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BC  Salmon  Farmers  Association  FAQs  -­‐  Salmon  Nutrition  

   

 

What  are  the  nutritional  benefits  of  farm-­‐raised  salmon?  

Farm-­‐raised  salmon  –  like  wild  salmon  –  is  an  excellent  lean  protein  to  incorporate  in  your  diet.  Nutrition  experts  indicate  that  salmon  is  an  excellent  source  of  healthy  Omega-­‐3  fatty  acids,  and  that  regular  consumption  reduces  the  chance  of  heart  disease,  strokes,  Alzheimer’s,  arthritis  and  other  autoimmune  diseases,  and  also  plays  an  important  role  in  prenatal  health  and  a  child’s  development.  

The  largest  percentage  of  salmon  raised  in  B.C.  is  Atlantic  salmon.  Each  species  of  salmon:  Pink,  Chum,  Coho,  Sockeye,  Chinooks,  and  Atlantics  each  have  different  nutritional  profiles.  Atlantic  salmon  ranks  near  the  top  in  the  amount  of  Omega-­‐3,  and  is  low  in  saturated  fats.  

 

How  much  salmon  should  I  eat?  

The  Canada  Food  Guide  recommends  consuming  at  least  two  75  g  servings  of  fish  per  week,  and  the  Institute  of  Medicine  recommends  100  to  160  milligrams  of  DHA/EPA  per  day.  However,  for  people  with  heart  disease,  the  recommendations  increase  to  500  mg  or  more  per  day.  

 

How  is  salmon  good  for  my  heart?  

The  combination  of  DHA  and  EPA,  found  in  oily  fish  such  as  salmon,  has  been  shown  to  help  protect  against  heart-­‐related  illnesses.  Omega-­‐3s  help  to  lower  triglycerides  (a  type  of  blood  fat  that  is  linked  to  heart  disease)  and  prevent  plaque  build-­‐up  in  the  arteries  and  blood  clots  –  reducing  the  risk  of  stroke.    

Heart  disease  is  among  the  leading  causes  of  mortality  in  North  America  (Statistics  Canada,  2011,  US  Centre  for  Disease  Control  and  Prevention,  2011)  and,  according  to  the  Heart  and  Stroke  Foundation,  heart  disease  and  strokes  represent  two  of  the  three  leading  causes  of  death,  with  9  out  of  10  Canadians  having  at  least  one  risk  factor.  A  2006  study  by  Mozaffarian  and  Rimm,  published  in  the  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association,  concluded  that  people  who  consumed  at  least  two  meals  of  a  fatty  fish  per  week  (approximately  250  mg  of  EPA  and  DHA  per  day)  have  a  36%  lower  risk  of  fatal  heart  disease.  In  addition,  a  recent  study  published  by  the  Canadian  Aquaculture  Industry  Alliance  (CAIA)  found  that  if  all  Canadians  ate  fish  based  on  the  Canada  Food  Guide  recommendations,  approximately  5,800  deaths  could  be  avoided  every  year.  

 

How  is  salmon  good  for  my  brain?  

DHA  is  widely  recognized  as  the  physiologically  essential  nutrient  and  the  building  block  for  normal  brain  functioning  –  including  learning,  cogitative  abilities  and  memory  –  and  has  also  been  found  to  have  a  wide  range  of  impacts  on  neurological  diseases.    Deficiencies,  for  example,  have  been  found  in  patients  with  neurological  conditions,  such  as  depression  (Horrocks  and  Yeo  1999).  

2012  research  published  in  Neurology,  the  medical  journal  of  the  American  Academy  of  Neurology,  (by  Dr.  Nikolaos  Scarmeas,  of  Columbia  University),  suggests  that  eating  foods  rich  in  Omega-­‐3s,  such  as  salmon,  can  be  associated  with  lower  blood  levels  of  a  protein  related  to  Alzheimer’s  Disease.  The  study  found  that  the  more  Omega-­‐3  fatty  acids  a  person  took  in,  the  lower  their  blood  beta-­‐amyloid  levels.  Consuming  1000  mg  of  Omega-­‐3s  per  day  –  approximately  half  a  fillet  of  salmon  per  week  –  is  associated  with  20  to  30  per  cent  lower  blood  beta-­‐amyloid  levels.  

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How  does  salmon  improve  symptoms  of  autoimmune  and  inflammatory  diseases?    

Omega-­‐3  fatty  acid  intake  is  associated  with  improving  rheumatoid  arthritis  and  inflammatory  diseases,  such  as  inflammatory  bowel  syndrome  (IBS).  Low  in  saturated  fat  and  high  in  DHA/EPA,  salmon  helps  decrease  LDL  (“bad”)  cholesterol  and  triglyceride  levels,  which  are  linked  to  promoting  inflammation.  For  example,  Omega-­‐3  metabolites  inhibit  the  production  of  inflammatory  cytokines,  or  proteins,  responsible  for  arthritic  pain  (Zainal  et  al.  2009).    

 

Is  salmon  safe  for  pregnant  women  to  eat?  

Salmon  consumption  during  pregnancy  and  lactation  has  a  range  of  benefits  to  a  child’s  brain  development.  These  positive  effects  persist  beyond  infancy  to  influence  cognition  in  later  childhood.  Omega-­‐3s  are  also  essential  in  nervous  system  development.  DHA  in  particular  is  also  critical  for  normal  eye  and  vision  development  in  infants.  According  to  Harvard’s  School  of  Public  Health,  for  normal  brain  and  neurological  development,  infants  should  obtain  the  benefit  of  Omega-­‐3s  early  in  their  life,  from  pregnant  or  nursing  mothers  who  consumed  fish.  

A  recent  study  published  by  the  Norwegian  Scientific  Committee  for  Food  Safety  concluded  that  the  “net  effects  of  the  present  average  fish  consumption  in  Norway  for  adults  including  pregnant  women  is  beneficial  for  specific  cardiovascular  diseases  (particularly  cardiac  mortality,  but  also  with  regard  to  ischaemic  stroke,  non-­‐fatal  coronary  heart  disease  events,  congestive  heart  failure  and  atrial  fibrillation),  as  well  as  for  optimal  neurodevelopment  of  foetus  and  infants.”  The  current  national  dietary  guideline  includes  eating  fish  2  to  3  times  per  week,  with  at  least  200g  of  fatty  fish  such  as  salmon,  trout,  mackerel  and  herring.  In  addition,  they  believe  that  adults  consuming  less  than  one  serving  of  fish  per  week  would  miss  out  on  the  health  benefits.  

 

Are  there  any  contaminants  are  in  B.C.  farm-­‐raised  salmon?  

B.C.  farm-­‐raised  salmon  (Chinook,  Coho  and  Atlantic)  are  low  in  Polychlorinated  Biphenyls  (PCBs),  mercury  (far  below  levels  that  could  adversely  impact  health),  dioxins,  and  other  unwanted  contaminants.    

The  CFIA  regularly  monitors  farm-­‐raised  salmon  to  ensure  that  it  is  safe  to  eat,  and  they  have  found  level  of  PCBs  averages  around  0.014  parts  per  million  (ppm)  compared  to  the  allowable  levels  of  2  ppm.  In  addition,  a  study  conducted  by  the  Harvard  School  of  Public  Health  –  published  in  The  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association  –  found  that  levels  of  PCBs  and  dioxins  in  fish  species  are  low  –  similar  to  other  commonly  consumed  foods  such  as  beef,  chicken,  pork,  eggs,  and  butter.    

Although  PCBs  are  found  in  the  environment  in  extremely  small  quantities  and  are  present  in  many  of  our  daily  meal  choices,  all  these  foods  remain  safe  to  eat.  Neither  Health  Canada  nor  the  U.S.  Food  and  Drug  Administration  (USFDA)  recommend  any  consumption  limits  on  any  foods  because  of  dioxins  or  PCBs.  In  fact,  the  United  Nations  World  Health  Organization  and  Food  and  Agriculture  Organization  recommends  that  people  eat  more  oily  fish,  such  as  salmon,  because  the  proven  health  benefits  far  outweigh  any  perceived  risks  from  dioxins  or  PCBs.  There  is  also  little  accumulation  of  unwanted  contaminants,  such  as  mercury,  because  a  salmon  is  a  fast  growing  fish.  

“Metal  concentrations  in  farmed  and  wild  salmon  from  British  Columbia,  Canada,  were  relatively  low  and  below  human  health  consumption  guidelines.  Methylmercury  in  all  salmon  samples  (range,  0.03-­‐0.1  microg/g  wet  wt)  were  below  the  0.5  microg/g  guideline  set  by  Health  Canada.  Negligible  differences  in  metal  concentrations  were  observed  between  the  various  species  of  farmed  and  wild  salmon.  Our  findings  indicate  farmed  and  wild  British  Columbia  salmon  remain  a  safe  source  of  Omega-­‐3  highly  unsaturated  fatty  acid  intake  for  cardioprotective  and,  possibly,  other  health  benefits.”      SOURCE:  Kelly  et  al.,  2008.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18211126  

Additional  Resources:  

About  PCBs  

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