Choosing premium fuel: Eating fish lowers your chances of heart disease
Eating fish and seafood lowers your chances of heart disease and stroke.
Fish and seafood are low in saturated fat and rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and our bodies don’t produce omega-3 naturally, so eating fish that contains omega-3, particularly oily fish, is important for your heart.
The recommended 2-3 servings of fish a week make up a protein-packed, heart-healthy diet for the whole family to enjoy.
Fish with the highest levels of omega-3 include:
- salmon
- blue mackerel
- herring
- canned sardines
- canned salmon
- some varieties of canned tuna (check the label)
Other good sources of omega-3 include:
- barramundi
- bream
- flathead
- squid
- scallops (not the potato ones!)
- mussels
How do I eat more fish and seafood?
When you’re planning lunch consider including fish and seafood as a regular part of your weekly shopping list.
Frozen seafood may be a cheaper and more convenient choice to keep in mind when meal-planning or preparing for the weekly shop. Look out for weekly specials or ask your local fish supplier for best fish buys of the day.
The recommended serving size per person is 150g of fresh fish (about the size of your hand) and 100g of tinned fish in oil or spring water.
What is the best cooking method?
It is best to choose healthier cooking methods for fish such as grilling, steaming, barbequing, poaching, baking, or pan frying.
It is also important to cook your fish in a healthier oil like olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, or peanut oil. If you like crumbed fish, this can be ok if you choose to crumb it yourself in wholegrain breadcrumbs and cook using a healthier cooking method and a healthy oil.
The Heart Foundation doesn’t recommend battered fish, as it is generally deep fried.
It is important to remember that no single food exclusively promotes heart health over any other.
A consistent, heart-healthy eating pattern matters most. Generally choosing to eat healthier proteins will minimise your risk of heart disease (heart failure and sudden cardiac arrest) and stroke.
Where do I start?
Luckily, fish is a versatile protein that can be cooked in many ways. The Heart Foundation has curated many simple and delicious (and FREE!) recipes that showcase fish. Visit shop.heartfoundation.org.au/collections/ebooks/products/fish-recipe-ebook to download your copy of the Fish Recipes eBook.