What's so healthy about seafood?

Seafood – The Super Food

Gram for gram, fish is one of the lowest-fat, highest protein foods you can eat. Australian seafood has 10-100 times higher levels of some of these good fats than other animal protein foods such as beef, lamb, chicken or pork. See how seafood stacks up against other popular protein foods in the table below (based on per 100g raw weight):

	Atlantic Salmon*	Flathead*	Lean beef (Fillet)	Trim Lamb	Skinless Chicken Breast	Lean Pork Steak
Energy kJ	541	380	536	480	567	516
Protein g	18	20	21	21	21	22
Total Fat g	3	1	5	4	6	4
Omega-3 mg	549	190	107	124	32	43
Cholesterol mg	18	19	67	65	66	58

* Australian seafood users manual – making the most of the world’s best. 

Omega-3’s

Omega-3’s are a type of fatty acid (long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid). Seafood is the best natural source of omega-3’s in the diet. Omega-3’s are ‘good’ fats which are vitally important for health and long life. For example they are vital during pregnancy for the baby’s brain development and vision; they are important to maintain a healthy heart, healthy immune system and have also been shown to benefit conditions such as diabetes, certain cancers, childhood asthma, obesity and arthritis.

Excellent sources of omega-3’s include oily seafood such as salmon, trout, mackerel, sardines, herring, tuna, anchovies, tiger prawns and blue mussels. Plant sources (like linseed, soy and canola) of omega-3’s can also be important, but they need to be made longer by the body to equate to those from seafood.

Omega-6’s

Omega-6’s are another type of fatty acid (long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid) which is important for growth and general health and well-being. Omega-6 fats are also found in seafood of all kinds. However plant foods such as sunflower seeds, corn and soybean are usually a better source.

Eating seafood regularly improves the balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the diet.

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