Salmon is an Atlantic salmon belonging to the class of ray-finned. It is rare to meet a person who has never in his life tried the tender and insanely delicious meat of this fish. Salmon is often included in the diet, designed for people with cardiovascular disease. As well as women who monitor their appearance, try to eat this fish as often as possible. Surely, many have thought about what the benefits and harms of salmon are and how much they are necessary for human health.
Description and Features
The following external signs are characteristic of this fish:
- Her weight sometimes reaches forty-three kilograms, and her body length is one and a half meters.
- The adult salmon has greenish scales with a blue tint and a white belly. Young growth is distinguished by a dark color, and its body is covered with characteristic spots.
- Eyes are transparent eyelids.
- Salmon's teeth are not strong enough.
Life expectancy is usually fourteen years. It lives in the Arctic Ocean, as well as in the Baltic and White Sea. Salmon feed on small fish: capelin, sprat or herring. Large individuals can even swallow medium-sized herring. The breeding season is five years old and usually lasts three autumn months. Salmon refers to those fish that lay eggs. Throughout its life, spawning in salmon occurs no more than two times.
Chemical composition
The meat of this fish contains a lot of useful components. To date, the benefits and harms of salmon for the body are practically studied. No wonder it is included in the diet, designed to treat diseases of the cardiovascular system. In addition, there are dietary regimes designed to prevent cancer, which also contains salmon. Trendy diets designed to rejuvenate the body and improve skin condition also recommend salmon dishes. Despite the fact that its calorie content is slightly higher than that of other fish, it nevertheless does not affect the weight of a person, as it is digested quickly enough.
What is the benefit and harm of salmon for the human body? This fish is appreciated among doctors and nutritionists due to the presence of polyunsaturated acids Omega 3, 6 and 9. They start the process of rejuvenating the body, cleanse blood vessels and prevent the further occurrence of cholesterol plaques. A person who regularly eats this fish practically does not suffer from senile dementia and other diseases associated with age-related changes in internal organs. In addition, the composition of salmon meat has melatonin, which normalizes sleep. And also it has a beneficial effect on the immune system and triggers the body's renewal processes.
Among vitamins, the largest amount belongs to the antioxidant group - A and E. In addition to them, B 12 and PP are present in the composition. Of the trace elements, potassium, magnesium, iodine, iron, as well as phosphorus and calcium, are present in the greatest amount. Also, salmon contains iron, which contributes to the renewal of blood, and zinc, without which it is difficult to imagine a healthy reproductive system. The amount of protein is fifteen grams, and fat - about twenty per hundred grams of the product.
Depending on the cooking method, calorie content will also change, which means the benefits and harms of salmon fish. For example, if one hundred grams of fresh salmon has an energy value of one hundred and forty kilocalories, then in slightly salted they will already have two hundred. Steamed fish will get the least calories, and grilled fried salmon will get the most. Baked and smoked fish has approximately the same number of kilocalories (205 - 207), and fried in a pan a little less than two hundred.
Contraindications and side effects
This fish is not recommended for nursing mothers, so as not to cause colic in the baby. In addition, people with individual intolerance to seafood do not eat salmon. As well as fish grown in artificial reservoirs, as a rule, contains antibiotics and other components that were in the feed. Not so long ago, American scientists made a statement that salmon meat is not recommended for consumption due to the fact that over time mercury accumulates in it.
Action on the body
It is very useful for people suffering from insomnia to eat a small piece of meat of this fish for dinner. Melatonin, which is in its composition, has a calming effect, perfectly relaxes and prepares a person for sleep. As a rule, sleep after such a dinner is quite long and strong. Even a small piece of salmon can make up for the daily protein intake. People who regularly consume this fish have healthier and stronger teeth.
Doctors recommend that infertile couples include boiled or baked salmon in the daily menu. Vitamin B 6 in its composition helps women cope with gynecological diseases and improves sperm quality in men.
Salmon for pregnant
What are the benefits and harms of salmon for women during pregnancy? Its composition contains a sufficiently large amount of calcium, which is necessary for pregnant women. And also due to the fact that, in addition to calcium, vitamins A and D are present, which ensure full assimilation, this product has double value for the body. In addition, the meat of this fish contains folic acid, which favorably affects the development of the fetus. She is also responsible for the formation of red bodies, thereby preventing the occurrence of anemia.
Sufficiently low calorie content does not allow pregnant women to get better. Polyunsaturated acids and a huge supply of trace elements allows the fetus to fully form, and the mother does not feel discomfort due to her position.
How to salt
Despite the fact that the benefits and harms of salted salmon are in question, they prefer to use it in salt form. You can also pickle and smoke fish. For salting, choose fresh, intact carcasses. They should have shiny scales and transparent eyes. You can salt almost all the fish. For example, the abdomen of salmon has excellent taste. The trimmings can be salted a little more and used as a snack for beer. The pulp is usually salted with a weak solution. Of the head, an ear or aspic is most often made. It should be borne in mind that the benefits and harms of salted salmon differ little from salted.
In order for the final product to turn out juicy and soft, it is advisable to take large, rather than small, salt. Various spices and herbs are allowed. For cooking, you need a clean container of a suitable size, where the semi-finished product will be directly located. Experienced culinary experts advise using enamel bowls, any plastic containers and wide-necked glass jars. In a word, any container made not of wood or metal is suitable.
For one kilogram of pulp, you need six tablespoons of salt and sugar. The washed piece is slightly dried and coated with salt and sugar. After the layers of fish are stacked in containers, oppression is placed on top. After a day, you can eat fish.
Properties of salted fish
What are the benefits and harms of slightly salted salmon? A product obtained by salting, as a rule, retains all its useful components. Salt is an excellent preservative and also acts as a light disinfectant. If there is no confidence in the quality of the product, then it is advisable to put more than the prescribed amount of salt. After cooking, the fish can be held in water so that excess salt leaves the pulp. However, such an action is detrimental to the quality of the product; therefore, it is performed only as a last resort.
The benefits and harms of slightly salted salmon are completely dependent on the state of health. For example, a healthy person can eat salted or pickled fish in reasonable quantities. However, patients with renal and hepatic insufficiency, as well as people prone to pressure surges, should be careful and eat exclusively salted fish in small portions.
Buyer Tips
If there is no experience in carcass cutting, it is best to buy a ready-made fillet. When buying, you should pay attention to the condition of the fins. If they are yellowish in color, this means that the fish thawed several times and was frozen again. Such a product will be of poor quality, and then you can get harm from salmon. The benefits and therapeutic effects are directly related to the quality of the product. The meat from such procedures deteriorates and becomes soft. The best quality is chilled salmon, which is not subjected to freezing. Some buyers even sniff fish before buying because they do not trust sellers.
Such behavior is justified, given the accumulated negative experience in the purchase of such goods. Sometimes sellers specially freeze fish to increase shelf life. Also, fraud methods such as painting the fins and gills of the fish in pink are often used to hide the true shelf life.
Salmon belly: harm and benefit
The abdomen contains almost all of those vitamins and trace elements that are found in the rest of the fish. Abdomen are quite fat, and therefore high-calorie. If the salmon fillet contains about one hundred and fifty kilocalories, then the abdomen have three hundred and ten kilocalories per hundred grams of product. Thus, overweight people are undesirable to use this product. In the store they are sold both fresh and frozen. Most often they are salted or smoked. And also well-proven marinated belly.
Too many people consider the abdomen to be the most delicious part of salmon. However, this can be argued. The benefits and harms of salmon belly depend on the quality of the product. And also a huge amount of fat sometimes negatively affects the stomach if there are any abnormalities. When buying, you should pay attention to appearance and aroma. Sometimes they lack a pronounced fishy smell. This is due to the fact that the product is quite high quality and has not been frozen.
Salmon head
Of this part, fish is most often prepared as fish soup or aspic. The finished dish is not only rich in vitamins, but also a source of collagen and is of particular interest to patients with arthrosis and arthritis. Head preparation usually takes no more than twenty minutes. What is the benefit and harm of the head of salmon? The ear contains extremely few calories, so it can be used as a diet. For one head, you will need only four potatoes, one small carrot, a tablespoon of tomato paste and greens. All ingredients are cleaned and washed under running water, after which they are crushed and put into a pan. Salmon is placed near the end of cooking, after the vegetables soften. Otherwise, the fish may be digested.
How to use milk
Calorie content of milk is lower than that of fillet and is only one hundred calories. The benefits and harms of salmon milk are as follows. They contain a fairly decent amount of protein (seventeen grams) and a small amount of carbohydrates (about one gram). They also contain vitamins of groups B, E, PP and C. Among the trace elements, the greatest amount belongs to phosphorus, potassium and calcium. It is noteworthy that in the sturgeon milk nucleotides were found that are used by the human body to repair damaged chains. Thus, the aging process of the body slows down sharply, and the work of all organs improves.
The milk of adult fish is usually white in color, while in young fish it is pink. This product can be fried, added to the ear or salted. Sometimes they are made from paste or used in salads. However, despite the obvious benefits, it is not recommended to abuse this product. The usual daily allowance is not more than one hundred and fifty grams. In addition, milk is not given to young children.
Diet food
Baked salmon is part of so many therapeutic diets. What are the benefits and harms of salmon in the diet? Despite the presence of a sufficiently large amount of fat, it is recommended to use it even in diets for weight loss. This is primarily due to the fact that the fish is unusually fast and easy to digest and practically does not stay in the stomach. Moreover, it helps to digest the rest of the food, stimulating the digestive process. Fish oil has a beneficial effect on the mucous membrane of the stomach and on the pancreas. It practically does not contain carbohydrates, from which subcutaneous fat is obtained. In a word, this is one of the best products intended for a diet for obesity.
How is salmon stored
If you want to keep a salty or lightly salted product as long as possible, you will need a freezer. Try to cut fresh fish as soon as possible and send for storage. Pieces are thawed only in air, without using water for this purpose. Chilled salmon meat can be stored for five days, using for this purpose not a freezer, but a shelf in the refrigerator. The benefits and harms of Norwegian salmon are not much different from those grown elsewhere.
Interesting Facts
Due to the huge popularity of this fish among the population, a genetically modified salmon breed was bred in the United States that could satisfy high consumer demand. On a fish farm, salmon grows quite quickly and after a while reaches impressive size.
The natural color of salmon meat is gray, and due to its bright orange saturated hue, it owes a huge amount of dyes contained in the feed. Doctors warn that frequent use can cause an allergic reaction, as a result of accumulated harmful substances in the body. In addition, immunity is markedly reduced, and liver problems appear. Therefore, it is advisable to eat young fish of a small size. The older the salmon, the more unnecessary components there are in its composition. Thus, it is possible to balance the benefits and harms of salmon for the human body.