The Health Benefits of Eating Sardines

Sardines, a tiny, sleek and silvery canned fish, are one of the few foods that contain Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), a nutrient found the body's cells. In a nutshell, it's believed to have antioxidant properties and is said to enhance physical energy. Studies have also found that CoQ10 benefits those with cardiovascular diseases, particularly hypertension and congestive heart failure. In addition to CoQ10, these little nutritional powerhouses are also ample sources of vitamin B12, selenium, omega-3 oils, protein, phosphorus and vitamin D.

Some folks have long been aware of the health benefits of eating sardines. In a 1984 issue of the Town & Country magazine, James Villas wrote an article entitled "The Unsung Sardine" in which he said that "ounce for ounce, sardines provide more calcium and phosphorus than milk, more protein than steak, more potassium than bananas, and more iron than cooked spinach."

Today, a growing number of health care providers and nutritional experts are consistently touting the benefits of CoQ10, omega-3 oils, selenium, and vitamins B12 and D when it comes to cardiovascular health, memory, joints, skin and energy levels. But few of them are recommending eating sardines as a good source of these nutrients. It could be health care providers either aren't aware of the health benefits sardines hold, or they know that many people who've tried sardines were put off the moment they opened a tin of smelly, tightly-packed and maybe mushy little fish.

However, it may be time to take another look - or better yet, another smell and taste of this little fish, beginning with being very selective about what "kind" of sardine you buy.

To begin with, not all sardines are created equal. In fact, there really is no such fish as a sardine. The term merely refers to a variety of small fish belonging to the herring family. That being the case, sardines often vary significantly from tin to tin. Those found on most grocery store shelves aren't a "true" sardine, but another small oily fish in the herring family. A "true" sardine, named after the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, will come from clean Moroccan, Portuguese or Mediterranean waters. When sardines from these clean waters are canned within hours of the catch, they're fresh and will not smell "fishy" like most canned sardines that have been frozen prior to processing. Most health food grocery markets will carry "true" sardines, or they can be ordered online from select companies.

The World's Healthiest Foods (WHF) website, a not-for-profit foundation independent of the influences of commercial interests, offers some compelling scientific information about the health benefits of eating sardines. In addition to the nutrients already mentioned, WHF says sardines are also an excellent source of tryptophan, an essential amino acid.

So, before turning up our noses at the thought of eating smelly sardines, there's sufficient evidence to suggest there are significant health benefits to adding good quality sardines to our diets.

Resources:

Town & Country magazine, 1984, "The Unsung Sardine," Author James Villas

World's Healthiest Foods; http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=147