Careful Ordering Salmon
I’ve been trying to eat more salmon lately as my cholesterol is inching up. Just a quick heads up. The last two times I have been in a restaurant they have had “Atlantic Salmon” on the menu. Both times I have asked if in fact it was wild caught Atlantic Salmon and both times the waitress has come back and said that it was in fact farm raised. I guess the water they raise them in comes from the Atlantic? Buyer beware. I guess if they don’t say “wild caught”, you need to ask.
Michael Boyle's Strengthcoach.com Blog 
March 30, 2013 at 4:16 am
Thanks for the link Brady
For the best in Boston area sports and personal training go to http://www.bodybyboyle.com. For the best in performance enhancement information go to http://www.strengthcoach.com MBSC was recently named one of America’s Top Gyms By Men’s Health Magazine and was voted Boston’s best personal trainers for 2011.
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March 30, 2013 at 4:15 am
I wrote an article about the cholesterol myth on elitefts.com
http://articles.elitefts.com/nutrition/mighty-cholesterol/
March 25, 2013 at 12:29 pm
Just ordered The Great Cholesterol Myth on Amazon.
March 25, 2013 at 12:28 pm
I had Faroe Island Salmon last night which it turns out is also farmed but still gets a high rating based on the quality of the farm?
For the best in Boston area sports and personal training go to http://www.bodybyboyle.com. For the best in performance enhancement information go to http://www.strengthcoach.com MBSC was recently named one of America’s Top Gyms By Men’s Health Magazine and was voted Boston’s best personal trainers for 2011.
Please note our new address and phone number. 29 Draper St. , Woburn 01801 Take Montvale Ave toward Woburn. 2nd left after Washington is Nashua. Nashua becomes Draper. Last building on the right. 781-938-1330
March 24, 2013 at 5:02 pm
Mike: I’ll assume you’re talking about restaurant ordering? If so, then oysters are both good omega-3’s and outstanding environmental choices. Alabcore tuna (pole caught) is good. I’d echo a rec for rainbow trout as even the farmed varieties seem a good choice. For salmon, you want to look for Coho (better for environment and fat profile) or Alaskan (which doesn’t have farms but rather carefully tracks their populations and restricts total fishing). To my knowledge, farm-raised “Alaskan” salmon does not exist – it’s all wild caught.
Hope that helps…and hope you’re well!
I wouldn’t call serum cholesterol a “myth.” Sure it’s more complicated than total or HDL:LDL ratio. However, it’s not a wholesale myth – it’s a piece of the puzzle as are many other things. Diet x gene x lifestyle interactions are far too complicated to go about labeling things that way, unless of course your goal is to sell books.
March 23, 2013 at 4:48 am
I agree with Brent. This whole cholesterol thing is getting out of control. As for fish, its unfortunate that atlantic fish tends to be farmed. Try to look for sockey eor alaskan salmon if possible. It might be easier to find that canned.
March 22, 2013 at 5:02 pm
“I’ve been trying to eat more salmon lately as my cholesterol is inching up”
High cholesterol isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Pure HDL and LDL numbers don’t tell the whole story. In regards to LDL, it has quite a bit more to do with LDL particle size than the number itself. I could go on and on but I highly suggest reading “The Great Cholesterol Myth: why lowering your cholesterol won’t prevent heart disease” It’s a must read in my opinion as it isn’t as sciency as many other nutrition books I have read (and has a ridiculous amount of citations to prove its point). It gets right to the point, says what numbers matter, and what to look out for when getting your cholesterol tested.
It’s pretty disturbing actually how much our society has been duped into believing (and continuing to believe) that cholesterol and saturated fat is bad and we should focus only on lean (and of course very lean) protein. The amount of lives bad science has costs in regards to nutrition is seriously messed up.
March 21, 2013 at 5:07 pm
It is interesting the lengths that some will go to imply a ‘healthier food option’ with careful word choice in their advertisement. I have found that a lot of fish served in restaurants is typically farmed (for financial and convenience reasons, I assume) unless they specifically state that it is wild caught. Sometimes there will even be a label saying that the fish contains omega-3, without stating what the ratio is or how it was raised or caught. Definitely ask the 2nd and 3rd level questions to find out the true source and attributes of the fish that you are being served.