5 big questions behind American sushi

Questions of sustainability have challenged sushi chefs to think more broadly about their craft, and some are using tomato, sweet potato, and asparagus instead of fish. But for those that can’t kick the raw fish, programs like Seafood for the Future, NOAA Fish Watch, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium provide ample resources for determining what types of fish can be responsibly consumed.