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Does cooking fish destroy Omega 3’s?
If the fatty acid course inspired you to add more Omega 3’s from fish to your diet, then these tips can help you on your way! But first a summary. Meet the members of the omega 3 family:EPA & DHA
Or Eicosapentaenoic acid(EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid(DHA)… Who names these things right?But the complicated names come from old greek numbers telling what the molecules look like. Eicosa & Penta in EPA stands for 20 and 5. 20 meaning the number of carbon atoms in the molecule. The second number, 5 tells you how many double-bounds between the carbon atoms there are. Docosa & Hexa in DHA tells you there are 22 carbon atoms in there from which 6 are double bounds.
It is the number of double bonds that make EPA and DHA so healthy, but also so sensitive to heat & light. This is why your omega 3 supplements should be stored in dark bottles in the fridge.
ALA
ALA or alpha-linoleic acid is also a member of the Omega 3 family. ALA is found in Chia seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, flaxseeds and algal oil are all good sources of ALA. ALA can be converted to EPA & DHA by the body, but the conversion goes poorly: less than 5% gets converted to EPA and less than 0.5% gets converted to DHA according to this study.This is important because ALA does not give you the same health benefits as DHA & EPA do.
This is why plant-based omega 3’s usually aren’t comparable to marine-based omega 3’s. By the way, it isn’t that ALA doesn’t have health benefits, but they aren’t the same as EPA & DHA. For example:- You need EPA & DHA (and vitamin D!) to produce serotonin in the brain and not ALA. (Are you feeling nerdy today? Here is the study!)
- EPA & DHA are precursors for different so-called specialized pro-resolving mediators (like resolvins & protectins). These mediators help for example to resolve inflammation by getting rid of their byproducts.
- DHA is an essential nutrient for your brain. Or like this study says: “DHA is necessary for normal brain function“. A shortage of DHA is associated with poorer learning abilities, but also with greater risk for brain-related diseases like Alzheimer’s, Depression and Parkinson’s.
Does cooking fish destroy omega 3’s?
Like I said earlier: EPA & DHA are sensitive to heat, so what does that mean when you cook your fish according to science?Tuna
Deep-frying tuna reduced the omega 3 content dramatically according to this study. Researchers discovered that 70-85% of the Omega 3’s were destroyed in the frying process.Canning totally destroyed EPA & DHA content in the tuna according to the same study.
Cooking, fortunately, had a minimal impact.
Microwaving had a slightly bigger impact on the DHA & EPA content, but was also considered to have a minimal impact on the omega 3 content.
Salmon
Smoking salmon helps to preserve the DHA and EPA content over time compared to vacuum-packed raw salmon according to this study. Especially cold smoking was more effective (compared to hot smoking).This means that if you have the choice between vacuum-packed raw or smoked salmon in your supermarket, choose smoked if your goal is getting enough omega-3 fatty acids.
Oven Baking salmon at around 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) for 15 minutes did not change the EPA & DHA content much according to this study.
Pan frying salmon filets at the same temperature for 10 minutes the salmon filets did reduce the EPA & DHA content a bit according to the same study.
Boiling salmon for 10 minutes however didn’t reduce the amount of EPA & DHA.
Sardine
Frying sardines reduced the omega 3/omega 6 ratios from 9.4 to 2.6 or less. If you are going to fry sardines, do it in olive oil, which seems to protect the omega 3’s better according to this studyBaking in the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) did retain the DHA & EPA content. Fortunately 🙂
I’m quite sure more research needs to be done in this area. It amazed me how hard it was to find some research! But in my search, I saw many other studies. Not surprisingly maybe, but deep-frying seemed to reduce the omega 3’s every time. Sometimes more than others. But always significantly!
Here you have it! The best ways to cook your fish according to current science!
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1 Reply
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Love how you found studies for all of these. Can you please share the references as well? I’d love to read them too.
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