The difficulty with salmon nutrition facts is that not all salmons are created equal. There’s a
slight difference between what’s in farmed salmon and what’s in wild-caught salmon.
Below you will find the USDA’s salmon nutrition facts on a general 3 oz piece of salmon.
Because there is a lot of confusing information out there on salmon, you will also find these common salmon questions…
Why is salmon healthy?
What is the healthiest salmon to eat: farmed or wild-caught? And doesn’t it have a lot of mercury?
Should I eat the skin?
What’s the healthiest way to cook salmon? And how can I tell when it’s done?
Salmon nutrition facts
The nutrition facts for eating 3 oz of salmon are…
175 Calories
0 g Carbs
19 g Protein
10 g Fat
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Thiamin
Niacin
Vitamin B6
Folate
Choline
Phosphorous
Selenium
Why is salmon healthy?
Have you ever been told to eat something because it’s healthy but never told why it’s healthy?
It’s annoying, I know. So, here’s why salmon is healthy.
The healthy fats (omega 3 fats) in salmon are one of the many bonuses of adding salmon to your diet.
These healthy fats feed the good bacteria in your gut and help fight inflammation (which may be the root of your health problems). They also are needed to keep your immune system, brain, and heart healthy.
And, salmon is great for getting more vitamin D in your diet. Vitamin D is important to keep your bones, thyroid, heart, and immune system healthy.
There are many other nutrients in salmon that help meet your body’s needs. (If we were to talk about each nutrient and its benefits, we’d be here for a while.)
So, to sum up why salmon is healthy: it’s packed full of nutrients.
I know salmon is expensive, but let’s see how it compares to a fast food burger.
Locally, I can get wild-caught salmon for $0.94 per oz, so that means 3 oz of salmon is $2.82.
Salmon provides 10% or more of your daily needs for 10 nutrients (including omega 3 fats).
That means you’re paying $0.28 per nutrient ($2.82/10) for 3 oz of salmon.
Now, at McDonald’s, you can get a simple hamburger for $1.
The hamburger, according to McDonald’s nutrition calculator, provides 10% or more of your daily needs for 1 nutrient.
That means you’re paying $1 per nutrient ($1/1) for a McDonald’s hamburger.
Sidenote: I know this is not exactly a fair comparison. But, this was to prove the point that the price you pay for food does not indicate what your body is actually getting from the food.
Cheaper does not mean healthier. (That’s a hard one for me because I can be really frugal.)
Often, you’d have to buy several cheap foods (i.e. processed convenience foods) to get the benefit of one slightly more expensive food (i.e. non-processed foods). So price comes out the same, really.
However, with cheap convenience foods, many of the nutrients are taken out so they don’t spoil as fast. So, eating convenience foods will not give you the benefits of eating minimally-processed foods. No matter how many more convenience foods you eat.
In the end, though, you have to find the balance between money, convenience, and healthiness that you’re at peace with.
What is the healthiest salmon to eat? And doesn’t it have a lot of mercury?
There is a huge debate going on between which salmon is healthier: farmed or wild caught?
So you can decide what to believe, here are the facts behind the two sides…
Pro-Farmed Salmon:
Those who are pro-farmed salmon are not necessarily anti-wild salmon. But, they have different beliefs when it comes to farmed salmon.
Here are those beliefs…
Catching wild salmon can’t meet the high demands for salmon
Anti-farmed salmon beliefs are exaggerated
Levels of toxins in farmed salmon are similar to those in wild-caught salmon
Health benefits of farmed and wild-caught salmon are the same
Farmed salmon has more omega-3 fats
Eating any kind of salmon is better than not eating any
Anti-farmed/Pro-wild salmon:
There is growing interest in eating wild-caught over farmed salmon.
Caution: There is a need for more research to be done to confirm some of these claims.
Here are those beliefs…
Farmed salmon has more fat (and more calories) than wild-caught salmon
More fat in farmed salmon allows for more toxins to be stored
Farmed salmon can have up to 5-10 times more toxins than wild-caught
Antibiotics, vaccines, and pesticides may be used on farmed salmon (not wild-caught)
A synthetic dye is given to farmed salmon to give it a pink color
Farmed salmon is fed fishmeal and fish oil that is full of toxins (more research needed)
Now that you have both sides of the debate, you can decide for yourself if you should eat farmed or wild-caught salmon.
I still encourage you to look into the debate yourself to double check what I’ve said is true.
As for the mercury issue…
Salmon has less mercury and more beneficial nutrients than most other fish. The benefits you get from salmon make its benefits far outweigh its risks. That is, unless you don’t want to eat any mercury, then you better stick to other meats.
But, the fish with the highest amounts of mercury that you’ll need to avoid are fish that eat other fish. This includes shark, swordfish, and king mackerel.
Should I eat salmon skin?
Some research shows that removing the skin of salmon lowers how many toxins you’d be eating with salmon.
Other research shows that it doesn’t matter if you remove the skin or not.
So, if you want to do whatever you can to lower toxins you may be eating, then don’t eat the skin. If you don’t care, then it’s whatever you prefer (skin or no skin).
Best way to cook salmon? And how can I tell when salmon is done cooking?
Salmon can be baked, broiled, grilled, smoked, pan-seared, raw, or fried.
But, what is the best way to cook salmon?
That really depends on your preference. But, a popular way to cook salmon is to bake it in the oven.
I recommend trying out different ways of cooking it until you find what you like best.
However, frying salmon is not the best way of cooking salmon. The high temperature of frying kills a lot of good nutrients in foods. Also, frying uses oil that throws off the balance of healthy fat from the salmon (just as we talked about with chicken).
I did read in some places that baking salmon allows some of the fat to seep out. Since toxins are in fat, not eating that fat is a way to lower the toxins you eat.
However, the healthy omega-3 fats are also in fat. So, you also lower the amount of healthy omega-3 fats if you don’t eat the fat that seeps out.
In the end, it’s really up to you to decide what you want to do.
As for how to tell when salmon is done cooking…
One way is to stick a fork in the salmon to see if it’s firm but splits apart with a little pressure. If the salmon flakes, it’s overcooked.
Another way to tell is when the center is the only part that is still translucent. If the salmon is opaque all over, you’ve overcooked it.
Lastly, you can test if salmon is done by checking the temperature at the thickest part. Take the salmon off the heat when it reaches 140° and let it rest for 10 minutes.
When taking salmon off the heat, you’re taking it off before it’s completely cooked. This is because salmon continues to cook after you take it off. If you wait until the salmon is fully cooked before taking it off, then it will be overcooked.
Other ways to tell if the salmon is overcooked is if it has a fishy taste and/or is dry.
Sidenote: if you prefer your meats rare, take the salmon off the heat a few minutes earlier.
To recap, we just talked about…
Salmon nutrition facts
Why is salmon healthy?
What is the healthiest salmon to eat: farmed or wild-caught? And doesn’t it have a lot of mercury?
Should I eat the skin?
What’s the healthiest way to cook salmon? And how can I tell when it’s done?
If you missed the answer to if farmed or wild-caught salmon is healthier, be sure to check it out. You may be surprised to hear what the pro-wild salmon side is saying about farmed salmon. It’s definitely something to consider when deciding which type of salmon is best for you and your family.
Before you go, I’m curious… Do you have anything to add to better answer these common salmon questions? Or do you have any questions of your own that you’d like answered? Let me know in the comments below!