Fish and nutrition
Fish plays a significant role as part of a balanced healthy diet. Fish is a good source of many of the nutrients we need throughout life from infancy through to old age.   

What is a healthy diet?
A healthy diet contains a wide variety of different foods in the right amounts. To help you understand what the right amounts are, look at the Food Pyramid opposite. Foods providing similar nourishment are grouped together on the shelves of the Food Pyramid. As you can see from the drawing, you are recommended to eat a lot of foods from the wider part of the pyramid and less from the top. By eating the recommended number of servings from each shelf of the food pyramid each day you can be sure you are getting a healthy diet.

Protein
Fish is a good source of protein which is essential for the body's growth and repair.
       

Fat
Whitefish contains little or no fat. Oil-rich fish contain fat which is         evenly distributed throughout the flesh. Research indicates that the Omega 3 fatty acids in oil-rich fish can help lower the risk of heart disease  and may be beneficial in treating rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.
       
       

Carbohydrate
Fish does not contain carbohydrate so for a balanced meal fish should be served with a carbohydrate rich food like pasta, rice, potatoes or bread.
       
Minerals
Fish is a good source of iron as well as phosphorus, iodine, fluorine and zinc.

Vitamins
Fish contain many of the B vitamins essential for the conversion of food to energy in the cells and also for healthy nerve tissue. Oil-rich fish are a good source of the fat soluble vitamins A and D. In fact, oil-rich fish is the best natural source of vitamin D. Vitamins A and D are essential for healthy bones.