7 Health Benefits of Tuna (Backed by Science)

The priceless qualities of tuna cooked in its own juices have made it one of the most sought after in the list of popular seafood. The low calorie content and aristocratic taste of the meat of the oceanic predator have found recognition not only among gourmets, but have also become a real boon for people suffering from excess weight.

Including ocean-dwelling dishes in your diet for weight loss means you have a real opportunity to quickly lose a few kilograms without any risk to your health.

Dietary properties:

How many calories are in tuna, what dietary properties it has, all this is of great interest to those who lead a healthy lifestyle and monitor their health and figure. So we will try to answer these questions in the next article.

So here it is:

In the seas of the tropics and subtropics there is a huge fish - tuna, which is one of the largest representatives of the mackerel family.

The meat of this fish has truly extraordinary taste, for which culinary experts have dubbed it “veal of the sea.”

Researchers from the Netherlands have proven through experiments that regular inclusion of this fish in the diet (at least 30 grams per day), due to its high content of the Omega-3 fat complex, halves the likelihood of developing cardiovascular diseases. It is a rich source of various microelements necessary for humans (for example, phosphorus, selenium, calcium, magnesium, iron), as well as vitamins and essential amino acids.

Eating this fish helps strengthen the immune system, helping the active synthesis of antibodies and reducing the risk of allergic reactions, it is useful for the rapid elimination of inflammatory processes, and can serve for the prevention of cancer. Tuna will also be useful for patients during treatment of cancer; it improves vision, protects us from depression and helps reduce pain from arthritis and arthrosis.

Meat

Tuna meat is in great demand in the seafood market. It is called sea veal for its dense texture and beef-like taste.

The popularity and value of tuna, as the fish is called in a number of countries, is evidenced by the fact that a 220-kilogram Atlantic giant was sold at an auction in Tokyo in 2013 for one million eight hundred thousand US dollars.

It is considered a delicacy product. It is eaten fresh or canned. In a number of countries, consumption exceeds 50% of all types of fish.

What colour

Cross-section of tuna

The color of the meat is clearly visible in the cross-section of the carcass. It consists of light, pink-tinged, and dark fibers. The color of the light muscle tissue of the fish varies from light pink to dark red, reminiscent of beef. This is explained by the content of oxygenated protein in the muscles - myoglobin.

Bony or not?

The tuna skeleton contains spinal and rib bones. It has no small bones in its dorsal part. This contributes to the rational cutting of the carcass and the production of high-quality fillets and steaks.

Suitable Products

Tuna fillet steaks

950 rub. for 1 Kg. (retail)

Packaging: 0.5 kg+, vacuum

Order

+ More tuna products

Smell

The smell is not typical "fishy". When fresh, it conveys subtle aromas of the sea. When cooked, especially when fried, it is more reminiscent of the smell of roast pork.

What does it taste like?

The taste of meat depends on which part of the carcass it is selected from. Light muscle tissue tastes like young beef or chicken. It tastes more delicious when fried, boiled, or canned. Sirloin pieces are cut from muscle fibers. Dark meat, which has a brown color, tastes worse than light meat, but it is rich in iron.

The positive qualities of tuna, including taste, are highly valued by many peoples. Artists and writers turned to him in their works. Hemingway praised tuna. Another world-famous Spaniard, Salvador Dali, captured the fight with a beautiful fish on the large canvas “Tuna Fishing.”

Salvador Dali "Tuna Fishing"

Fatty fish or not?

Meat belongs to the line of dietary products. Due to the active lifestyle of the fish, constant movement, it contains little fat. Small fat reserves are concentrated in the liver and intestines.

Can it be eaten raw?

Tuna is constantly located in the thickness of sea water, having little contact with bottom sediments, vegetation, and plankton. Therefore, the likelihood of fish becoming infected with helminths and viral infections is reduced to zero. Eating meat raw is possible. Tuna is widely used in the preparation of sushi, rolls, and sandwiches. Fans prepare corned beef and balyk from fillet. The taste of pieces of lightly salted fish improves when dried.

How much can you eat?

The fairly low calorie content of tuna meat with a high protein content puts it in one of the first places among products that have a positive effect on human health. Regular, moderate consumption of the product helps improve well-being and the general condition of the body. Recommended consumption of tuna meat per person is 1-2 times a week. A serving of fish dish should be 125-150 grams. You can consume fish daily. In this case, the norm should be 30-40 grams per day.

Grilled Toro Tuna Fillet in 25 Minutes

Recipe? Recipe!

How to cook this fish at home? Here is one of the recipes:

Tuna in tomato:

Products:

• Tuna -1 kg.
• Onions - 2 pieces
• Tomatoes -1 kg.
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Wine (white) – ½ glass
• Oil, salt and pepper - to taste
• Breadcrumbs, parsley - also to taste

The fish is cleaned of bones and skin, salted and peppered. Then roll in flour and fry. Separately, lightly fry the chopped onion and garlic (in olive oil), and then add the tomatoes and simmer everything together until a thick mass is obtained. The resulting mass is wiped in a colander, salt, sugar, wine and spices are added to it - to your taste. This will give us the sauce.

Place the finished sauce on a heat-resistant tray, place pieces of fried tuna on top of the sauce, sprinkle everything on top with breadcrumbs and parsley and place the tray in the oven until browned. The fish is served on the table in the same tray.

Botanical description

The largest tuna caught off the coast of New Zealand in 2012 weighed 335 kg. This is a large commercial fish that rarely harbors parasites. Thanks to this, a large number of exquisite raw delicacies are prepared from its meat. The life of a tuna is not possible without constant movement. Massive lateral muscles, a fusiform body narrowed to the end, a sickle-shaped dorsal fin, and a leathery keel on the caudal peduncle ensure fast and long swimming of the individual in the Azov, Japanese, Black, Barents Seas and the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. The fish stay in large schools.

Tuna are excellent swimmers, reaching speeds of up to 77 km/h in pursuit of food. The main food is crustaceans, mollusks and small fish (herring, mackerel, sardine).

Tuna meat is colored red due to the presence of the iron-containing protein myoglobin, produced during “high-speed” movement in the muscles. The ability to lay eggs occurs in females at the age of three. Spawning occurs in June-July in the warm waters of the subtropics. The fish is extremely prolific and can lay 10 million eggs per year.

Subspecies

Regular (red) tuna

Habitat: equatorial waters of the Atlantic and northeastern Indian Oceans, Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas, Gulf of Mexico. Red tuna is rarely found in the Barents Sea and off the coast of Greenland. The largest representative of this species reached 4.58 m in length and weighed 684 kg.

Atlantic (black) tuna

Distinctive features of the species are its compact size and yellowish sides. The length of adult specimens, as a rule, does not exceed 1 m, and the weight is 20 kg. Atlantic tuna has the shortest lifespan, which does not exceed 6 years. This species is distributed only in the warm seas of the western Atlantic (from Cape Cod to the coast of Brazil).

Bluefin tuna

It is the largest species. Its thick body has the shape of a circle in cross section. The maximum weight reaches 690 kg, and the length is 4.6 m. The large scales resemble a shell along the lateral line. Bluefin tuna is of the greatest commercial importance. The habitat is very wide and stretches from polar to tropical ocean waters.

Yellowfin (yellowtail) tuna

A distinctive feature is the bright yellow color of the rear fins. An adult representative of the species has 20 vertical stripes on its silvery abdomen, reaches 2.4 m in length and gains weight up to 200 kg. Habitat: tropical and temperate latitudes, except the Mediterranean Sea.

White (albacore) tuna

It is famous for its fatty meat, which is considered the most valuable among the mackerel representatives. Lives in tropical, temperate latitudes of the ocean. This is a small fish, weighing about 20 kg.

Interestingly, tuna ranks second in popularity among seafood, giving way to shrimp. The largest consumer of red fish meat is Japan. Every year, residents of the Land of the Rising Sun consume more than 43 thousand tons of tuna. In France, the taste of fish is equated to steamed veal.

It is believed that tuna meat is absolutely safe to eat even raw, since it is not infected with parasites.

What are the benefits of tuna for weight loss?

First of all, I would really like to note that eating this fish for dietary purposes is an excellent way to lose extra pounds without losing muscle mass. The fact is that in the process of losing weight it is very important not to completely lose fat in the diet, otherwise the body will not burn its own fat on the internal organs. Another thing is that during the diet you need to consume the right fats, which will stimulate the burning of internal excess reserves.

Tuna goes best with fruit vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers) and leafy vegetables (lettuce, iceberg, Chinese cabbage). An excellent addition to the salad can be onions, a stalk of celery, green peas, corn, basil sprigs and pine nuts.

One condition is that diet dishes should not be seasoned with mayonnaise, even low-calorie ones; it is best to sprinkle them with lemon juice and pour a little olive oil over them. Only with this approach to nutrition will your figure soon become slim, your skin will become elastic, and your nervous system will be in perfect order.

Chemical composition

The nutritional value of salted and smoked tuna is 139 kcal per 100 g, boiled - 103 kcal, fried - 254 kcal.
Fish contains 19% fat and 22% protein. 100 g of product contains 400% of the daily requirement of cobalt, 180% chromium, 77.5% niacin, 40% pyridoxine, 35% phosphorus, 33% iodine, 20% thiamine, 19% sulfur, 14% potassium. Table No. 1 “Nutritional value of tuna”

Table No. 2 “Chemical composition of sweet tuna”

Tuna is a unique bony fish that can maintain heat in the main parts of its body. She, like most fish, passes cold water through gills, which are 30 times larger in area than those of other bodies of water. In addition, tuna has a heat exchange system that retains heat. The body of mackerel representatives is covered with parallel blood vessels, ensuring the movement of warm and cold blood in opposite directions. Thanks to this feature, heat is retained in the tissues and does not escape through the gills.

The healthiest tuna is young with light flesh, since it has not yet accumulated mercury in its body. In addition, its meat tastes more tender.

More on the same topic:

Comments (1)

1. LaskaS Writes, First of all, I would like to note that eating tuna for dietary purposes is a good way to get rid of excess weight without losing muscle mass. The fact is that when losing weight, it is very important not to completely exclude fats from the diet. Otherwise, our body will not break down its own fat in internal organs. But while adhering to a diet, you should consume the “right” fats, which will help burn excess internal reserves.

How to choose a quality product

Tuna is sold fresh, frozen or canned . The shelf life of fresh and frozen products is limited: fresh fillets are stored for no more than 4 days, frozen fillets are stored for up to 2 weeks.

Fresh tuna fillets are similar in color to beef. Questionable freshness is indicated by the uneven shade of the piece you like.

It's even worse if brownish spots are visible on it.

When choosing a packaged product, you need to carefully study the information on the packaging and the expiration date. The best time for such purchases is May-August.

Canned tuna is more accessible - in its own juice or in oil . Fish in its own juice retains more beneficial properties than fish canned in oil.

If we are talking about a dietary product, take into account that the addition of oil increases the calorie content of the product.

When choosing canned food, carefully inspect the packaging. Cans that are deformed, swollen, or with traces of rust do not deserve your attention.

Then study the markings and information on the label. The marking can be embossed from the inside or applied with permanent paint.

Fuzzy symbols and poor quality paint are indicative signs that the canned food is not of the best quality. The most reliable marking is a convex marking, since it is applied in production, and counterfeiting becomes impossible.

The first row of symbols indicates the assortment code; for tuna it will be the abbreviation GTN. The second row of symbols indicates the date of manufacture.

It is better to take a product released more than 3 months ago . During this time, canned tuna acquires a rich taste.

In addition, it makes sense to shake the jar and roughly assess the ratio of fish to liquid.

Canned tuna contains only fish meat, salt and vegetable oil if you choose canned food with added oil. Products in their own juice retain more beneficial properties and taste richer.

In addition, canning in oil has another pitfall - some manufacturers mix old and young fish, and the oil masks differences in taste.

There are also ethical restrictions. When choosing canned products, it is advisable to look for those that have the “dolphinfriendly” mark on the label.

This means that the fishing was carried out legally, without violating technology and did not lead to the death of dolphins.

Tips for choosing canned tuna:

Potential danger, contraindications

Any product that is consumed in moderation can cause harm. There are categories of people for whom tuna is not recommended or contraindicated .

These are pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under 3 years of age. Why is tuna harmful?

Since this fish accumulates mercury in its tissues , it is better to avoid eating it. If expectant mothers can occasionally enjoy this delicacy, small children are introduced to it only at 4 years of age.

High protein content may harm people with kidney disease . Dishes made from tuna meat are contraindicated in cases of severe renal failure. Restrictions may also be imposed for other kidney diseases.

The product is strictly prohibited for people with a severe allergy to sea fish , especially if they are intolerant to mackerel meat.

Why tuna can be dangerous: