Fishy Salmon!

So all these weeks we were looking into the vegetarian sources of super foods and so this week I will focus on one of the most widely accepted health foods which does not belong to the vegetarian family, the salmon.

Salmon is considered to be an oily fish and therefore initially thought to have too much of fat content. But even when fat content was looked upon with contempt, salmon was considered a really healthy fish and those who did not consider it, just did not care. Today with our knowledge of good and bad fats, salmon has gotten into the list of super foods with not just it's good fats, but with some new startling discoveries.

So, the fat content we were talking about is the omega 3 fatty acids. Enough has been said and written about it and so I guess it suffices to mention that salmon has lots of it and therefore is a healthy food. Along with that, salmon also has loads of Vitamin D, a very very important nutrient for your body, I will dedicate one article exclusively for this vitamin, but that said, about 150 g of salmon can provide almost 100% of the daily requirement of this important vitamin.

Salmon also has a few small proteins that play a role in the functioning of the human body, called bioactive peptides and these have, among other uses, a role in insulin, bone cartilages and in preventing inflammation of the digestive tract. And salmon has been found to have calcitonin, a hormone that plays a role in the calcium metabolism and calcium balance in the body. So, initially, the high omega 3 fatty acid levels of salmon masked the other wonderful benefits of this fish, but slowly we have more information about the other nutrients. Not that everything present in the fish is going to be perfectly absorbed in the humans, but then, it is a wonderful fish.

But like with another fish, where it grows is of prime importance. Contamination of salmon with mercury and other heavy metals is common and while salmon is probably not as badly affected as the others, it pays to notice. Till date, the Alaskan salmon is recognized as the best salmon available.

Cooking salmon also needs special attention. Salmon can be easily overcooked and therefore you need to pay attention to the recipe you are following. And it is not without reason that smoked salmon is the most widely enjoyed form of salmon, it retains all it's goodness and tastes great too.

drwasim@yourwellnessdoc.com
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