Can you eat salmon every day? Can you eat too much salmon? These are common questions of people who desperately want to gain or lose weight safely. Underweight people often look for protein and fat sources that won’t harm their organs, while those who want to lose weight need to source the same nutrients without getting the bad stuff.
By the “bad stuff,” we refer to saturated fats and cholesterol. So what is the real deal with salmon, and can it be good for you to either lose or gain weight on purpose?
Salmon Health Benefits and Risks
Is salmon healthy? Salmon is comparable to tuna and other heart-friendly seafood. There are so many benefits when you regularly eat salmon:
- Salmon is rich in protein. Protein is vital to healing and building muscle. If you are currently engaged in losing weight and cutting fat, you need a stable and ‘clean’ protein source that won’t ruin your macronutrient ratios. You must always have a good source of protein at hand so your body can roll with the blows and develop strong muscles resulting from you working out.
- Salmon is naturally rich in the entire family of B-vitamins. Just one hundred grams of salmon already provides 51% RDA for vitamin B12 and 50% RDA for niacin. Eating salmon is like taking your multivitamins specifically to strengthen your muscles, bones, joints, and nervous system.
B-vitamins are also responsible for fixing broken DNA in the body and transforming food into usable forms. In short, if you lack B-vitamins in your diet, you are not going to be in a stable condition, whether you are gaining weight or losing weight. - Salmon is also a good source of astaxanthin, a special type of antioxidant that helps reduce cellular damage. As an antioxidant, astaxanthin appears to have a good effect on the LDL level of the body. LDL is responsible for the blockage of blood vessels, and it’s never a good idea to ignore rising LDL levels during your blood chemistry workup.
- Salmon can help reduce the risk of worsening heart disease, too. The presence of high levels of omega-3 fatty acids has been shown to affect the heart positively.
Is Salmon Good for Weight Gain?
In a nutshell, we can say that salmon is good for gaining a healthy amount of weight. People who need to gain weight often have metabolic issues that cause them to lose weight or burn off too many calories even if they do not do much.
Those with metabolic disorders need to eat more to stay alive. People who are chronically underweight need to gain weight because many side effects can cause lifelong issues in the affected patient. Problems like osteoporosis and a weakened immune system are all threats to a good way of life.
Food like salmon is a good pick for people who want to gain weight because they are high in protein and good fats. Protein is particularly important because it is the building block of amino acids widely used and dispersed throughout the body.
Is Salmon Too Fatty?
Is salmon high in fat? Yes, salmon is indeed high in fat, but the fact that fish carries is good for the heart and the body in general. “Fatty fish” may sound distasteful to people who want to take control of their weight, but there is certainly nothing wrong with switching fatty fish with fatty beef or fatty pork.
What’s great about the situation is that the US FDA has already qualified to claim that omega-3 fatty acids are indeed beneficial to the body because of the mounting scientific and medical evidence supporting the claim. The FDA rarely acts quickly, and it only approves claims when there is actual evidence, which is good news for salmon lovers.
Is It Safe to Eat Salmon Every Day?
There is nothing wrong with eating salmon every day, the same way that there is nothing wrong with obtaining your protein from other animals or fish daily. If anything, you should watch your caloric intake on the whole instead if you are worried about gaining weight.
A person’s caloric intake and not the protein source will dictate if there will be weight gains shortly. Shifting to salmon instead of a fattier protein source like beef and pork will help you create a more balanced diet.
If you thought that salmon would be the end of your weight loss days, then the answer is no. It won’t be your ticket to gaining weight. However, if you have issues, for example, with your kidneys or your heart and you would like to make sure, there is no harm in consulting with your physician about it if you are making a big change in your diet.
Overall, fish is recommended to people who suffer from different organ disorders, including high blood pressure and coronary heart disease, so there’s nothing wrong with salmon. Eating eight ounces of seafood is recommended per week.
Salmon contains nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids that improve the nerves, bones, and the cardiovascular system. The more you eat fish, the healthier your organs become. This is just one of many benefits of shifting to mostly fish in your diet.
What Happens If You Eat Too Much Salmon?
Eating seafood daily only poses a risk to breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women because of all seafood’s mercury content. If you are with a child or breastfeeding your child, we recommend consulting with your doctor first so you can ask which is the best recourse for your diet. If not, you can safely eat moderate amounts of all kinds of fish (including salmon) daily.
