Okay, I realize that I’m going to completely gross some people out here…but I love sardines. I haven’t eaten any in about 5 years but since I started my P90X workout, I started thinking about all of my meal plans. I’ve totally revamped the way I eat. It didn’t really cost any more to eat this way, so if you’re using that as your excuse…nice try. I’m currently in Phase I of my P90X meal plans, so I’m on my “fat shredder” diet. Doesn’t really seem like a diet, since I’m allowed 2,500 calories per day. I could only get in 1,500 yesterday. When you don’t have carbs or fat in your diet, it’s kind of hard to pack in the calories….plus I puked 50 minutes into my workout. I thought I’d be a hot shot and end my weight lifting with a heavier set of weights. I did finish my last set, but also yacked much of my evening meal. My husband laughed at me and said, “Oh, now you can probably eat again. You just lost about 300 calories.” …nice.
Anyway, back to sardines. I’m taking a holistic approach to this whole P90X transformation thing. Mind, spirit, body cleansing. I’m really psyched and I can already see the difference in my energy level. With the meal plan a lot of protein (5 servings per day) is consumed and I knew I didn’t want to eat chicken breast and tuna for every serving…I also knew that I needed to get my Omega 3 into my diet somewhere….and then the light went on, SARDINES! If you aren’t aware of the nutritional benefits of these tiny little canned fish, here’s the scoop:
Sardines are a nutritional powerhouse. Not only are they good for you, but they’re cheap and come ready to eat, making them a perfect food for people on the go.
Sardines are loaded with calcium, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and manganese. They are also an excellent source of vitamin B12 (think ENERGY). In fact, one tin of sardines provides 150 percent of your daily need for B12.
But, by far the biggest health benefit lies in the sardine’s high concentration of omega 3 fatty acids, which reduce triglyceride levels. Besides salmon, sardines are one of the best sources of omega 3s.
The advantage of getting omega 3s from sardines is that their smaller size makes them less likely to have accumulated toxins such as mercury, dioxane and PCB.
Remember: the bigger the fish, the more mercury it contains. Fish such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish, for example, contain high levels of mercury. And while canned light tuna contains a small amount of omega-3 and fairly low mercury levels, fresh tuna steaks and albacore tuna contain three times as much mercury.
You can’t go wrong with sardines!
You can buy sardines that are packed in water, mustard, tomato sauce or olive oil. Keep in mind that the oil can add to the calorie and fat content, but it’s a great choice if you’re using sardines as your protein on a salad, since you can use the oil in place of dressing.
The oil also contains those essential omega 3s.
If you are eating sardines packed in oil staight out of the can (as opposed to a salad), save the oil for later since a lot of the omega-3s from the fish are likely to drain into it.
If your fish is packed in water, the omega 3s will stay locked in the fish since oil and water don’t mix.
Good news for the P90X workout crowd: Sardines provide your body with protein essential for building and maintaining muscle mass, while the omega-3s help your cardiovascular health by raising good HDL and reducing bad LDL cholesterol levels. And omega-3s, like the ones found in sardines, may also help speed recovery from certain sports injuries.
In a nutshell, sardines rock. From now on I’ll probably pass on the tuna fish. Sardines make so much more sense. And thinking back, my grandpa (who lived to be almost 100) made a habit of eating sardines and beets right out of the can. Go figure.
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