top food choices: salmon

A staple of the diet of the Northwest, and very popular in the rest of the world, salmon are usually classified either as Pacific or Atlantic. There is just one species of Atlantic salmon, but there are five species of Pacific salmon: chinook (or king), sockeye (or red), coho (or silver), pink, and chum. Norwegian salmon, often offered on restaurant menus, is actually Atlantic salmon that is farm-raised in Norway. Salmon flesh ranges in color from pink to red to orange, with some varieties richer in omega-3 fatty acids than others. For example, chinook and sockeye salmon are fattier than pink and chum and contain correspondingly greater amounts of beneficial omega-3s (see below). The season for the different species ranges from early summer to late fall, however, the increased production of farm-raised salmon has made it available fresh in local supermarkets year round.

Salmon is low in calories and saturated fat, yet high in protein and a unique type of health-promoting fat, the omega-3 essential fatty acids. Omega-3s help prevent erratic heart rhythms, make blood less likely to clot inside arteries (the cause of most heart attacks), improve the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol, and prevent cholesterol from becoming damaged (only after cholesterol has been damaged does it clog arteries). Essential fatty acids are necessary for human health, but because they cannot be made by the body, they must be obtained from foods. While all fish contain some omega-3 fatty acids, wild-caught cold water fish like salmon are higher in omega-3s than warm water fish. A four-ounce serving of salmon contains 33.6% of the daily value for omega-3 fatty acids.

Eating fish rich in omega-3s is beneficial because omega-3s:

• lower the amount of cholesterol and triglycerides circulating in the bloodstream

• prevent excessive blood clotting

• increase the activity of a chemical which causes arteries to relax and dilate

• reduce production of chemicals involved in the inflammatory response associated with atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).

Eating omega-3 rich fish such as salmon at least twice each week can significantly reduce the progression of atherosclerosis, suggests a Tufts University study published in the September 2004 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Cold-water fatty fish like salmon have also been thought of as “brain food,” not only because of their ability to navigate hundreds of miles to return to their birthplace to spawn, but because of their high concentration of omega-3 fats. The human brain is more than 60% structural fat. For brain cells to function properly, this structural fat needs to be primarily omega-3 fats such as the EPA found in salmon.

In addition to being an outstanding source of omega- 3s, salmon is also an excellent source of selenium, and a very good source of protein, niacin, and vitamin B12. Salmon promotes cardiovascular health not only through its concentration of omega-3 fats, but also because it provides the B-vitamins niacin and B12. Niacin, which is necessary for the chemical processing of fats in the body, has been repeatedly used to successfully lower total blood cholesterol in individuals with elevated cholesterol levels.

And here’s great news! Rochester’s world class food retailer, Wegmans, has just begun a new program. Working with the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund, the supermarket chain is setting new standards that salmon farmers must meet in order to be purchased by Wegmans. The new standards state, among other things, that producers must meet a stringent health standard for PCBs and other toxic contaminants, take unprecedented steps to reduce potential impacts on wild salmon, use innovative production systems that do not discharge chemicals and metals into the ocean, and reduce their dependence on wild fish for salmon feed (conventional salmon farming consumes large amounts of wild fish).

UPDATE: A review of 89 studies published by the British Medical Journal on March 24 showed no strong evidence that omega-3 fats reduced deaths from cardiovascular disease. But Dr Mike Knapton, of the British Heart Foundation, said more research is needed and “people should not stop consuming omega-3 fats or eating oily fish as a result of this study.”

Adapted from The World’s Healthiest Foods. www.whfoods.com