Nursing

Home to more than 13 million people, "Bay Country" includes the Chesapeake shoreline, tributaries, wetlands, and watersheds spanning most of coastal Maryland and Virginia. Bay influence, especially in diet and cuisine, is also strong in Delaware, part of the territory known as the Delmarva Peninsula.

John Shields, nationally renowned coastal chef and author of The Chesapeake Bay Cookbook: Rediscovering the Pleasures of a Great Regional Cuisine, notes, "When thinking of Bay cooking, one must remember just where the Chesapeake lays; it is south of the Mason-Dixon line, and the flavors and methods of the Old South are ingrained in its cultural heritage." Hence, fried catfish and fried trout. Fried rockfish and croakers. Fried bluefish, clams, shrimp, and chicken. Fried oyster fritters, seafood hash, corn fritters, and hush puppies. Fried crab cakes. Fried water. You name it. And if it is not fried, it is probably stuffed. Or both.

What sets this cuisine apart from its southern roots, perhaps, is its seasonings and flavorings. "Talk of Chesapeake Bay cuisine would not be complete without mentioning Old Bay Seasoning," notes Christine McKinney, MS, RD, LD, CDE, clinical dietitian specialist at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. She cautions, however, that the popular flavoring is not something to load up on when following a low-sodium diet—although it is still a better choice than table salt: ¼ teaspoon Old Bay contains 160 mg sodium, as compared to ¼ teaspoon table salt, which contains 600 mg.

It is no wonder, then, that the diet-related health concerns seen in the Bay region mimic much of the rest of the country: Residents are consuming high amounts of fat and carbohydrates and not enough fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat sources of protein in their diets.

"We see a lot of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer—in particular, breast cancer," states Connie Barnett, MS, extension educator—Family and Consumer Sciences, for the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension, a statewide, nonformal education system within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

She further explains that the Bay area's lifestyle and occupational changes over time also have contributed to diet-related health problems. In earlier centuries, much of the coastal Chesapeake population worked on the water or made their living agriculturally, both requiring a great deal of physical labor. Barnett, who lives and works in Dorchester County, Maryland, says, "People worked up big appetites and needed larger portions of food to sustain them. But things have changed, and more and more individuals are sitting at desks. Their physical activity has declined, but their dietary intake has not."

Health effects of seafood—boon or ban?

There is some good news, however, for those living near the Chesapeake Bay: Generally speaking, the nutritional properties of seafood are believed to bode well for good health on a number of fronts. But, as is the case with many foods in our diets, there exists some controversy in the scientific and medical communities over health advantages and disadvantages.

One view purports that omega-3 fatty acids (or the "good fat" found in larger fish such as salmon and tuna) contain anti-inflammatory properties that can help prevent blood clots and heart disease. Their presence helps to balance out the omega-6 or "bad fats" that primarily come from plant oils used in cooking and frying. According to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center at Oregon State University, scientists are continuing to discover positive health effects of omega-3s, especially in the areas of cardiovascular disease prevention. Current evidence suggests that increased intake is linked to preventing arrhythmias, decreasing the risk of thrombosis that can lead to heart attack or stroke, decreasing serum triglyceride levels, and slowing the growth of atherosclerotic plaque, among other effects. The American Heart Association found this fast-growing body of scientific evidence compelling enough that it recommends adults without documented coronary heart disease eat a variety of fish, particularly oily fish, at least twice weekly.