Fresh salmon is a nutritious choice that tastes good in a variety of recipes, such as with fruit salsa, an Asian marinade, lemon and herbs, or yogurt sauce. Farmed salmon may be higher in unhealthy components, such as pesticides, than wild salmon, according to MayoClinic.com. However, it is still high in nutrients, and it can be a healthy component of an overall balanced diet.
Nutritional Basics
A 100-gram, or 3.5-ounce, serving of farmed Atlantic salmon has 208 calories, zero grams of carbohydrates and 20 grams of protein. The salmon has 13.4 grams of total fat, including only 3 grams of unhealthy saturated fat, and 55 milligrams of cholesterol, or 18 percent of the daily value based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Dietary cholesterol raises levels of cholesterol in your blood, but the effects are reduced when your diet is low in saturated fat, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Omega-3 Fats
In a 100-gram serving, farmed salmon provides 862 milligrams of eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, and 1,104 milligrams of docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA. EPA and DHA are long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, and they may lower you risk for heart disease when you average a total of at least 250 milligrams of DHA plus EPA per day, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines. Atlantic salmon is one of the best sources of EPA and DHA, and other sources include herring, mackerel, sardines, shrimp and clams.
Vitamins
A 100-gram serving of farmed salmon has 3.6 milligrams of vitamin E, or 24 percent of the daily value. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that may lower your risk for heart disease and age-related macular degeneration. The salmon has 3.2 micrograms of vitamin B-12, or 27 percent of the daily value, and 0.64 milligrams of vitamin B-6, or 32 percent of the daily value. Vitamins B-6 and B-12 work with folic acid to maintain normal levels of homocysteine in your blood and reduce your risk for heart disease, according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center.
Minerals
Farmed Atlantic salmon is naturally low in sodium, with 59 milligrams in a serving of 3.5 ounces. It provides 363 milligrams of potassium. A low-sodium, high-potassium diet can help you maintain a normal blood pressure and lower your risk for heart disease and stroke, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines. Healthy adults should get at least 4,700 milligrams of potassium and no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day.
References
- Monterey Bay Aquarium: Seafood Watch: Salmon
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Finfish and Shellfish Products
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010
- Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center; Vitamin B12; Jane Higdon, Ph.D.; March 2003
- MayoClinic.com; Omega-3 in Fish: How Eating Fish Helps Your Heart; December 2010
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