Although not everyone enjoys eating sardines because of their strong flavor, they provide solid nutritional value. You can purchase fresh, frozen, smoked or canned sardines packed in water, oil or tomato sauce and add them to main dishes, or grill or fry them. Sardines can fulfill the American Heart Association's recommended two servings of fish per week.
Nutrition Facts
One 3.75-oz. can of sardines canned in oil, drained, contains 190 calories, 23 g of protein, 130 mg of cholesterol and 10 g of fat, only 2 g of which is saturated fat. Most of the fat in sardines is the heart-healthy omega-3 fats. This serving of sardines also provides 140 percent of the daily value for vitamin B-12, 60 percent for vitamin D, 45 percent for phosphorus, 35 percent for calcium, 25 percent for niacin, 15 percent for iron, 10 percent for riboflavin and magnesium, 8 percent for vitamin B-6 and zinc, 6 percent for thiamine and 4 percent for vitamin A and folate. Sardines are also rich in selenium. (See References 1,2)
Possible Health Benefits
Omega-3 fats may lower your risk for high blood pressure, blood clots, stroke and heart disease, according to the Mayo Clinic. The vitamin D and calcium in sardines can also help to lower your risk for osteoporosis. Eating sardines may also help to lower your risk for cancer because of the selenium they contain, according to Medline Plus.
Environmental Issues
Although sardines were overfished and its population low from the 1940s through the 1980s, Pacific sardines were plentiful and not in danger of being overfished as of 2010. The purse seines that fishermen use to catch these sardines also cause relatively little damage to other species, although they may catch a few fish unintentionally along with the Pacific sardines, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fish Watch website.
Safety Considerations
Concerns about mercury and PCB contamination should not keep you from consuming sardines. Sardines are one of the safest fish to consume, according to the Environmental Defense Fund, so you can have them as often as four times per week. Because sardines are low on the food chain and eat plankton rather than other fish, they have very low levels of contaminants, notes Fish Watch.
References
- Nutrient Facts: Sardine, Canned in Oil
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Fish Watch: Pacific Sardine
- Environmental Defense Fund: Pacific Sardines
- MayoClinic.com: Cholesterol: Top Five Foods to Lower Your Numbers
- MedlinePlus: Selenium in Diet
- American Heart Association: Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids
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