Canned Fish – Should You Include It In Your Diet?

Canned Fish

I love including canned fish in my health eating world. It’s easy, affordable and always “at the ready” for a quick, healthy and delicious meal.

Recently, a friend posted a link on Twitter to a Medium article I felt I should share, so here goes. Written by David Neimanis, this article gives a short chronicle of the author’s real introduction and embracing of canned fish as an integral part of his diet.

Almost eight years go, I went through something similar when I rejected processed food and the Standard American Diet. I needed to have a healthy, reasonably price source of protein to add to salads and other meals, so I began with sardines and expanded my canned fish culinary choices from there.

A really good article about canned fish…

In his article, David Neimanis writes in part:

“It’s also worth reaching for the smaller fish because they’re on the bottom of the food chain. Unlike tuna, sardines and anchovies are low in mercury, a neurotoxin that’s particularly dangerous for children and pregnant women. Smaller fish are also more sustainable.”

I love to take some canned seafood with me when I travel. It’s a ready source of protein and comes with some delicious flavorings.

The author continues:

“When it comes to eating and serving canned seafood, keep it simple. Some canned fish already comes coated in all the flavor you’ll need, including extra virgin olive oil, tomato sauce, escabeche sauce, white wine and herbs, lemon, and padron peppers. Otherwise, the seafood can be the condiment — most notably anchovies, which impart salty, umami flavors in many Italian recipes.”

Here is a link to the article so you can read it in its entirety.

One cautionary note is to always read your ingredient labels. Much canned fish is packed in canola, cottonseed or other cheap, more inflammatory oils. Keep it simple and buy fish canned in olive oil with no added junk or sugar and no “natural flavorings”. This can be code for just about anything and often includes MSG without having to call it out by name. Sneaky!

Helping you achieve Major Wellness…

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Cheryl

Cheryl A Major lives in Westford and is a Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant. Her TV show, Thin Strong Healthy, airs on WestfordCat and is an offshoot of her blog http://ThinStrongHealthy.com. 

Cheryl offers ongoing information, live and online courses and personal health coaching to help you feel better and be healthier.  Follow Cheryl on Twitter @CherylAMajor.  She is also a full time residential Realtor with Coldwell Banker with more than 25 years experience. 

Cheryl’s book, “Eat Your Blues Away”, is available in select Whole Foods Markets and on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback!