If there’s one thing in this world everyone can agree on, it’s that food plays such an important and wonderful part in our lives. Not only do you need food to survive, but food has the ability to bring people together. Think about family dinner every Sunday when the matriarch or patriarch would cook that delicious Sunday meal. Think about the times when you and your friends meet up for girls' night at that popular restaurant you saw on social media. Or a guys' night when you all order your favorite finger foods to watch a game. Those are great examples, but nothing brings people together like a good old-fashioned seafood boil. Very few people can turn down a good seafood boil, which when indulging in moderation is fine, but what about when it becomes a good time that happens too often? What if one too many seafood boils can lead to a painful future?
What Seafood Boils Entail
If you’ve never had a seafood boil or been to a place where they serve them and you love seafood, here's everything you need to know about one.
To simply put it, it’s exactly what its name is. You take a bunch of seafood such as crab legs and shrimp and put it in a pot to boil. In another pot, you then make the special sauce, which consists of multiple blocks of butter and seasonings.
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It also includes added sides such as boiled eggs, potatoes, corn on the cob, sausages, etc. that have to be cooked as well.
Once everything is cooked thoroughly, you add it all together and there is your seafood boil.
Depending on where you go to get one, where you grew up and how you were taught to make it, you may want to add different things to it, such as crawfish or lobster tails.
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Regardless of what goes into it, think about this; with everything that goes into a seafood boil, is this really healthy to consume?
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Now, it’s easy to assume that because you’re only using seafood, which is relatively a healthier type of poultry, that a seafood boil might not be that bad, but unfortunately, that is not the case. It’s not necessarily the seafood itself that’s dangerous for your health but the sauce and all the other foods that are added to it. The seasoning liquid that is used for these delicious meals is extremely high in sodium. In fact, it contains so much sodium that a person can reach their daily sodium intake in one serving of this meal. This could lead to complications with your heart.
How Overindulging Affects Your Heart
When you go and consume twice the amount of the recommended daily sodium intake in one sitting, there’s no question that it can cause issues with your body afterward.
As stated previously, the liquid in seafood boils is extremely high in sodium. When that sodium is consumed, it can cause water retention because excess sodium causes you to retain water. When the body retains water, it will leave you feeling extremely bloated and uncomfortable.
This can then lead to stress on the heart. It can lead to high blood pressure, which later can lead to heart disease and/or stroke. Imagine eating like this often, let’s say twice a week.
Not only will eating like this often be dangerous to your health, but it will also cost you a fortune because seafood boils are not cheap, even the ones you can make for yourself. Consuming large amounts of high sodium meals can lead to heart health issues and heart failure.
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Healthy Alternatives For Indulging Without the Consequences
Thankfully there are ways to indulge without having to deal with future consequences. One way is to use less seasoning when creating the boil. Instead of adding different seasonings that contain high levels of salt, try using only one type of salt (ex. use Old Bay seasoning by itself instead of both Old Bay and Slap Ya Mama).
Also, try using butter substitutes instead of actual butter. Drink an excessive amount of water, be aware of your portion size, and don’t indulge too often.
This information isn’t to scare you off from enjoying a feast fit for royalty because sometimes you just want to do something nice and extravagant for yourself, and you deserve to, but it’s important to keep certain things in mind. Yes, this meal may be delicious and lavish, but you still need to make sure you are cautious with your health and mindful of how much and how often you indulge.
