3 Health Benefits of Eating Canned Fish
Regularly eating fish is linked to various health benefits. Here are the advantages of choosing canned versions.
1. A Potent Source of Heart-Healthy Omega-3s
Fish are among the richest natural sources of omega-3 fatty acids, a type of healthy dietary fat that the body can’t make efficiently on its own, so you have to get them from food.
A helpful way to remember which canned fish to prioritize is the SMASH acronym: sardines, mackerel, anchovies, salmon, and herring. These are small, oily fish that sit low on the food chain, which means they accumulate the most heart-healthy omega-3s while carrying a lower load of heavy metals like mercury.
2. The Surprise Benefit of Calcium and Vitamin D
“A serving of canned sardines with bones can provide up to 400 milligrams (mg) of calcium and about 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D,” says Michelle Routhenstein, RD, CDCES, a certified diabetes care and education specialist and preventive cardiology dietitian based in New York City. That’s a significant chunk of the 1,000 to 1,200 mg of calcium and 600 to 800 IUs of vitamin D that most adults need each day.
3. Greater Bioavailability of Key Nutrients
Bioavailability refers to how much of a nutrient your body can actually absorb and use from the food you eat, Routhenstein explains. On this front, canned fish is a high performer.
The canning process preserves most of the nutrients in the fish, including omega-3s. Very little of the omega-3 fats are lost, as most of them stay in the fish or move into the oil or sauce in the can.
Calcium in canned fish is also more available than noncanned fish, since the bones can be eaten. “The canning process of fish with the bones may allow for softening of the bones to make calcium more accessible and easier to absorb,” Routhenstein says.
Read the full article here
