Beach vacations offer a nice variety of activities, including fine dining. Practically every beach enthusiast looks forward to enjoying seafood while visiting their favorite seaside retreat. Depending on the location, visitors are likely to find excellent options in fresh local seafood. Experienced beach goers might choose to enjoy seafood after a day on the sand, or pack a cooler and take home some of the local items for later.

The northeast USA is home to clams, scallops, lobsters, cod, striped bass, swordfish and other seafood. Visitors to Maine, Massachusetts, New York and other areas are thrilled to find local restaurants and seafood stands where fresh lobster, steam clams and other treasures are served hot and ready to eat. As vacationers move south along the Mid-Atlantic coast, the variety changes to include blue crabs, oysters, saltwater trout, flounder and more.

The Chesapeake Bay area includes Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Local seafood restaurants, carryouts and markets serve crabs, scallops, oysters, clams, fish and other local items. Delicacies such as steamed crabs, soft crab sandwiches and crabcakes await summertime travelers. In the cooler months, oysters, clams and fish are in season and ready to enjoy.

Beaches along the southern part of the USA feature a different style of cooking and variety of seafood. Once vacationers reach North Carolina and South, shrimp, snapper, cobia and other fish begin to dominate the cuisine. Fresh local shrimp are an integral part of beach cuisine thru the Carolinas, Georgia and into Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Beach lovers that venture into the Caribbean also find unique seafood dishes that might include unfamiliar dishes such as conch chowder, grilled rock lobster tails, mahi mahi and grouper. The mixture of tropical fruits, spices and local seafood offer visitors with exciting mealtime experiences.

Seafood is extremely nutritional and contains high levels of protein and fish oils, primarily omega-3 which is an essential fat required as part of a good balanced diet. Most of the nutrients, minerals, fatty acids, and amino acids -that your bodies need to develop through childhood and remain healthy throughout life – are present in seafood. Many people laud the virtues of seafood, though some individuals dispute this. Seafood is a natural functional food; with no need to be fortified with other functional food ingredients to make it healthier for you. In fact, some of the health benefits of seafood will be lost, if you bread and deep-fry it. So it is best to grill, bake, steam, broil, boil, microwave, or lightly sauté your seafood.

Without getting too technical, you realize why seafood is such a great functional food. For development and maintenance of musculature throughout our lifetime, your bodies need amino acids – proteins that make body muscle. Good health is the result of nine amino acids that your bodies need on a daily – and all seafood contains all nine of these amino acids. No more, no less!

Another reason why seafood is a functional food is it contains ‘omega-3 fatty acids’ needed to remain healthy. Along wit homega3′s, seafood contains an abundance of this polyunsaturated fatty acid. In some fish species – like sablefish, Anoplopoma fimbria – the omega-3 literally oozes from its flesh. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce the bad LDL blood cholesterol levels and increasing the good HDL cholesterol levels. This reduces your chances of cardiovascular disease – reduced chance of strokes and heart attacks.

Another notable fact that makes seafood functional food is that it contains ‘Selenium’ – something your bodies need for maintaining your immunity against disease. Every cell in your body needs Selenium to function properly. Crab and lobster species contain a high amount of Selenium, though seafood in general contains at least some of this vital element. Thus, two of the most delectable crustaceans of the sea are such a rich source of something that your bodies need to fight diseases. That is the benefit being true omnivores, something that true vegans miss out on entirely!

Remember that seafood is not only delicious; it can also provide wonderful benefits to your health.