Aiming to be flexitarian: How fish, seafood and sea vegetables can liven up your 5 a day and get you to eat more.

Umami-rich blue food

Illustration of some of the marine food items described in the scientific paper as umami-rich blue food (photo courtesy by Jonas Drotner Mouritsen)

Most of us have a tough time eating enough veggies. According to the World Economic Forum, only one in 10 people in the EU get five portions of fruit and vegetables daily, which are recommended for health and climate. According to Ole G. Mouritsen, professor emeritus of gastrophysics and culinary food innovation at the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Food Science, which is natural. According to Mouritsen, vegetables don’t taste all that good on their own:

“Most people don’t change the way they eat just for the sake of the climate. To get things going, I think that every meal needs to be prepared to satisfy our sense of taste. And, when many people have a hard time eating enough vegetables, it’s because vegetables lack the sweetness and umami that we’ve been evolutionarily encoded to crave.”

So, if we are to realize a green transition in our eating habits with diets that are far more plant-based, it might be a good idea to liven up vegetable dishes with more umami – the basic, brothy taste typically associated with meat. Here, Professor Mouritsen believes that the sea is a low-hanging fruit. Not only does the sea abound with protein, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats, but also in much-coveted umami.

“We overlook the most readily available, and in many cases, most sustainable food sources with umami taste – namely fish, seaweed, shellfish, molluscs and other seafood. If the right species are chosen, we can use them as climate- and environmentally-friendly protein sources that are also effective umami flavourants for vegetables,” says Ole G. Mouritsen.  

Using math to quantify umami

In a new scientific research article, Mouritsen uses a mathematical equation to help calculate the power of umami in a wide range of seafood and demonstrate their great taste potential.

“Umami can be plugged into a formula because we know exactly how the taste receptors in our taste buds pick up on umami at the molecular level. There is a synergistic effect when two substances, glutamate and nucleotides, are present in a food at the same time. Glutamate imparts the basic umami taste, which is then enhanced many times over by nucleotides. This synergy is reflected in the equation,” says Mouritsen, whose background is in theoretical physics.


The list of seafood with large concentrations of umami is long. It includes everything from fish like cod and mackerel to shellfish and molluscs like shrimp and octopus, the roe of Alaska pollock and blue mussel, various types of seaweed, and processed seafood products like anchovy paste and fish sauce.

“There are many possibilities. And while some people will probably debate the formula’s accuracy, it doesn’t matter. For example, whether the umami concentration in shrimp is 9,000 or 13,000 mg/100 g is not critical, as each is much greater than 30 mg/100 g, which is the taste threshold for umami,” Mouritsen points out.

Working wonders with the right sauces and dressings

Only a few drops or grams of blue foods are usually needed to elevate vegetable dishes to something that satisfies our inherited umami craving.

“Fish sauce and shrimp paste are obvious choices that some may already have in their kitchens or be familiar with from Asian cuisine. You can easily make sauces, dressings and marinades with them that elevate the taste above the threshold, bringing out the umami in a vegetable dish,” says Ole G. Mouritsen.

While it is easy for people preparing food in their kitchens at home to take part, it is first and foremost the professionals that Ole G. Mouritsen seeks to enlist.

“I’ve worked with chefs who have no problem preparing dishes where there is no compromise in taste, even when only a few grams of animal protein are present. It’s a question of knowledge. And as scientists, we must share our knowledge,” says the professor, who adds:

“Globally, many millions of meals are prepared daily outside the home – in canteens, hospitals, by meal delivery and recipe box services, in restaurants and in other contexts. It’s the chefs, nutrition assistants and other culinary artisans who make the meals that, with the right knowledge, can move things forward.”

We should be flexitarian.

Professor Mouritsen believes that flexitarian diets are a more viable option than today’s focus on replicating meat products using plants:

“I think we need to be more flexitarian. We need to get used to having many more vegetables and much less animal-derived fare on our plates. But in terms of taste, nothing should be absent. Therefore, my vision is that we add something from the animal kingdom that boosts taste so that we can make do with very small amounts – but enough to provide flavours that vegetables can’t,” says Mouritsen. He continues:

“Here, it is obvious to use raw materials from the sea that can be sustainably made the most of. This includes species that are not overfished, species that are wasted as bycatch, or species that are not consumed by humans.”

He emphasizes that it should be up to other professionals to determine which species are sustainable. While many fish species are overfished, and much fish farming is environmentally harmful, the production of ‘blue foods’ sourced in marine and other aquatic environments is often far more sustainable than the production of land-based meat and plant protein, which often require large inputs of water and energy.

WHERE UMAMI COMES, FROMThere are only a few instances in which animal sources can be avoided when out to produce umami without fermentation. One exception is mushrooms; the other is a range of algae – including some of the larger seaweed species. Furthermore, umami is found in a few ripe fruits, such as tomatoes. Mouritsen provides a scientific explanation for the abundance of umami in the animal kingdom:”Just as there is a scientific reason for why plants lack umami, there is also a reason why the animal kingdom is the best supplier of umami and synergy. The substances that create umami are used by muscles and are, therefore, absent in plants. When nucleic acids – the substances responsible for muscle energy – are broken down, they produce nucleotides. Combined with substances from proteins, such as glutamate, umami synergy is created.”
SEAFOOD IS BRAIN FOODSeafood offers yet another distinct advantage over entirely plant-based diets, according to Professor Mouritsen: “Many of the essential nutrients in seafood are not found in plants – including vitamin B12. And one of the most important is polyunsaturated fats, which are created by algae, way down at the bottom of the food chain. Fish, shellfish and molluscs absorb these fats by eating animals that eat other animals that have eaten algae. These fats are very important for our nervous system and brain.”
MAKE UMAMI LIKE THE ANCIENT GREEKS Many people know fish sauce from Asian cuisines, where it is used to endow dishes with umami. But Europe too once had a tradition of using fish sauce to impart extra flavor. Garum was used in nearly all ancient Greek and Roman dishes. It was often mixed with other ingredients, including honey. This garum was known as meligarum and consists of:1 part fish sauce2 parts honey2 parts citrus juice One quick use of meligarum is as a dressing or marinade for pointed cabbage or broccoli.

Autism is not linked to eating fish in pregnacy




Pescheria (fish market), Rialto Markets, Venice

Pescheria (fish market), Rialto Markets, Venice




A major study examining the fish-eating habits of pregnant women has found that they are not linked to autism or autistic traits in their children.

Scientists at the University of Bristol looked at the assumption that mercury exposure during pregnancy is a major cause of autism using evidence from nearly 4500 women who took part in the Children of the 90s study.

Using analysis of blood samples, reported fish consumption and information on autism and autistic traits from one of the largest longitudinal studies to date, researchers found no links between levels of mercury in the mothers and autism or autistic traits in their children. The only adverse effect of mercury found was poor social cognition if mothers ate no fish at all, especially for girls.

Lead author and founder of the Children of the 90s study Professor Jean Golding commented: “Our findings further endorse the safety of eating fish during pregnancy. Importantly we’ve found no evidence at all to support claims that mercury is involved in the development of autism or autistic traits.




“This adds to a body of work that endorses the eating of fish during pregnancy for a good nutritional start to life with at least two fish meals a week.”

In October 2017 the University of Bristol presented a policy briefing document to government departments explaining that current advice for pregnant women is complex and confusing and may encourage women to limit or avoid eating fish altogether.

Wellcome Trust Research Fellow at the University of Bristol Dr Caroline Taylor contributed to both the new research and policy document and added: “All species of fish contain traces of mercury, which can harm brain development, but we’ve found that the health benefits of fish, probably from nutrients such as vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, selenium and iodine, outweigh the risks from mercury.

“The advice on eating fish when pregnant is complicated and overwhelming. There is now a body of evidence to support a simpler and clearer approach that maximises the health benefits of fish. “I believe the next step is for a comprehensive study into how the current guidelines have affected the consumption of fish in pregnant women overall.”

Director of the National Autistic Society’s Centre for Autism, Carol Povey said: “At The National Autistic Society, we welcome all research which furthers our understanding of autism. This is a robust study which confirms what previous research has found: it is a myth that high mercury levels in pregnant mothers cause autism.

“There are around 700,000 autistic people in the UK and, although the exact causes of autism are still not fully understood, research to date has shown it involves many complex and interacting factors, including genetics, the environment and the development of the brain.

“While it is important to understand the causes of autism, we believe more research should be focused on what helps autistic people and their families so that all autistic people can have a good quality of life and get the support and understanding they need.”

Fish! What are the health benefits of eating fish? Five great reasons to eat more fish.


Sardine, Pescheria (fish market), Rialto Markets

Sardine, Pescheria (fish market), Rialto Markets, Venice

When I was a boy, too many years ago to remember, fish was referred to as brain food.  These days the suggested health benefits of fish are much more wide spread.

The aim of this blog is to highlight a few of the key benefits of including more fish in your diet.  And to give you an opportunity to share any healthy fish recipes you use. So here goes:-

1)      White fish, such as cod, are low in fat and high in protein.   Thus a great way of keep yourself in trim.  It may also be useful for people with diabetes to help control their blood sugar levels.

2)      Fish lowers the levels of fats called triglycerides in the blood. High levels of triglycerides can mean increased risk of heart disease.

3)      Omega-3 fatty acids which are found in oily fish such as mackerel are vital for the body’s metabolism to function normally.  It has also been suggested that they can help with cardio-vascular conditions, dementia and may lower the risk of cancer.  However at this point there is no conclusive proof of this.  That being said there seems strong evidence that Omega-3 fatty acids can act as an anti-inflammatory and thus are very beneficial for people with arthritis.  For more on anti-inflammatory treatments please look at our previous blog https://patienttalk.org/?p=468.

4)      Depression.   It seems that fish should be part of a diet which helps lower the risk of

Pescheria (fish market), Rialto Markets, Venice

Pescheria (fish market), Rialto Markets, Venice

depression.

5)      Pregnancy. It has been suggested that eating fish during pregnancy can lower the risk of have a baby prematurely.

Healthy ways to cook fish include baking, poaching, grilling and steaming. Some nutritionists suggest that we eat two portions of fish a week. One of which should be fatty fish.

Some of our readers may have concerns about the sustainability of the fish they eat.   Check out Fish Online which seems to have a lot of information http://www.fishonline.org/.  It is also suggested that we “avoid fish high in mercury such as shark, swordfish and marlin”.

Finally we would like to give you the opportunity to share your fish recipes in the comments box below.

To kick start this I’d love to recommend a great way of help preventing osteoporosis. Simple!   Tinned sardines on wholemeal toast.  Why not try it for breakfast tomorrow.  It is best when the sardines still have their bones as this is a great source of calcium.