Regularly eating steamed fish helps protect heart health

We often see reports in the media that "eating fish is good for the heart." However, Professor Wang Cunxin, an authority on fish research in China at the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, reminded everyone in an interview with reporters that fish are divided into sea fish and river fish, with a wide variety of types, and different fish have different effects.

Eating fish really can protect the heart

Professor Wang pointed out that eating fish is greatly beneficial to the heart, and this has already been confirmed. Eskimos and residents of coastal fishing villages in Japan have fish in all three meals a day, and their lower rates of cardiovascular disease are a good example.

Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids can increase the content of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which helps break down fat in the human body, and reduce the content of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which makes people gain weight. If the level of omega-3 fatty acids in human blood is too low, the risk of heart disease will increase; if its content is lower than 4% of all fatty acids in the human body, the risk of death from heart disease is highest. Fish oil contains more of this fatty acid than other foods, so eating a lot of fish can protect the heart.

Deep-sea fish in cold zones have a greater effect

Professor Wang said that different fish contain different amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, so the degree of heart protection differs. Generally speaking, deep-sea fish living in cold-zone waters, such as salmon, tuna, and salmon trout, have thick fat and more fish oil, and correspondingly higher omega-3 fatty acid content. Freshwater fish, which is what we often call river fish, mostly have short growth periods and are seriously affected by water environment pollution, and their omega-3 fatty acid content is low.

In addition, Professor Wang pointed out that whether freshwater fish or sea fish, the omega-3 fatty acid content of artificially farmed fish is lower than that of naturally grown fish. Most of the large and small yellow croaker among the freshwater fish and sea fish sold on the market are farmed, have low omega-3 fatty acid content, and do not have a very great heart-protecting effect. Hairtail, pomfret, butterfish, Spanish mackerel, tuna, sardine, flounder, squid, and others all belong to fish species that cannot be farmed, and their bodies contain more omega-3 fatty acids, which is more beneficial for protecting the heart.

Steaming is best for preserving fatty acids

There are many ways to eat fish, such as eating it raw, steaming, stewing, braising in soy sauce, grilling, pan-frying, deep-frying, and so on. How can more fatty acids be retained during cooking?

Professor Wang believes that some fish can be eaten raw, such as salmon and flounder, and this of course can preserve the omega-3 fatty acids in the fish meat to the greatest extent. However, recently there have been more and more reports about parasitic infections from eating raw seafood, so from a safety perspective, steaming or stewing is still the better method, as it will not severely destroy omega-3 fatty acids and can also kill parasites. Although methods such as grilling, deep-frying, and braising in soy sauce taste better, they will cause severe destruction of omega-3 fatty acids and B vitamins, increase fat content, and reduce nutritional value.