Farmed salmon vs Wild caught?

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xxzenabxx
xxzenabxx Posts: 935 Member
I’ve been eating more salmon in general and I just found out that it’s farmed salmon so I did a search on google and all this scary info came up about the dangers of farmed salmon. Made me feel abit upset because there always seems to be something wrong with food these days and I love salmon as a protein source. Is it worth it to switch to wild caught salmon? Is farmed salmon really that bad???
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  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
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  • mutantspicy
    mutantspicy Posts: 624 Member
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    What's wrong with higher levels of Omega 6? Isn't that why people take fish oil and eat almonds?

    To the OP, Salmon is a fantastic source of protein. Don't let wierdo's ruin your diet. That said, I do prefer Fresh wild Caught Salmon, I have a fish monger that catches sockeye in northern Canada, those are so delicious. But I don't get bent out of shape, if they didn't have a good catch and I have to go the grocery store for farm raised stuff. Or sometimes its just more convenient to pick up what's at grocery while I'm there. No reason to get that picky.
  • amgreenwell
    amgreenwell Posts: 1,268 Member
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    I agree with most posters... wild caught fish , always. no reason to eat farmed fish when you don't have to. in restaurants I hear people asking all the time the source of their food. I think people are becoming more and more aware of what they are eating and it is making a difference in their lives and overall health. Do what you will but my advice is wild caught, since you asked.
  • WholeFoods4Lyfe
    WholeFoods4Lyfe Posts: 1,518 Member
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    What's wrong with higher levels of Omega 6? Isn't that why people take fish oil and eat almonds?

    To the OP, Salmon is a fantastic source of protein. Don't let wierdo's ruin your diet. That said, I do prefer Fresh wild Caught Salmon, I have a fish monger that catches sockeye in northern Canada, those are so delicious. But I don't get bent out of shape, if they didn't have a good catch and I have to go the grocery store for farm raised stuff. Or sometimes its just more convenient to pick up what's at grocery while I'm there. No reason to get that picky.

    There is nothing inherently wrong with Omega-6's, they are after all an Essential Fatty Acid. The problem is that most people consume 3's and 6's out of balance, the preferred ratio is 4:1 Omega-6 to Omega-3, with some even suggesting an ideal ratio of 1:1. Most people aren't getting anywhere near that with the average being more like 12:1. With Farmed Salmon, the Omega-6 amount is generally increased while the Omega-3 amount remains the same, thus throwing that ratio further out of whack.
  • Mandylou19912014
    Mandylou19912014 Posts: 208 Member
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    xxzenabxx wrote: »
    I’ve been eating more salmon in general and I just found out that it’s farmed salmon so I did a search on google and all this scary info came up about the dangers of farmed salmon. Made me feel abit upset because there always seems to be something wrong with food these days and I love salmon as a protein source. Is it worth it to switch to wild caught salmon? Is farmed salmon really that bad???

    I wouldn’t stress or worry yourself too much over it, if I’m honest I eat lots of salmon but never look at whether it’s farmed or wild, it all tastes the same to me .. it’s fish and it’s healthy for you. The internet does tend to put up a lot of scary stuff but you just can’t be sure if there is any truth behind it
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    xxzenabxx wrote: »
    I’ve been eating more salmon in general and I just found out that it’s farmed salmon so I did a search on google and all this scary info came up about the dangers of farmed salmon. Made me feel abit upset because there always seems to be something wrong with food these days and I love salmon as a protein source. Is it worth it to switch to wild caught salmon? Is farmed salmon really that bad???

    I wouldn’t stress or worry yourself too much over it, if I’m honest I eat lots of salmon but never look at whether it’s farmed or wild, it all tastes the same to me .. it’s fish and it’s healthy for you. The internet does tend to put up a lot of scary stuff but you just can’t be sure if there is any truth behind it

    By examining the basis for specific claims, we can determine if there is any truth behind statements made on the internet. It's not like we just have to throw up our hands and give up on the idea that we can understand reality.
  • mutantspicy
    mutantspicy Posts: 624 Member
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    What's wrong with higher levels of Omega 6? Isn't that why people take fish oil and eat almonds?

    To the OP, Salmon is a fantastic source of protein. Don't let wierdo's ruin your diet. That said, I do prefer Fresh wild Caught Salmon, I have a fish monger that catches sockeye in northern Canada, those are so delicious. But I don't get bent out of shape, if they didn't have a good catch and I have to go the grocery store for farm raised stuff. Or sometimes its just more convenient to pick up what's at grocery while I'm there. No reason to get that picky.

    There is nothing inherently wrong with Omega-6's, they are after all an Essential Fatty Acid. The problem is that most people consume 3's and 6's out of balance, the preferred ratio is 4:1 Omega-6 to Omega-3, with some even suggesting an ideal ratio of 1:1. Most people aren't getting anywhere near that with the average being more like 12:1. With Farmed Salmon, the Omega-6 amount is generally increased while the Omega-3 amount remains the same, thus throwing that ratio further out of whack.

    If you are still getting the same amount of omega 3, I don't see how getting some extra omega 6 is something to be concerned about, not even a little bit.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
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    I agree with most posters... wild caught fish , always. no reason to eat farmed fish when you don't have to. in restaurants I hear people asking all the time the source of their food. I think people are becoming more and more aware of what they are eating and it is making a difference in their lives and overall health. Do what you will but my advice is wild caught, since you asked.

    Is it really making a difference to their lives and overall health though?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Options
    What's wrong with higher levels of Omega 6? Isn't that why people take fish oil and eat almonds?

    To the OP, Salmon is a fantastic source of protein. Don't let wierdo's ruin your diet. That said, I do prefer Fresh wild Caught Salmon, I have a fish monger that catches sockeye in northern Canada, those are so delicious. But I don't get bent out of shape, if they didn't have a good catch and I have to go the grocery store for farm raised stuff. Or sometimes its just more convenient to pick up what's at grocery while I'm there. No reason to get that picky.

    There is nothing inherently wrong with Omega-6's, they are after all an Essential Fatty Acid. The problem is that most people consume 3's and 6's out of balance, the preferred ratio is 4:1 Omega-6 to Omega-3, with some even suggesting an ideal ratio of 1:1. Most people aren't getting anywhere near that with the average being more like 12:1. With Farmed Salmon, the Omega-6 amount is generally increased while the Omega-3 amount remains the same, thus throwing that ratio further out of whack.

    If you are still getting the same amount of omega 3, I don't see how getting some extra omega 6 is something to be concerned about, not even a little bit.

    My understanding is that experts currently disagree whether or not the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 is important in your diet. If you're getting sufficient omega-3 but consuming more omega-6, some would consider that to be potentially risky.
  • mutantspicy
    mutantspicy Posts: 624 Member
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    As far as PCB's go, well let me just say that there are far more PCB's in wild caught bluegill in Michigan in land lakes than there are in farm raised salmon. I've never seen a study on our Big Lake Salmon and Trout in michigan versus farm raised. It kinda depends on where you are at I should think. If you are farming fish in a heavily polluted area perhaps. But since most Salmon farms are in the ocean, I don't believe your story Most of that scare comes from some really horrible cases from Catfish farms, which were in land ponds/lake, and catfish are bottom suckers. Also, if you're scared about it just don't eat the skin and fatty edges.
  • WholeFoods4Lyfe
    WholeFoods4Lyfe Posts: 1,518 Member
    Options
    What's wrong with higher levels of Omega 6? Isn't that why people take fish oil and eat almonds?

    To the OP, Salmon is a fantastic source of protein. Don't let wierdo's ruin your diet. That said, I do prefer Fresh wild Caught Salmon, I have a fish monger that catches sockeye in northern Canada, those are so delicious. But I don't get bent out of shape, if they didn't have a good catch and I have to go the grocery store for farm raised stuff. Or sometimes its just more convenient to pick up what's at grocery while I'm there. No reason to get that picky.

    There is nothing inherently wrong with Omega-6's, they are after all an Essential Fatty Acid. The problem is that most people consume 3's and 6's out of balance, the preferred ratio is 4:1 Omega-6 to Omega-3, with some even suggesting an ideal ratio of 1:1. Most people aren't getting anywhere near that with the average being more like 12:1. With Farmed Salmon, the Omega-6 amount is generally increased while the Omega-3 amount remains the same, thus throwing that ratio further out of whack.

    If you are still getting the same amount of omega 3, I don't see how getting some extra omega 6 is something to be concerned about, not even a little bit.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12442909