Omega-3 fatty acids are a class of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids that are necessary for your health, especially for brain functioning and normal growth and development. They are conditionally essential nutrients because your body does not make them; thus, omega-3 fats must be replenished through food or supplement. Fish is a primary dietary source of omega-3 fatty acids.
Salmon
Salmon is a generic name for several fish species of the family Salmonidae. It is especially rich in the beneficial oils known as omega-3 fatty acids. Higher dietary levels of omega-3 fatty acids are found in farmed salmon than wild salmon, according to the Medical News Today website. Salmon does not produce omega-3 fatty acids on its own but stores them in the body in the form of fat. Fatty fish like salmon derive omega-3 fatty acids from micro-algae or other sources.
Trout
Trout are cold-water, oily fish, which belong to the salmon family. They produce high levels of eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, and docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, two types of omega-3 fatty acids, which promote your heart health, notes Purdue University. Trout get their saturated fatty acid content from species of blue-green algae, such as spirulina.
Sardines
Sardines, commonly known as pilchards, are small oily fish. They offer you one of the richest sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Sardines contain about 0.4 g of omega-3s per 2 fish, according to the University of California. Clinical studies have shown that eating fish, preferably fatty fish like sardines, results in modest reductions in triglycerides, a type of fat, according to the University of Massachusetts Medical School. High triglyceride levels increase heart attack risk, so increasing omega-3 fatty acids by eating fatty fish like sardines can boost heart health.
References
- Harvard School of Public Health: The Nutrition Source Ask the Expert: Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- American Heart Association: Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- Medical News Today: Wild versus Farmed Salmon, the Pros and Cons
- Purdue University: Do Wild Trout Have Omega-3 Fatty Acids?
- University of California: Good Oils and Fatty Substances
- University of Massachusetts Medical School: Fish Oil
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