Sardines are small fish full of nutritional benefits thanks to their richness in vitamins, minerals, fats and good quality proteins.
Great little treasure, you may wonder what sardines hide. Sardines are part of the group of fish called “blue” and are one of the best sources of Omega 3.
The best time or season for sardines is in summer, from May to October, although we can see it relatively frequently in the market, even now that we are in winter, so we should encourage ourselves to include it in our diet and consume it more regularly. Which we normally don’t.
Sardines in summer is when they are at their best and you may wonder why, and it is that at this time of year their meat contains more fat, because the temperature of the waters increases with the amount of plankton. It is also increased. As you surely know, plankton is part of the food of sardines, so the fat in their meat increases and gains in flavor.
The sardines in winter, when the waters are colder, the plankton is less abundant and when they eat less plankton their meat contains less fat, but they are also just as beneficial.
Nutritional benefits of sardines
This small fish hides many beneficial properties for our body, rich in the following minerals:
- Phosphorus: this mineral is necessary for the proper functioning of the nervous system, as well as for the good mobility of the muscles.
- Iron: it is an essential mineral for the formation of hemoglobin, which prevents us from suffering from a lack of iron or iron deficiency anemia.
- Iodine: it is a mineral that intervenes in the functioning of the thyroid, so this mineral should not be lacking.
- Calcium: essential for having bones in good shape, healthy bones and teeth, as well as being a good predictive source against diseases such as osteoporosis.
- Magnesium: it is a mineral that helps us to generate more defenses in our body, in addition to ensuring the proper functioning of the intestine, muscles and nerves.
In addition to the contribution of these minerals, sardines contain the following vitamins:
- Vitamin A: necessary for the growth of bones, to produce enzymes in the liver, to take care of our ocular health, it helps both the growth and the repair of tissues, skin and mucous membranes.
- Vitamin B1 and B2 : helps to promote the proper functioning of the nervous system, the lack of B vitamins predisposes us to suffer states of apathy, anxiety, even depression, these vitamins are also good to ensure good mental activity.
- Vitamin D: it is essential to help us absorb calcium well and fix it in the bones, with which we will have healthy and strong bones, it also helps to regulate the level of calcium in the blood.
- Vitamin E: this vitamin promotes good blood circulation, it is also a vitamin with antioxidant properties, and it helps us protect cardiovascular health.
As we have said before, one of the most important benefits of sardines is their richness in essential fatty acids such as Omega 3, which help reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels, thereby helping to protect our cardiovascular health by reducing the risk of suffering from this condition.
Another benefit to highlight is that the consumption of sardines helps the blood circulate through our body more fluidly, which also reduces the risk of suffering from atherosclerosis as well as thrombosis.
Find out what only 100 grams of this prodigious fish gives us:
Consuming only 100 grams of sardines provides our body with 17 grams of protein, 2 grams of vitamins, minerals, water between 50 and 70 grams and a good amount of fat 9.5 grams, in addition to being a good source of protein.
After knowing all these benefits, do you dare to eat sardines?
We can prepare many recipes with them, in addition to preparing them in various ways, roasted, baked, fried, pickled, in tomato, with olive oil.
Sardines are best eaten fresh, it is an inexpensive fish and as we have said before we can find them almost all year round, canned sardines also provide benefits, they are nutritious, and we can include them in salads or eat them with bread.
They are very healthy for everyone, including children, although in the case of the little ones you have to remove the thorns and offer the little ones the loins clean of thorns.
On the other hand, sardines are contraindicated for people who suffer from gout since the purines contained in sardines increase even more the amounts of uric acid in people who suffer from this pathology.
