Just how healthy are those frozen fish entrees?
Everyone should know by now that omega-3 fatty acids are an important part of healthy diet and that fish is an excellent source. But exactly how much fatty gold is in your frozen fish entree?
A recent investigation in the Australian magazine Choice suggests not much.
Unfortunately, they did not list the actual omega-3 content in each type of fish. So, being the inquisitive type, I set about to find out just how much is in the fish we eat.
The table lists the omega-3 contents as reported by the USDA for a 3 ounce portion of each fish cooked over dry heat (except for the Yellowfin). Clearly, precooked fish in a box (fish portions and sticks in the table) just won’t cut it. Not to mention the half gram of trans fat in each serving. I assume this is only in fried fish, but the information is not clear.
Salmon and anchovies are appear to be the best choice; though I doubt too many people eat 3 ounces of anchovies. The king, then, is the salmon followed, surprisingly, by trout, tuna, and bass.
When speaking of the health benefits of fish, two topics other than omega-3 are important to mention: mercury and PCBs. Both are chemicals present in the environment that in high enough levels are toxic. Which fish are the lowest in both?
According to the EPA, the fish with lowest levels (of the highest here in omega-3) are salmon at .014 parts per million, trout with .072 ppm, bass at .219 ppm, and tuna (albacore) with .353 ppm. There is an unfortunate trade-off with tuna; when you choose the white tuna for its higher omega-3 levels, you end up getting three times the mercury (.353 for white vs. .118 for light).
But this is not the only tradeoff. Farmed salmon, the best choice based upon omega-3 levels and mercury levels, reportedly has much higher levels of PCBs than wild salmon. And while the elevated levels may still be insignificant, most people would probably prefer to avoid them.
This leaves wild salmon as the king of the healthy fish, with wild trout not too far behind. So toss those fried fish sticks — they aren’t doing you much good. Incidentally, the mercury in pollock — one of the most common in frozen fish products — is .041 parts per million.
For more information on mercury levels in specific fish click here, and more information on PCBs click here.
[tags]fish,mercury,PCBs,salmon,tuna,omega-3 [/tags]