Superfood: Wild Salmon

This is the third segment of Superfoods that will be presented throughout many FitBits to come. They will be presented in series of three consecutive months followed by the most up-to-date information in Exercise and Fitness. Our last Superfood for this segment is Wild Salmon.

Fitness became a lifestyle choice due to a startling increase in cardiovascular disease caused by: smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, and fatty foods. The race was on to find the “cure all,” and the easy fix. Researchers and physicians alike knew increased calorie consumption with limited physical activity increased weight, so the patients had to either: increase activity, decrease calories, or both. They knew fats had the most calories per gram (9). This created a new craze of “no-fat, non-fat, and low-fat foods.” This created side-effects as a result of cutting all fat from these diets; joint stiffness, vitamin B deficiencies, decrease in Omegas – 6 (linoleic or LA), 3 (alpha-linoleic or ALA; which are instrumental in building cell membranes). The body cannot manufacture Omega 3s and 6s. With that being said, the body cannot function optimally without these healthy nutrients in our diet! These fats—polyunsaturated fats (also known as the essential fatty acids)—without them, our bodies do not have the ability to optimally rebuild our cells.

Bad things begin to occur: joint pain, frequent colds, dry skin, brittle hair/nails, heart attacks, strokes, narrowing of blood vessels, certain cancers, hypertension, lung disease, depression, attention deficit disorder, macular degeneration, and other diseases.

It has taken many years to convince the mainstream that not all fat is bad. There are four basic types of fat we consume from food: polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat, saturated fat, and trans-fat from partially hydrogenated oils.

The saturated fat is less healthy; it is found in red meats, whole dairy products, and some tropical oils. Excess amounts of these fats cause coronary artery disease, secondarily from hypercholesterolemia. The IFPA guidelines recommend that only 5% of your daily consumption should come from saturated fat. Trans-fats are bad. These fats are/were created in labs to extend food shelf-life. There are no guidelines for trans-fats, and there are no benefits gained from the consumption of trans-fats. Monounsaturated fats come from olive oils and canola oils. These fats are protective of our cardiovascular system and can lower the risk of insulin resistance.

Polyunsaturated fats, which you now know as the omegas, are essential to healthy living. The Western diet does not lack Omega 6s, which are present in safflower, corn, cottonseed, and sunflower oils. You will see these in most all packaged foods. Even though omegas are the healthy fats, moderation is the key. Omega 6s should be consumed less than Omega 3s. The typical Western diet contains 14 to 25 times more Omega 6s than Omega 3 fatty acids. The optimum ratio of Omega 6s to Omega 3s should be somewhere between 1 to 1, and 4 to 1. According to William S. Harris, from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the impact of Omega 3s are said to be viewed as one of the most important findings in the history of modern nutritional science.

It has also been stated by researchers and scientists that the massive increase in heart disease and cancer is the direct result of a fish oil deficiency. We must include these fish oils in our diet!

This is where salmon comes into play. There has been much controversy about the difference between farm-raised and wild salmon. Fact from fiction promotes: wild salmon is better for you. Wild salmon eat zooplankton (tiny single-celled organisms). When they are small and still growing, they will consume krill (small crustaceans).

 There are six different types of salmon in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans: Cherry salmon, Chinook salmon, Chum salmon, Coho salmon, Pink salmon, and Sockeye salmon. There are also salmon found in freshwater, including Steelhead or Rainbow trout and the Cutthroat. These fish eat what nature has provided, and the health benefits are passed on to us. Farm-raised salmon are fed pellets that have dyes to enhance the color of the fish. These fish cannot be as nutritional as wild salmon, and the cost is much less per pound. Know your grocer, fish house, and restaurants; anywhere you may buy or consume fish. Be sure to ask if the fish are wild or farm-raised. Wild salmon are a source of marine-derived omega 3s, B vitamins, calcium (when canned with bones), selenium, vitamin D, potassium, protein, and carotenoids. Wild salmon are more expensive than farm-raised salmon; however, the health benefits outweigh the downside of cost. Prioritize your food choices rather than taking the risk of not getting the nutrients needed for a healthy body. The recommended amounts per week are 3-4 ounces, 2-4 times per week. There are alternatives to salmon: Alaskan halibut, canned albacore tuna, sardines, herring, trout, sea bass, oysters, and clams.

The Eskimos in Greenland were first recognized for having little or no heart disease, even though their diet was high in fat. This was the Cretan diet, enriched with Omega 3s from plant sources and fish. The Japanese, whose diet primarily contains fish as their source of protein, all have significant similarities in their life span and quality of life due to low incidence of diseases associated with high intakes of the healthy Omega 3s. It has also been found that cultures consuming large amounts of cold-water fish have a significantly lower incidence of depression. In one report, it is estimated that 99% of Americans do not consume enough Omega 3s fatty acids, and 20% have such low levels it cannot even be registered in testing.

The bottom line is that salmon is one of the richest in nutrient value, it is tasty, and it can be found easily in season.

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