Dieticians have long recommended including salmon in your meals, because studies show that people who eat lots of it are more likely to be slim and free from diseases.
But the question of exactly what is in the salmon that offers health benefits has remained largely unanswered – until now.
University of Colorado researchers believe they have pinpointed at least four compounds in the fish that they say can reduce the ‘bad’ type of cholesterol.
This is the fatty substance that builds up in blood vessels and damages them, and dramatically increasing the risk stroke and heart attacks.
Salmon contains unique compounds linked to lower cholesterol, a study has shown
Their new study, published in the Journal of Nutrition, showed that by eating salmon you can ingest at least 30 metabolites – substances produced during digestion or other chemical processes.
Four of these metabolites are linked to significant improvements in cardiovascular health.
In the study, the researchers asked 41 participants aged 30-69 to eat a Mediterranean diet including a range of fish, low-fat meat, wholegrains and fruit and vegetables.
They then assessed how healthy their cardiovascular system was by analyzing blood and conducting other tests. Tests were conducted before and after the diet.
Included in the diet was two servings of salmon a week for two five-week periods, with a month’s break in between.
The participants were obese or overweight but none had any active metabolic conditions like type 2 diabetes.
Samples of the food given to participants were also analyzed in a lab to identify their metabolites.
The researchers found a total of 1,518 compounds in the food, but only 508 were found to be unique to salmon.
If the researchers found a compound in salmon but not any other foods, they categorized it as a salmon food-specific compound.
They found increases in two salmon specific compounds and two metabolites that have long been known to reduce cholesterol, and are linked to a healthier cardiovascular system.
Many of these substances were fats, offering additional evidence of the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids found in the fish.
Whats more, they found those with high levels of these substances in their blood had bigger reductions in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and apolipoprotein B, which is an indicator of heart disease.
‘We are the first to identify salmon-specific bioactive compounds that increase in plasma after consuming [a Mediterranean diet] with ~4-8oz (one to two fillets) of salmon per week,’ the researchers wrote.
‘Further, several of these food-specific compounds were associated with short-term improvement in cardiometabolic health indicators.’
There are multiple different types of salmon – five types of Pacific salmon and two types of Atlantic salmon.
Wild-caught Pacific salmon is generally considered to be the healthiest. In wild salmon, the amount and type of omega-3s found are based on the algae and plankton in the fish’s diet.
In farmed salmon, it is based on what type of feed they eat.
The Mediterranean diet is compised of plenty of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and olive oil.
A huge amount of research has designated the Mediterranean diet as the gold standard eating regime.
A study published last year found that swapping to a Mediterranean diet from the normal Western diet can help you live longer, and the earlier in your life you start, the better.
