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Introducing Salmon to Your Diet

Introducing Salmon to Your Diet

by Mireille Kilgour

shutterstock_167419181 Seafood is an important part of a healthy diet but it's not always accessible and easy to cook. There's also some concern about fish having a high concentration of toxins like mercury. Find out how to avoid this risk and create healthy, delicious meals with salmon in the process.

Why is salmon good for me?

The Tasmanian Salmonid Growers Association explained that salmon is high in Omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 is helpful for brain development, memory, healthy skin, eyes and hair and can help prevent or relieve high blood pressure, depression, rheumatoid arthritis and coronary heart disease. In fact, Harvard School of Public Health professors Dariush Mozaffarian and Eric Rimm reviewed the research on fish and deducted that eating about two servings of fatty fish a week could reduce the chances of dying from heart disease by more than one-third, due to the benefits of omega 3 fatty acids.

Salmon has many beneficial vitamins and minerals too, such as vitamin A, a number of B vitamins, vitamin D, antioxidants, calcium, copper, magnesium, iron, zinc, potassium and selenium. Selenium helps to protect the body from cancer-related free radicals, omega 3 can reduce joint pain and vitamin D improves your immune system. If this wasn't enough of a reason for you to start eating salmon, this fish is also great source of high quality protein.

Should pregnant women avoid fish?

Fish can also have benefits for pregnant mothers and their babies, as omega 3 aids a baby's brain and nervous system development. In a 2007 study of almost 12,000 pregnant women, researchers found that children born to mothers who ate less than two servings of fish a week didn't perform as well on intelligence, behavior and development tests, compared to children whose mothers ate fish at least twice a week.

However, there are some concerns about the toxins in fish risking unborn babies, especially in the case of mercury. It was recommended that women avoid fish species that are particularly high in mercury, namely shark, king mackerel, swordfish and tilefish (also known as golden snapper). This Harvard research goes over the debate in detail.

How can I include salmon in my diet?

The Australian Dietary Guidelines advise that we have two fish-based meals a week for good health, but fewer than one in five Australians actually eat this much. Luckily salmon is an easy fish to prepare – you can bake it with vegetables, steam it, have it fresh or smoked with a salad, on sushi, grilled or just throw it on the barbeque.

For a nutritious meal that really brings out the flavours of a good salmon steak, you could try this baked salmon recipe. It involves crumbing the salmon with basil and parmesan, alongside crispy golden potatoes and a fresh salad.

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Mireille Kilgour

Mireille Kilgour has been an entrepreneur for 35 years in the hospitality sector. French born, she has been an accomplished business owner and operator for a number of Sydney venues. Leading the industry with high profile institutions such as Lamrock Café Bondi, she has endless passion for the industry, and now has the pleasure of supporting restaurants to fill their tables with the new Good Food Gift Card program.