Which fish are the richest in fat?
That of oily fish is perhaps the only food category for which the adjective "fat" is perceived as an added value by many consumers. In fact, awareness of the nutritional value of fish fats, which represent the only common sources of essential fatty acids of the omega-three series EPA and DHA, is now widespread.
In general, all specimens with lipid percentages higher than 10% are considered fats; however, as always, when we talk about nutritional values, the watchword is variability. Let's think for example of the influence of the environment in which they live (wild or farmed fish), but above all of the period of capture of the specimen; in autumn, for example, the lipid percentage tends to be very high because the fish have accumulated lipid stocks for the winter; vice versa, at the end of the spring reproductive period, much lower lipid percentages are recorded.
Nutritional value: not just omega-3s
Oily fish, compared to lean ones, are a better source of fat-soluble vitamins, such as A, E and D (fatty fish and its oil are the most generous dietary source of vitamin D, which is important for the prevention of fractures. The content of vitamins B1, B2 and B12 is also noteworthy, as well as the classic minerals of which this food is rich (iodine in fresh sea fish, phosphorus, sodium, calcium and selenium). "on the other hand, the higher lipid percentage makes these fish more difficult to digest, less storable and more caloric than the others; not surprisingly, supermarket offers often concern the fattest species such as salmon.
The digestibility decreases together with other nutritional qualities in the case in which the fatty fish is not very fresh or preserved in oil. In the case in which it has lived in contaminated waters, the risk that the animal has accumulated fat-soluble toxic substances, such as dioxin. As for the storage periods, the scaled, gutted, washed, dried carefully and subjected to rapid freezing (home freezing) animal can be kept for a maximum of 40-60 days.
As for the omega-three content, this is generally higher:
- in fatty versus lean fish;
- in sea fish compared to freshwater fish;
- in wild fish compared to farmed fish (which is often fed with vegetable flours, rich in fatty acids of the omega-six series);
- in fish that live in cold waters than in fish that live in warm waters.
(wild)
* LNA = undifferentiated alpha-linolenic acid
SOURCE: "Essential Fatty Acids in Fatty Fish" was compiled based on data provided by the US Department of Agriculture
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