Is Salmon Good for Weight Loss? Here's The Answer

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The red salmon, known for its bright color and buttery flavor, is one of the most popular fish choices in the United States. Grilled, smoked, steamed, or raw, this fish is good for dinner, a snack, or breakfast. 

It seems like a natural choice for a healthy diet because of its origins and legends about its nutritional benefits. 

However, can salmon help you lose weight?

Let’s look closely at the properties of this fish and find out how it can benefit your weight loss and health.

Is Salmon Good for You?

Eating salmon regularly can enhance thyroid function, reproductive health, brain function, and bone strength, in addition to burning fat and providing the much-desired muscle definition.

Salmon is an oily fish that contains a significant amount of protein and omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. While protein helps gain and maintain muscle mass, these essential omega-3 fatty acids help burn fat and fight inflammation. 

With 100 grams of raw salmon, you’ll get a lot of B vitamins, especially vitamin B12 at 133% of the daily value, half of the daily value of selenium, as well as phosphorus, copper, and potassium. It is also a natural source of vitamin D, which helps make your bones stronger.

This combination of nutrients in salmon can support hormonal balance, protect the cardiovascular system, and promote mental health.

How Much Protein Is in Salmon?

Protein content varies among different types of salmon, but on average, there are 22–25 grams per 100 grams.

Salmon is the superstar among seafood, providing you with high-quality protein and all the nutrients you require. However, its nutritional value slightly varies from type to type. For instance, farmed salmon has more calories and fat, whereas wild salmon has more protein.

Salmon’s nutritional value can also change depending on how it’s cooked. Even though canned pink salmon, smoked salmon, and salmon fillets are both high in protein, canned salmon provides more nutrition since it contains salmon flesh, skin, and bones.

Moreover, canned salmon has fish oil on top of protein, unlike filets, which might lose that oil during cooking.

4 Incredible Benefits of Salmon

You can enjoy salmon in even more ways than eating a healthy diet or succeeding in weight loss.

Because it’s a powerhouse of minerals, nutrients, and healthy fat, it’s the best booster for your heart, brain, immune system, and ability to fight chronic diseases.

Here we’ll talk about all the good things this wonderful fish can do for you.

#1 May support cardiovascular health

Improve your heart health by eating omega-3-rich fatty fish regularly.

Studies have shown that a diet high in omega-3 fats may help treat high blood pressure, improve blood vessel function, reduce triglycerides, and ease inflammation, which may reduce the risk of developing atherosclerosis.

#2 Supports brain function

Boost your brain function by eating wild salmon at least twice a week. 

By eating salmon regularly, you can boost memory and focus and fight cognitive decline. Research suggests that omega-3 fatty acids in wild salmon protect brain health and improve your ability to learn and multitask.

#3 Boosts the immune system

Enjoy superficial health benefits of salmon, including eye health, skin health, bone health, etc.

Salmon is a natural source of vitamin D, which is an essential nutrient for stronger bones and high energy levels.

#4 Contains antioxidants

Protect yourself from diseases with salmon’s antioxidant astaxanthin, considered a “medical food.”

Research confirms that astaxanthin helps prevent and treat a variety of diseases, such as cancer, chronic inflammation, diabetes, heart disease, gastrointestinal and liver diseases, eye and skin diseases, exercise-induced fatigue, and male infertility.

How Often Can You Eat Salmon?

You can eat salmon twice a week if you want to lose weight or more if you want to build muscle mass or gain weight. Consuming salmon is good for maintaining muscle mass, but it might also lead to weight gain if you go over your calorie allowance.

Keep your calorie intake under 1,500 (for women) or 1,800 (for men) calories, and provide room for a calorie deficit if you want to lose weight.

Fish like salmon are high in calories, fats, and protein, so they make a great stand-alone dinner with greens and veggies. It’ll keep you full for hours and keep you from picking up unhealthy snacks.  

Is Pink Salmon Good for You?

While pink salmon has slightly fewer nutrients than its red brother, it offers the same health benefits. By eating pink salmon, you will get omega-3 fatty acids, selenium, protein, and vitamin B12.

Pink salmon is often farmed and more widely available than deep red salmon. It is also less expensive because it is easier to cultivate.

The key difference between farm-raised pink salmon and wild-raised red salmon is the concentration of omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients.

In a study of the nutritional value of farmed salmon, the omega-3 content in 100 grams of 76 different fish species ranged from 717mg to 1,533mg.

Farmed fish typically contained more omega-3s than wild-caught fish, but they also contained more saturated and polyunsaturated fats. 

In comparison, 1.6 grams of unhealthy fat are present in one serving of pink salmon, which is about half of the number of unhealthy fats found in the same amount of flank steak.

FAQs

3 Simple Ways to Eat More Salmon

The best way to live longer is to eat fish regularly, especially baked or grilled, instead of red and processed meats with fried foods.

There are countless ways to make salmon part of your diet, but here are a few quick tips for the day:

Breakfast can be made tasty and nutritious by serving smoked salmon fillets with hard-boiled eggs and cream cheese on whole-grain bread. Throughout the day, it will make you feel energetic and control your appetite. However, you should keep an eye on the sodium content of smoked salmon so as not to exceed your daily sodium intake.

Lunch with a grilled salmon salad with lemon juice and olive oil will be just right to keep you full until dinner time. To make a grilled salmon salad, brush red onions and salmon with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, grill, and serve with lettuce and diced tomatoes.

Dinner will feel just right if you bake salmon fillets with lemon slices and thyme sprigs in the oven. Fill half your plate with two vegetables – ideally one green and one orange or yellow. Just toss the vegetables with olive oil and spread them out on a sheet pan while you cook the salmon.

Conclusion

Salmon is a nutritional powerhouse that can help promote weight loss and get numerous benefits along the way, such as a stronger heart, a sharp brain, healthy vision, wrinkle-free skin, and so much more.

It is a natural source of vitamin D, B vitamins, selenium, and other minerals that are necessary for a healthy thyroid – a key to successful weight loss.

Salmon stands out among other high protein foods for its healthy fats that can do real magic for your health.

Whether or not you want to shed a few pounds, seafood consumption, especially salmon consumption, is a must for living a long and healthy life.