In today's day and age, sushi is a healthy alternative to eating fast food and red meats. With the exception of perhaps the fatty cuts of tuna, sushi virtually has no fat. It is high in protein, and often contains minerals including iron, phosphorous, and calcium. The rice vinegar used in making sushi rice is said to prevent fatigue and lower the risk of high blood pressure.

Wasabi is rich in Vitamin C. The seaweed that wraps around sushi is extremely high in protein and vitamins, including niacin, Vitamin A, B1, B2, B6, and C. These are especially beneficial, because B vitamins are generally rather difficult to get in your daily food consumption. Vitamin D is also sometimes found in sushi, although it is a rarer occurence.

Although the Atkins craze might be slowing down, be assured that sushi is low in calories and has few carbohydrates.

A serving of fatty tuna has about 45 calories, a serving of salmon roe has about 30, and anago eel has about 26. Believe it or not, these are considered extremely high. Other toppings such as red tuna, squid, abalone, shrimp, bonito, and sea bream have about 12-18.

A typical sushi meal of about eight or nine pieeces would have about 300 calories. This is a much safer alternative to eating fast food, which would result in probably about 3x the amount of calories for the same amount of food.