Health and Nutrition

Health & Nutrition Benefits of Farmed Salmon

Fish, like salmon, contain nutrients essential for overall health and wellness. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends consuming 8 ounces (or two to three servings) of seafood per week, including choices high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as farmed Chilean salmon. Increased consumption provides excellent nutrition and is part of a health lifestyle.

Farmed salmon and wild salmon offer similar nutritional value. Compared to wild salmon, farmed salmon often contains more omega-3 fatty acids, which are considered health-protecting, good fats.

Brain Health

Eating 2-3 servings of fatty fish, such as salmon, per week is associated with a 20% lower risk of depression

Eye Health

Several studies suggest omega-3 fatty acids help protect adult eyes from dry eye syndrome.

Heart Health

Eating 1-2 servings of fish and/or fish oil per week has been associated with a 36% reduction in risk of dying from heart disease.

Joint Health

Research suggests people who regularly eat fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon, are less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis.

Healthy Aging

In one study, older adults who had the highest blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids lived, on average, 2.2 years longer after the age of 65 than those with lower levels.

Child Health

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for a child’s nervous system and vision and the World Health Organization says fish can be crucial to infant brain development.

Good-fat Benefits

 

Salmon is a “good-fat” food packed with healthy polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as the omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic (EPA). The human body is unable to make a sufficient amount of DHA for optimal health. Together, DHA and EPA are beneficial throughout the lifespan and may help prevent heart disease,1 depression,2 dementia,3 and arthritis.4

Despite these extensive health benefits, most Americans eat far less than recommended amount of seafood weekly. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. seafood consumption increased to 16 pounds in 2017, but dietary guidelines suggest this number should be closer to 26 pounds per year. The United States consumes the least amount of seafood when compared with Japan, China, India, and the European Union.5

To learn more about the health and nutrition benefits of farmed Chilean salmon, click here for more details.

1 Mozaffarian, D., & Rimm, E. B. (2006). Fish Intake, Contaminants, and Human Health. Jama, 296(15), 1885. doi:10.1001/jama.296.15.1885

2 Grosso, G., Micek, A., Marventano, S., Castellano, S., Mistretta, A., Pajak, A., & Galvano, F. (2016). Dietary n-3 PUFA, fish consumption and depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Journal of Affective Disorders, 205, 269-281. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.08.011

3 Cunnane, S., Plourde, M., Pifferi, F., Bégin, M., Féart, C., & Barberger-Gateau, P. (2009). Fish, docosahexaenoic acid and Alzheimer’s disease. Progress in Lipid Research, 48(5), 239-256. doi:10.1016/j.plipres. 2009.04.001

4 Tedeschi, S. K., Bathon, J. M., Giles, J. T., Lin, T., Yoshida, K., & Solomon, D. H. (2018). Relationship Between Fish Consumption and Disease Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis. Arthritis Care & Research, 70(3), 327-332. doi:10.1002/acr.23295 5 Guillen, J., Natale, F., Carvalho, N., Casey, J., Hofherr, J., Druon, J., . . . Martinsohn, J. T. (2018). Global seafood consumption footprint. Ambio, 48(2), 111-122. doi:10.1007/s13280-018-1060-9