by Salmon is good for you, we know that part.
“Fish is one of the few animal foods consistently linked to health benefits, and salmon is at the top of my list when I recommend fish to people,” said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, distinguished professor and director of the Institute of Food and Medicine at Tufts University.
But choosing which type to eat for your health (red or coho, wild or farmed) is not so obvious. Researchers have discovered that the nutritional value of salmon can vary depending on the species. and there is a consumer perception that farmed salmon and wild salmon differ in terms of their nutrients and contaminant levels, beliefs that research partly supports.
From healthy fats to heavy metals, you’ll find answers to all your salmon-related questions here.
What’s so good about salmon?
Dr. Mozaffarian highlighted omega-3 fatty acids, specifically DHA and EPA, as one of the distinctive nutritional attributes of salmon. Salmon contains more omega-3s DHA and EPA than almost any other food, apart from other fatty fish such as herring and sardines.
Studies have consistently linked consumption of omega-3 fatty acids from seafood to lower rates of stroke and heart disease. Research suggests that these fatty acids reduce arterial stiffness, which is associated with high blood pressure, and may also have anti-inflammatory effects. that could be protective against obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Mozaffarian also said that omega-3s are essential for brain development in the early stages of life, and emerging evidence suggests that consuming them regularly may protect against age-related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s.
While the human body is capable of producing some DHA and EPA on its own, eating foods rich in these omega-3s can help ensure the body and brain get what they need, he said. He The American Heart Association recommends Eat a 3-ounce serving of fish (particularly fatty fish, such as salmon) at least twice a week.
While many supplements contain omega-3s, there are evidence that getting these fats from seafood may be better, perhaps because there are compounds in fish meat that help prevent The omega-3s are broken down during digestion.
Additionally, experts say salmon contains other nutrients, such as protein, selenium, and iodide, that may support or increase the healthy effects of these fats. “Usually the focus is on omega-3s, but it’s the whole package that makes salmon so healthy,” said Matthew Sprague, professor of nutrition at the Institute of Aquaculture at the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom.
Is one type healthier than another?
“There are so many different options on the market that it can be confusing,” said Stefanie Colombo, associate professor and research chair in aquaculture nutrition at Dalhousie University in Canada.
In an attempt to clear up some of that confusion, Dr. Colombo examined the nutritional values of the types of salmon available to consumers. “The main finding of our work was that there is not much difference between wild and cultivated,” he said.
While wild sockeye salmon and wild chinook (two of the top-selling species) were the most “nutrient dense,” their study also found that farmed Atlantic salmon only had slightly lower levels of omega-3s, proteins and other healthy nutrients. Wild Pacific pink salmon tended to have fewer of these nutrients than other types, regardless of whether they were farmed or wild.
However, the nutritional figures in Dr. Colombo’s study were average. Depending on factors such as the type of feed farmed salmon are fed or the time of year wild salmon is caught, he said, levels of healthy fats or other nutrients may differ from fish to fish.
Dr. Colombo added that “all the salmon we tested were very nutritious.”
What about mercury and other pollutants? Dr. Colombo said her paper found some differences between the types: Farmed Atlantic salmon, for example, tended to have lower mercury levels than wild-caught varieties. However, all samples contained mercury levels well below international safety standards. “Even if you ate salmon every day, mercury is not something you should worry about,” she said.
The same can be said of PCBs (PCB) and other contaminants that sometimes appear in seafood. Investigation has found that salmon, whether wild or farmed, does not contain harmful levels of these toxins. This is partly because it doesn’t live long enough to absorb many of them, Dr. Mozaffarian said.
For those concerned about the ecological impact of their food choices, salmon comes with some baggage; both overfishing of wild species and agriculture-related pollutants are ongoing concerns. But experts said all types of salmon outperform most animal sources of protein in terms of environmental footprint.
When purchasing salmon, Dr. Colombo recommended looking for label certifications from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) or Aquaculture best practices (BAP). “If the salmon is certified, that should give you more confidence that it was sustainably and ethically sourced,” he said.
Above all, experts stated that all salmon is good for your health and that you don’t need to worry about choosing: “Assuming you like the taste,” Dr. Mozaffarian said, “it’s really the perfect fish.”
