Popular seafood best for heart health

Anyone with any worries of heart health would be wise to consume foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids and one of the very best sources is found in fatty fish.  For years, the American Heart Association has advised all of us to include foods containing this type of fat that is beneficial to our heart.  As part of a healthy lifestyle, omega-3s may help you maintain healthy blood pressure, support healthy triglyceride levels and manage your risk of heart disease.

What exactly are omega-3 fatty acids?

There are three main omega-3s – EPA, DHA, and ALA.   ALA omega-3s are a true “essential” omega-3 because our bodies cannot make it on its own.  We need to get ALA from our diet by consuming ALA-rich foods like flax, walnuts, and chia seeds.  ALA is a precursor to or is needed to help make EPA and DHA.  But the conversion rate in our bodies is extremely low – often less than 1 percent of ALA is converted to EPA and DHA.

Since the human body does not produce significant amounts of EPA or DHA on its own, you must get these important nutrients from the foods you eat and the supplements you consume.  When looking for the heart health benefits of EPA and DHA, go straight to the source of them – they are naturally found in marine sources including fatty fish – salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, shellfish and marine algae. 

How much omega-3s do we need daily?

At this time, there is no Adequate Intake (AI) or Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) in the United States for EPA or DHA omega-3s.  The reason why there is no recommendation for EPA and DHA is because they are not “essential” nutrients – that is, the body can make them in limited amounts from ALA.  In actuality, a person can eat no fish and get none of its omega-3 fats and still stay perfectly healthy, especially if your diet is good. 

However, a growing number of expert health professionals do recommend between at least 250 milligrams (mg) to 1,000 mg of EPA and DHA per day and the primary source of these omega-3 fats are from fish.  Omega-3 fats found in fish are still a very important part of keeping our heart health in check. 

A serving size of omega-3 rich fish is considered 3.5 ounces cooked or about ¾ cup of flaked fish.

Ranking of fish based on their omega-3 content

If your goal is to choose fish based on the amount of the health healthy EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids, here is a listing of popular seafood ranked by omega-3 fatty acid content.  EPA/DHA content varies by species, variety, and even season so figures represent estimated ranges per 3-ounce cooked portion:

·      Fish containing more than 1,500 milligrams of EPA/DHA: 

·      Herring, wild (Atlantic and Pacific)

·      Salmon, farmed (Atlantic)

·      Salmon, wild king

·      Mackerel wild (Pacific and jack)

 

 

·       Fish containing 1,000 to 1,500 mg: 

·      Salmon, canned (pink, sockeye, and chum)

·      Mackerel, canned (jack)

·      Mackerel, wild (Atlantic and Spanish)

·      Tuna, wild (bluefin)

 

·      Fish containing 500 to 1,000 mg:

·      Salmon, wild (sockeye, coho, chum & pink)

·      Sardines, canned

·      Tuna, canned (white albacore)

·      Swordfish, wild

·      Trout, farmed (rainbow)

·      Oysters, wild and farmed

·      Mussels, wild and farmed

 

·      Fish containing 200 to 500 mg:

·      Tuna, canned (light)

·      Tuna, wild, (skipjack)

·      Pollock, wild (Alaskan)

·      Rockfish, wild (Pacific)

·      Clams, wild and farmed

·      Crab, wild (King, Dungeness & snow)

·      Lobster, wild (spiny)

·       Snapper, wild

·      Grouper, wild

·      Flounder/sole, wild

·      Halibut, wild (Pacific & Atlantic)

·      Ocean perch, wild

·      Squid, wild

·      Fish sticks (breaded)

 

·      Fish containing less than 200 mg:

·      Scallops, wild

·      Shrimp, wild and farmed

·      Lobster, wild (norther)

·      Crab, wild (blue)

·      Cod, wild

·      Haddock, wild,

·      Tilapia, farmed

·      Catfish, farmed

·      Mahimahi, wild

·      Tuna, wild (yellowfin)

·      Orange roughy, wild

·      Surimi product (imitation crab)

 

David B. Samadi, MD, Urologic Oncology Expert and Robotic Surgeon located at 485 Madison Avenue on the 21st floor, New York, NY – 212-365-5000.  Follow Dr. Samadi at www.samadimd.com,  www.prostatecancer911.com, and www.roboticoncology.com.