Is Sushi Good or Bad For You? Health Benefits, Risks & Everything You Need to Know

According to a study conducted in Norway, sushi is generally healthy but people need to be wary about how their sushi is prepared.

According to Best Health, sushi usually is low in calories. White fish, like sea bass or red snapper contain 100 calories per 100g while richter fish like mackerel and eel have less than 200 calories per 100g.

Even oily fish like sardines and herring have health benefits. Oily fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids and can prevent heart disease, stroke and arthritis.

Sunniva Hoel, a Ph. D. candidate at Sør-Trøndelag University College in Norway, told Time, "Sushi is a nice helath meal if you make the right choices."

According to Time sushi in general is healthy, but the health risk of the popular Japanese food lies on what it is wrapped in.

One health concern about sushi is the quality of the fish served with the Asian dish. Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, warns people that raw fish can transmit infectious diseases.

People with weak immune systems, like the elderly or pregnant women, tend to be more susceptible to infectious disease, and should be careful of eating raw foods, said Dr. Kats.

Meanwhile, Chealth suggests leaving the sushi dishes to the pros. There are sushi chefs, known as itamae (ita-meh-ee), who are highly trained in the preparation of uncooked fish.

There is a risk to keeping raw fish at home, reports Chealth. Most home freezers are not capable of reaching the required temperature for properly freezing uncooked fish.

Store-bought sushi is also very difficult to keep fresh and bacteria-free. In a study conducted by Hoel and her colleagues more than half of the 58 samples they analyzed had "unsatisfactory levels of bacteria," states Time.

"The main concern is to maintain an unbroken cold chain during production, distribution, and display in stores and all the way to the consumer's tables." Hoel said.

Mercury levels in the fish used to prepare sushi is another important factor to consider before ordering.

Chealth stated that mercury is a known neurotoxin. Green Facts explains that the body easily absorbs mercury through the stomach and intestines.

In particular, pregnant women should be careful when eating foods high in mercury levels, since mercury can effect the brain development of the unborn baby.

Moreover, excess mercury exposure can poison the nervous system. Small increases of mercury in the body can also affect the heart and circulatory system.

Dr. Roxanne Karimi, from the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University, says that small fish have less mercury in their bodies, so they are safer to eat.