A dietitian explores the well being advantages, downsides, and dietary worth of consuming octopus.
The octopus is a sort of cephalopod that lives within the ocean.
It’s well-known for having eight legs and being some of the clever creatures within the sea (
Octopus can be a culinary delicacy in coastal areas of the world. It’s a beloved meals of many individuals in Asia-Pacific international locations like Japan and the Koreas in addition to within the Mediterranean, akin to Italy and Spain.
Should you’ve eaten octopus earlier than or questioned what it is likely to be like, however you’re uncertain about how wholesome the seafood really is, this text is for you.
Right here, we’ll take a deeper dive into the dietary profile of octopus, together with its advantages, downsides, and extra.
Like many varieties of seafood, octopus is flexible. The commonest types of octopus used for meals are:
Octopus could be eaten uncooked or cooked.
The commonest methods to prepare dinner octopus are:
- grilling
- baking
- steaming
- boiling
- poaching
- stewing
- frying
Relying on the kind of octopus you’re cooking with, and the way you resolve to prepare dinner it, octopus can tackle fully totally different taste and texture profiles.
For instance, some individuals have a tough time consuming octopus due to its chewy texture.
To attain a less-rubbery texture, many cooks swear by utilizing frozen octopus or by slow-poaching recent octopus in a flavorful liquid at a low temperature for at the least 90 minutes.
Dried octopus often requires an analogous period of time for rehydrating and cooking, however you could not at all times have time for such a prolonged course of.
In that case, canned octopus can simply be eaten immediately and served plain — or you may shortly spice it up with garlic, herbs and spices, citrus juices, and comparable seasonings.
SUMMARY
Recent octopus is often utilized in meals, however frozen, dried, and canned varieties are additionally accessible. There are various alternative ways to prepare dinner octopus, and a few individuals favor to eat it uncooked.
General, octopus is a wholesome supply of lean protein that’s low in energy, fats, and carbohydrates however excessive in amino acids (and thus protein), hint minerals, and micronutrients like nutritional vitamins (
Right here is the diet profile for 3 ounces (85 grams) of octopus cooked utilizing a moist-heat cooking technique like boiling, braising, or stewing (
- Energy: 139
- Carbs: 4 grams
- Protein: 25 grams
- Fiber: 0 grams
- Fats: 2 grams
- Vitamin B12: 1,275% of the Each day Worth (DV)
- Selenium: 139% of the DV
- Copper: 70% of the DV
- Iron: 45% of the DV
- Vitamin B6: 32% of the DV
- Zinc: 26% of the DV
- Niacin: 20% of the DV
- Phosphorus: 19% of the DV
- Sodium: 17% of the DV
- Pantothenic acid: 15% of the DV
- Choline: 13% of the DV
- Magnesium: 12% of the DV
- Potassium: 11% of the DV
Simply because the preparation technique you select for octopus can alter the style and texture of the ultimate dish, it may also affect the meals’s closing dietary worth (
For instance, a 3-ounce (45-gram) serving of dried octopus might comprise as a lot as 1,114 mg of salt — 289% greater than recent cooked octopus (
What’s extra, canned octopus is often packed in oil and due to this fact increased in fats (
If octopus has been deep-fried, it’ll even be increased in fats and energy than when the seafood is roasted, grilled, poached, or stewed.
Nonetheless, octopus ready any method is an extremely wealthy supply of many vitamins, akin to vitamin B12 and selenium, that are vital for bodily capabilities like forming crimson blood cells, synthesizing DNA, and combating dangerous oxidation (
Although it’s not fairly as wealthy in unsaturated fat as fatty fish like salmon and tuna, octopus continues to be excessive within the omega-3s docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (
They’re thought-about heart-healthy vitamins as a result of they might assist cut back irritation and shield towards coronary heart illness (
SUMMARY
Octopus is an extremely nutritious lean supply of protein. The seafood is low in energy and fats, but it’s stuffed with nutritional vitamins B6 and B12, selenium, copper, iron, zinc, and extra.
Octopus performs an important function in lots of cultural and culinary traditions.
Not solely does the seafood make for a scrumptious meal to many, however octopus can undoubtedly be part of a nutritious and well-balanced eating regimen.
Listed below are a number of of essentially the most spectacular well being advantages of octopus.
It’s a lean protein
“Lean” proteins are good sources of protein that stay comparatively low in energy, fats, and ldl cholesterol.
Packing greater than 25 grams of protein per serving for just below 140 energy, octopus positively matches the outline of a lean protein.
Although octopus does comprise an honest quantity of ldl cholesterol — about 82 mg per serving — it nonetheless comprises lower than squid and shrimp (
Plus, analysis on dietary ldl cholesterol and coronary heart illness has begun to shift. Opposite to what was as soon as believed, it appears consuming nutritious sources of ldl cholesterol like eggs and seafood is much less prone to increase blood levels of cholesterol than consuming meals like crimson meat which can be excessive in saturated fats (
In seems {that a} eating regimen excessive in lean seafood — even when it comprises some ldl cholesterol — may very well enhance coronary heart well being relatively than hurt it (
A wealthy supply of wholesome unsaturated fat
The wholesome unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in octopus might assist forestall coronary heart illness, however their advantages don’t cease there (
A eating regimen wealthy in sources of omega-3s — like octopus and different varieties of fish — has additionally been linked with a decrease danger for some cancers, safety of cognitive perform, and a wholesome gut microbiome (
The intestine microbiome refers back to the teams of wholesome micro organism that dwell in our intestines. The microbiome performs a significant function in immunity, irritation, and illness prevention.
Might have antidepressant properties
One other attention-grabbing property of the omega-3s in octopus and seafood: consuming extra of them might reduce symptoms of major depressive disorder.
In sure populations, analysis reveals those that eat average — however not essentially excessive — quantities of seafood have a tendency to attain decrease on measures of melancholy. What’s extra, it seems the ratio between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids within the blood can be an element (
Although a eating regimen wealthy in omega-3s from seafood has been linked with decreased melancholy, there may be not but sufficient proof to conclude that omega-3 dietary supplements successfully deal with individuals already dwelling with melancholy (
Apparently sufficient, it’s not simply the omega-3s in octopus that account for its potential antidepressant properties.
One examine analyzed meals and their concentrations of 12 totally different antidepressant vitamins, together with omega-3s in addition to vitamin B12, selenium, iron, zinc, and extra. Octopus ranked sixth on the record of prime antidepressant meals (
SUMMARY
Octopus is a lean supply of seafood that’s low in energy and fats however wealthy in protein and different vitamins that will assist assist coronary heart well being, psychological well being, the intestine microbiome, and extra.
It’s evident that octopus is a nutrient-dense supply of protein that has been an integral a part of nutritious diets for ages.
Nonetheless, some individuals must keep away from octopus as a consequence of allergic reactions. The truth is, shellfish are one of many most common allergenic foods (
Different individuals select to keep away from consuming octopus for ethical reasons. Some are involved with the sustainability of how octopus is caught or farmed, whereas others fear concerning the ethics of killing and consuming octopus — particularly because it’s believed to be an extremely clever animal.
Except for these vital conversations, there are additionally a few well being issues to remember when you eat octopus repeatedly.
Octopus is excessive in salt
One serving of octopus might comprise as a lot as 25% of the DV for salt, and that’s with out including any extra salt through the cooking course of (
For some individuals, this will not be a lot to fret about. Nevertheless, for many who are salt-sensitive, it might adversely have an effect on your blood stress and raise your risk of heart disease (
Fried variations might contribute to hypertension, coronary heart illness, and extra
One widespread strategy to put together octopus is to deep-fry it.
Although many benefit from the style and texture, fried foods are linked with damaging well being outcomes, together with hypertension, coronary heart illness, melancholy, diabetes, and extra (
There’s a danger of mercury publicity
Like most varieties of seafood, there’s an opportunity octopus could possibly be contaminated with heavy metals like mercury and arsenic (
Some analysis means that the metals usually focus within the digestive glands of the ocean creature, so avoiding these tissues is one strategy to attempt to restrict your publicity when consuming octopus (
Researchers have additionally noticed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) — a category of carcinogenic pollution — in octopus, although to various levels relying on the place the octopuses lived (
Those that are significantly in danger to the results of mercury publicity, akin to pregnant and breastfeeding individuals, babies, and individuals who eat quite a lot of seafood, might wish to use additional warning and discover sources of octopus much less prone to be contaminated (
You’ll be able to study extra about selecting extra sustainable meat here.
SUMMARY
General, octopus is a nutritious meals. Nevertheless, it’s increased in salt than many different proteins, and there’s a probability it could possibly be contaminated with heavy metals. To get essentially the most diet from the seafood, search sustainable sources and keep away from deep-fried varieties.
Octopus is a wholesome meals that’s extraordinarily wealthy in lots of vitamins identified to assist optimum human well being.
Should you resolve to include octopus into your eating regimen regularly, take into account that it’s increased in salt than many different varieties of animal protein.
Plus, it carries a danger of being contaminated with heavy metals from air pollution within the ocean.
Nonetheless, when consumed moderately utilizing nutritious cooking strategies and as a part of a well-rounded eating regimen, octopus might have advantages like lowering the chance of coronary heart illness and signs of melancholy.