Seafood and fish are generally considered healthy for the body. However, there are times when the cooking method or the method of preparation can cause some downsides to your health. In today’s blog, we shall consider some of the factors that may affect your health when consuming smoked salmon.
Is Smoked Salmon Good for You? Why is smoked salmon terrible for you?
Like other kinds of food, smoked salmon can have some adverse effects on the body if eaten in excess. For one, 100 grams of smoked salmon already provides more than 50% of the RDA for salt.
If you are a salt-sensitive individual, say, for example, you have hypertension, eating too much-smoked salmon can trigger hypertension. The only answer to this is to moderate your consumption of smoked salmon. If you want salmon’s flavor, shift over to eating fresh salmon instead, not smoked salmon, as smoked salmon is prepared differently.
There is also some scientific evidence that links the consumption of smoked salmon with a higher risk of developing cancer. Those at risk of colon cancer should take heed. However, this is not tied to just one type of food.
All processed foods, grilled food, and smoked food pose this risk. It has something to do with the deposition of smoke and carbon in the meat’s tissue that produces the risk of colon cancer and other kinds of cancers. There is also some additional evidence that smoked salmon can predispose people to develop a listeriosis condition.
Cold-smoked salmon has a higher likelihood of giving you a listeria infection than hot-smoked salmon.
The risk of picking up a disease because smoked salmon is higher in children and the elderly, precisely because they have lower immunity. The risk of listeria infection is virtually non-existent in the canned variety of smoked salmon, so if you know anyone who is elderly and still likes smoked fish, you may want to recommend getting the canned variety instead.
Is Smoked Salmon Carcinogenic?
Based on the American Institute for Cancer Research statement, there is a real risk of developing certain cancers when regularly consuming grilled meats, cured fish, smoked fish, and the like.
While the evidence is somehow gray because there is still a huge need to continue the research, people with cancer risks must take heed of the warning and limit their consumption of processed, cured, and smoked fish and meats. This is a general guideline, to be on the safe side.
The WHO also categorizes processed meat products as potentially cancer-causing. This pronouncement, admittedly, created a big stir in the medical community because doctors are always careful about using the term “cause,” which establishes a direct route of causation between a condition and a possible trigger.
Can I Eat Smoked Salmon Every Day?
Smoked Salmon Pregnancy: Can you eat smoked salmon while pregnant?
Pregnant women can continue consuming smoked salmon provided that the fish has been cooked to the safe internal temperature of 165°F or 73°C. The safest is the shelf-stable form of any salmon, whether smoked, fresh, or blast-frozen. As discussed earlier, cold-smoked salmon pose a higher risk of giving people listeria infections, so reconsider if you are pregnant. Pregnant women are considered somewhat immunocompromised because of their physical state, so it’s essential to watch what you eat so that you won’t harm yourself or the baby.
What happens when a pregnant woman catches listeria before giving birth? According to some studies, listeria infection can cause a miscarriage (the worst possible side effect), meningitis (of the mother), low birth weight, and premature delivery.
Keep in mind that all kinds of infections can cause undue stress to a pregnant mother and trigger a series of events that can lead to the events above. This is the main reason why it is so crucial for pregnant mothers to watch what they eat.
Another potential problem with eating cold-smoked salmon is the risk of getting tapeworms.
Tapeworms are exceedingly common in different kinds of fish, and in most cases, they’re not deadly, but they can be a health hazard all the same. A pregnant mother can develop symptoms like diarrhea, nausea, and different body pains after getting infected by the worm.
The best way to deal with the unseen parasites in fish is by deep-freezing them. If this is not an option, then you can always cook salmon to the safe internal temperature we’ve stated above. Yes, it is tricky to prepare fish, especially if you want to keep yourself safe from bacteria.
Smoked Salmon Nutrition
Smoked salmon calories are 63.9 calories per 28 grams of cooked, smoked salmon. Salmon cholesterol is zero, which makes this a genuinely heart-friendly piece of fish. Smoked salmon also provides 18 grams of protein for every 100 grams, four grams of fat. The trace nutrients found in salmon are fantastic. You get 13% of your RDA for phosphorous, 26% RDA for copper, etc.
Summary
Seafood, in general, features excellent sources of protein and healthy fats. If you wish to mitigate the effects of a bad diet and eat protein that won’t jack up your cholesterol levels, you can eat more salmon. However, in most cases, fresh salmon is safer to eat because there are far fewer risk factors involved. Smoked salmon, especially cold-smoked salmon, are marked as potentially carcinogenic because of how they have been prepared.
Specifically, pregnant women should avoid undercooked fish because of the risk of potentially picking up listeria and tapeworms. Pregnant women also tend to have lower immunity, which can be the cause of infections springing up. And if you are thinking of cold-smoking fish at home, know that cold-smoking does not kill pathogens and parasites, and can cause foodborne illness if done improperly.
