Not a giant sea bass ready to mount a laser, which you will find of the coast of California, but the European Sea Bass, Dicentrarchus labrax or Morone labraxm. This ocean-going fish sometimes enters brackish or fresh water and also goes by the names of sea dace, loup der mer or bar in French, lavaraki in Greek, branzino or spigola in Italian and lubina in Spanish.
The sea bass is a nutritional heavy weight, and comes almost perfectly designed for the hard training bodybuilder. Dry cooked a 100g of Sea Bass delivers 124 calories, with nearly 24g of protein and zero carbohydrates. Along with this powerful protein hit you get 2.56g of fat which is ¾ in the form of mono- and polyunsaturated fats. Fish oils help reduce blood clot and platelet aggregation reducing the risk of heart disease, as well as their positive action on circulating cholesterol levels, fish oils have also been shown to help chronic conditions such as psoriasis, migraines, arthritis and atopic eczema.
In addition to this, our fishy friend the sea bass has high levels of vitamin A, a powerful anti-oxidant and essential for good eye sight. Sea Bass also contains high levels of selenium an essential micromineral. Four atoms of selenium form part of glutathione peroxidase, an enzyme which acts against oxygen free radicals, hydrogen peroxides and fatty acid peroxides, thus preventing cell damage. Deficiency in selenium has caused fatal degeneration of the heart muscle (in China), and a similar disease of cartilage and joints called Kaschin Beck disease (Russia and China). Supplementation in both cases is a successful prophylactic and treatment.
The sea bass is a healthy source of B12, potassium, phosphorous, niacin, and contains, iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, thiamin, riboflavin, B6, and a low level of sodium. In summary it is packed with what the body needs! So now you know that the sea bass really is worth your precious plate space, which one to buy? Line caught sea bass is a more sustainable fish than other methods. The best choice is that caught by hand line methods in the South West of England, which will be identified by a tag on its gill. When looking at the fish it should have bright, clear, bulging not sunken eyes. Scales should be tight, shiny and none missing, the skin should be moist, shiny, and bright with firm flesh. An easy way to identify a good fish is that it doesn't smell strongly fishy, but rather has a slight smell of the sea. Always cook on the day of purchase. Finally, sea bass is particularly yummy cooked with mixed spices and watercress.