QHow many times have you saved a last minute dinner or a quick lunch? Canned tuna is a food that everyone has in their pantry, because it stays there and comes out at the right moment. Not only in an emergency, but also to prepare something good but fast, versatile but also healthy. Yes, because if the nutritional virtues of fresh tuna are magnified, it is often wrongly believed that the preserved version is not “healthy”. Recent studies, however, have confirmed its value in a balanced diet. And they don’t just concern tuna in oil, but also other preserved fish.
Because fish is good for the brain
From Australia to the USA to naturally arrive in Europe. All scientific bodies or authorities in charge of food safety recommend the consumption of fish at least twice a week. This food, in fact, allows you to take protective fatty acids, the famous ones long chain omega-3 (Epa and Dha). These are able to reduce inflammation in the body, control harmful fats in the blood, especially triglycerides and act on platelet aggregation. Fish, however, is also good for you because it protects the central nervous system. Omega-3s, in fact, help to prevent the decline of cognitive abilities. That’s why eating fish helps ward off the risk of dementia. But also to keep the mood up and reduce the risk of depression. As it proves a study, which took into consideration more than 60 researches on the subject, published in the “International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition”.
Preserved does not mean impoverished, on the contrary!
It is clear that fish is good for you, but which one to eat and above all fresh or preserved? «Including fish in a healthy diet is desirable to prevent some non-communicable diseases» says Andrea Poli (President of Nutrition Foundation of Italy – Nfi) «This applies to both fresh and preserved fish: thanks to the heat treatment to which it is subjected, which it does not deplete any of the essential nutrients present, canned fish actually maintains the same properties as fresh fish». Thinking that canned tuna and other fish preserves lose their nutritional principles is one of the many fake news circulating, not only in the kitchen. Often, in fact, we don’t realize that some ways of cooking fresh fish are more “destructive” than preserving it in oil. Frying, for example, markedly reduces the protective effects of fish.
In oil the properties of fresh tuna are maintained
«No significant nutritional or functional loss is observed in the preparation of canned fish» explains Dr. Andrea Poli. This happens because the conservation of the fish is done in a careful way.
Indeed, its production process retains most of the beneficial properties of the freshbecause once the tuna has been caught, it is immediately cleaned, steamed, preserved in oil and canned without adding preservatives.
An alternative to tuna can be sardines. But the fresh ones don’t always keep their nutritional properties, it depends on how they are cooked. (Getty Images)
It’s really time to break the boxes…tte!
Fish preserves are foods with important nutritional characteristics, just like fresh fish, but they have an added advantage for those who can’t go shopping every day: they keep for a long time. And here comes the “standing ovation” from those who feel lucky if they manage to go to the supermarket once a week. Not only that, Italy is a country of small villages and fishmongers are scarce inland. This is why the cans allow “tuna & friends” to arrive where fresh fish is difficult to find. “The noble proteinsi.e. of high biological value, minerals (in particular calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, iodine), le vitamins of the B complex, as well as vitamins A, D and Eare just some of the essential elements present in fish preserves» explains the professor Luca Piretta, gastroenterologist and nutritionist at the Campus Biomedico University of Rome. For this reason, bringing tins to the table is not a crime against healthy eating. Indeed, it is a real aid for a balanced diet.
Tuna and other fish preserves also protect against cancer
A recent study by the Mario Negri Pharmacological Research Institute of Milan as part of the activities of the Italian Institute for Planetary Health (IIPH) has shown that two portions a week of canned fish in oil (about 160 grams in total) reduces the risk of colorectal cancer by 34%.. Not only that, the same scholars have demonstrated in another research that canned fish is also able to reduce the risk of the onset of tumors of the oral cavity, pharynx and stomach. «The implications of these results for public health can be very relevant: we are talking about beneficial effects on the risk of cancers with high incidence and mortality both in high-income and low- and middle-income countries, and of an increasingly consumed food , thanks to its practicality and accessibilityà cheap» explains Carlotta Franchi, Head of Laboratory at theMario Negri Institute of Milan and Scientific Coordinator of the Iitalian Institute For Planetary Health
Tuna oil is also valuable
Once the can is opened, one often does not know where to throw the preservation oil. Here’s the solution: it shouldn’t be thrown away, because it is very precious. Being in close contact with the fish, in fact, the oil is enriched with polyunsaturated fats, especially Omega 3 fatty acids (Dha) and also vitamin D (cholecalciferol). These two components are usually not present in natural olive oil. This is also confirmed by a research conducted by Experimental Station for the Food Preserving Industry (SSICA) in Parma. In short, it is appropriate to say that even tuna does not throw anything away …
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