Salmon choices for omega-3 EPA / DHA
Salmon can be considered a superfood
Salmon boasts a good supply of nutrients. i.e. every amino acid, an abundant supply of omega-3 EPA / DHA content, vitamins D (especially red sockeye salmon), A, E, B6, B12, B3 (niacin), B2 (riboflavin), magnesium, zinc and iron.
Boston university researchers confirmed that wild salmon is the top food source for vitamin D. They found that 3.5 oz. raw wIld salmon (species unspecified) contained 988 IU, which was almost 4 times as much as farmed salmon. Lu et al, 2007
Salmon are born in fresh water rivers and streams, migrate to the ocean to mature and spend most of their adult life, and then return to the streams and rivers in which they were born to spawn (reproduce), and then they die.
Salmon is now the second-most frequently consumed seafood product in the U.S. Surpassed only by shrimp and canned tuna.
Health benefits of eating salmon
Heart health. Lowers triglycerides / cholesterol levels.
Anti-inflammatory. Supplies omega-3 EPA for vital antiinflammatory eicosanoids. For airway and blood vessel dilation, reducing pain/inflammation, controlling blood clotting, enhancing immune system . . .
Brain function. Provides omega-3 DHA which fights against depression, ADHD, dementia, bipoar disorder, schizophrenia. DHA required for fetal brain development during pregnancy.
Farmed salmon
50% of the world’s salmon production is farmed. Annual global production of farm-raised salmon has increased 37-fold from 27,000 to over 1 million metric tons in the past two decades;
Farmed salmon have 8-fold more contaminant PCBs than wild. A large 700 salmon sample study published in Science (Jan 9 2004) found that PCB concentrations in farm-raised salmon were, on average, almost eight times higher than the concentrations in wild salmon; pcbs are strongly associated with cancer and other health problems.
Sealice have infected all salmon farming to some degree. This kills its host or renders flesh inedible, and drives up salmon prices.
Farmed fish are now being fed an unnatural diet. Much of the fish feed is omega-6-rich / omega-3-poor GMO plant protein, such as corn, soybean and canola. Also, some reports mention use of poultry / swine by-products.
Which salmon should I eat?
2/3 of salmon eaten in the U.S. is farmed Atlantic salmon (this is a species of salmon). Imported mostly from Norway, Chile and Canada. Farmed “atlantic salmon” contains 2.5 – 3 times the amount of saturated fat and 1.5-2 times the amount of omega-6 fat compared to wild salmon (coho and atlantic). USDA SR-LEGACY 2019. Optimal salmon farming conditions include: cold water temperatures varying between 8°C and 14°C (46°F – 57°F) and a sheltered coastline.
Chile is using concerning amounts of antibiotics in their salmon feed. Chile is using up to 950 grams of antibiotics to raise one ton of fish (mainly to deal with an assault of a hemorrhagic bacterial disease called piscirickettsiosis). Compare this amount with Norway using just 0.17 grams per ton of salmon, and pork, a notoriously drug-dependent industry, uses an average of 172 grams per ton globally. Chile is the 2nd largest salmon producer after Norway.
1/3 of salmon eaten in U.S. is wild-caught. Commercial U.S. salmon landings were mainly from Alaska (98%) and Washington (~2%). Also small amounts from California and Maine.
All Alaskan salmon is wild-caught and salmon fishing is well managed to maintain a sustainable yield that will not jeopardize future fish stocks. It’s the law!— “Fish must be utilized, developed and maintained on the sustained yield principal,” is written into Alaska’s state constitution, when it became the 49th state in 1959.
In the U.S., we eat 6 types of salmon | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SALMON species | Farmed /Wild | Where | Omega-3 | |
| Atlantic (species, not ocean source) | F | Atlantic ocean (Canada, Norway, UK) | 2.4% | Fresh or frozen dressed fish, fillets or steaks; smoked; Artificially colored; AVOID |
| F | Pacific ocean (>50% of the species Atlantic salmon are from Chile) | AVOID | ||
| W | 1.7% | Wild Atlantic salmon is protected / unavailable | ||
| Chinook (King) | W | Pacific ocean(Alaska, OR, some CA, B.C., WA) | highest 2.25% | Most fresh or frozen; also smokedoff-white to red/orange flesh Apr. – Sep. |
| F | Canada | AVOID | ||
| Chum (Keta) | W | Pacific oceanMostly Alaska; also WA (Not farmed) | Wild fish populations in Alaska are supported by the release of hatchery raised fish.Salmon burgers / sausages; ocean fish “silver brites” reddish flesh, or else “semi-brites” or “darks” w/ paler flesh | |
| Coho | W | Pacific oceanMostly Alaska, some B.C, CA, OR, WA, Chile | 1.3% | Most fresh or frozen; also smoked;deep red to pinkish orange; Jul-Oct |
| F | Pacific oceanChile | AVOID | ||
| Pink | W | Pacific oceanMostly Alaska. Some from WA and Canada(Not farmed) | 0.56% | Often canned. Milder; pink, lean, mildly texturedJun – Oct |
| Sockeye | W (all is wild) | Pacific oceanMost Alaska; also B.C.(Not farmed) | 0.8% | Fresh, frozen, canned, smokedBright, deep orange flesh. May-Sep |
How to be a savvy salmon shopper
Look for authentic certification labels such as Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
Buy from the source
If price seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Wild fish are not harvested in winter. If you see fish labeled “fresh and wild” during winter months – it isn’t. Flash-frozen wild fish sold in winter is a good choice. Watch out for “Ranched salmon” being mislabeled and sold as “wild”. Ranched fish are caught as a very young fish and then brought to a fish farm for “ranching.” This ploy is especially seen from November to March.
All ALASKAN salmon is wild. Fish farming is not allowed in Alaska (as of 2021)
Almost ALL ATLANTIC salmon is farmed.
All sockeye salmon is wild. Owing to its life cycle, sockeye can not be farmed.
Steam, bake or broil
These are the healthiest cooking methods to protect nutrients. Frying fish can lose much of the original EFA benefits, can introduce trans fats and loses precious vitamin D content. Researchers baked a 3.5 oz serving of farmed salmon, which lost only 5 IU of vitamin D. When it was fried in vegetable oil, it lost half of its vitamin D content (122 IU out of 245 IU). Lu et al, 2007
References
Lu Z, Chen TC, Zhang A, Persons KS, Kohn N, Berkowitz R, Martinello S, Holick MF (2007 Jan 29) An evaluation of the vitamin D(3) content in fish: Is the vitamin D content adequate to satisfy the dietary requirement for vitamin D? J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol.
