Nutrition

Rules that will let you catch the best food from the sea

Catching the best food from the sea

As long as the fish is not deep fried, the sea creature, whether large or small, has a nutritional profile you’ll benefit from. But picking out fish is no simple task. These days we wonder if it has enough healthy fats. Is it full of toxins? Was it farmed or wild-caught? Follow these rules to help navigate the seafood counter like Captain Ahab and get hooked on better catches that meet your need for a tidal wave of nutrition and sustainability.

Rule No. 1: Eat More

Despite some scary headlines, we should still be eating seafood. But most Canadians aren’t trolling for dinner often enough. One recent study in the Britishjournalof Nutrition discovered that among more than 55,000 men and women, those who replaced some of the red meat in their diets with seafood slashed their risk for poor heart health. Lower amounts of saturated fat and higher levels of heart-saving omega-3 fats are likely a big reason why this dietary swap is a ticker-friendly one. For those who include animal flesh in their diets, it’s advisable to reel-in at least two 4-oz. servings of fish weekly.

Rule No. 2: Go Mega on Omega

Sufficient intakes of the marine sourced omega-3 fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (epa) and docosahexaenoic acid (dha), have been linked to everything including better heart health, improved brain functioning, lower levels of inflammation and even less risk for hearing loss. Research suggests they can also lessen post-exercise muscle pain and perhaps bolster blood flow in athletes to help improve exercise performance. Why the overarching health benefits? Omega-3 fats sneak their way into our cell membranes and, by doing so, improve how chemical reactions occur. But few people are reaping omega-3s’ health-boosting rewards. A report published in the journal Nutrients determined that about 98 per cent of study participants do not have optimal levels of omega-3s in their blood. The best way to fix this deficiency is to cast your line for swimmers that are fatty in a good way, which include salmon, sardines, mackerel, sablefish (black cod), herring, smelt, anchovies, rainbow trout and Arctic char.

Rule No. 3: Do Your Homework

Will you purchase Atlantic salmon or Pacific halibut? A trip to the fishmonger can leave you so confused about which is your healthiest, most sustainable choice you’ll want to jump ship. That’s why it’s a good idea to read up beforehand to learn what the best options are. The Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise seafood program ( seafood.ocean.org) makes it easier to suss out the species that are farmed or harvested from the wild using the gentlest methods. For instance, Pacific cod is generally a more sustainable choice than Atlantic cod.

Rule No. 4: Flex Your Mussels

Many people feel that mussels are a restaurant dish – something only for ordering off the menu and not for cooking at home. But they’re a very affordable option at the fishmonger, not to mention easy to cook, and loaded with nutritional goodies such as protein and vitamin B12. Mussels are exceptionally sustainable: they actually filter and clean the water they are farmed in. Simply place a couple pounds of mussels in a pot of steamy liquid, which can range from broth to wine to coconut milk, until they pop open, about three minutes. Clams and oysters are similarly nutritious and sustainable, but mussels tend to be easier on your food budget.

Rule No. 5: Be a Can-do Person

You’ll find a convenient and budget-friendly way to get more seafood in the canned-fish aisle when you’re spinning wheels at the supermarket. In fact, some of the most nutrient-dense and sustainable seafood options, including sardines and salmon, are available in canned format. For instance, canned sardines are a fantastic source of hard-to-get vitamin D, while salmon is almost always sourced from sustainable wild stocks. Look for smaller-scale brands – Raincoast Trading, for example – that are dedicated to using oceanfriendly fishing practices such as pole-and-line tuna.

Rule No. 6: Don’t be a Metal Head

Fish can be tainted with toxins, such as mercury and dioxins, because the waterways they swim in have those pollutants. So the seafood counter is a potential source of these contaminants and high exposure rates might be associated with neurological problems as well as increased risk for diabetes and heart disease. While it’s believed that the health benefits of eating fish generally outweigh the risk from mercury and other toxins, it’s still a good idea to limit your exposure by making wiser choices. Since larger, longerliving predatory fish tend to have higher concentrations of mercury (the metal bioaccumlates up the food chain), you should consider cutting bait on shark, swordfish, king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, tilefish and tuna (bluefin and bigeye). Salmon, sardines, rainbow trout, halibut and mussels are examples of species that carry a lower contaminant risk.

Rule No. 7: Don’t Shun Farmed

You would think that wild-caught would always be the way to go, but that’s not the case. There are now new-school fish farmers who are raising better, safer seafood for our dinner plates. Case in point: rainbow trout farming in Canada is strictly regulated, and the use of land-based tanks causes fewer environmental woes, such as pollution of surrounding waterways. Catfish, Arctic char, tilapia and mussels are other good-performing farmed species. Salmon raised in open net pens is still hit-and-miss, but seafood watch programs, such as Ocean Wise, can help you identify the better performers. For the most part, you want to purchase farmed fish from North American sources rather than those from overseas.

Rule No. 8: Don’t Be Obsessed with Fresh

State-of-the-art f lash-freezing technology employed shortly after fish have been hauled on board results in little, if any, loss of quality. Also, frozen fish, such as wild salmon, can be more economical. You buy it in advance and then use it when desired. You should know that a large amount of the “fresh” fish displayed on ice was indeed previously frozen for shipping purposes and to aid in killing off any parasites. These are then thawed for display.