Boost The Vitamin B-12 In Your Diet With This Fresh Fish

Eating a balanced diet is essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Along with requiring vitamin D for bone health and vitamin C to boost the immune system, the body needs vitamin B-12, too. According to the National Institute of Health, the average adult needs 2.4 micrograms of vitamin B-12 a day (a little more if you're pregnant or breastfeeding). Essential for nerve function and the creation of healthy blood cells, this vitamin is found in animal products, including meat, eggs, and dairy. However, it's also found in seafood. One way to boost the vitamin B-12 in your diet is to eat more fresh bluefin tuna.

A deficiency in B-12 can cause dizziness and fatigue, but in the worst cases, it can also lead to mobility problems and memory loss. This is why it's so important to take a keen interest in nourishing your body with all of the key vitamins it needs to work effectively. While canned tuna is a good source of vitamin B12 (2.5 micrograms per 3 ounces), fresh bluefin tuna has twice as much at 5 micrograms per 3-ounce serving.

One of the fastest ways to add more bluefin tuna to your diet is to use it in a ceviche recipe. Made with cubes of raw tuna, chopped veggies, and herbs, this dish is marinated in lime juice for a few minutes before serving (the acidity in the citrus 'cooks' the edges of the fish, lending it a delightful texture). As no cooking is involved, it's a quick assembly job too.

You can sear bluefin tuna on a hot skillet, in the same way as a steak, and slice it into tender slithers to serve on an Asian-inspired cucumber salad or slather it in a briny vinaigrette made of lemon juice, capers, olives to match its oceanic vibe. Of course, with any fresh fish recipe, the quality of the main ingredient will result in the tastiest dish. The ultimate guide to buying fresh tuna? Selecting cuts that have more marbling. It's the right proportion of lean and fatty meat that produces tuna dishes that are flavorful and tender, so if possible, buy from a fishmonger so you can get a good look at the surface. If you're wondering how bigeye tuna compares to bluefin, the former has less fatty marbling than bluefin so some might consider it less flavorful. However, it makes a great sub if you can't get hold of bluefin and is still a good source of B12, B6, selenium, and phosphorus. Other seafoods that contain vitamin B-12 are clams (a whopping 84 micrograms per three ounces) and trout, which contain 5.4 micrograms in the same measure.