Salmon is well known as a super healthy and nutritious fish, but did you know it also offers amazing benefits for your gut health? With its high content of omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients, salmon can help reduce inflammation, improve digestion, and support a healthy gut microbiome. I’m going to explain in simple terms and make clear details about why salmon promotes gut health and provide tips for adding more of this superfood to your diet.
How Salmon Reduces Inflammation
Gut inflammation can be caused by many things, such as food allergies, long-term stress, an imbalance of gut bacteria, and digestive disorders like IBS or IBD This inflammation triggers discomfort, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, and other unwanted symptoms. Salmon contains natural pain relief because it has omega-3 fatty acids that can help reduce this pain and inflammation.
Salmon contains two key types of omega-3s: EPA and DHA. EPA and DHA have been shown in many studies to lower inflammatory markers in the body and improve the health and integrity of the gut. People with IBS, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and other inflammatory gut conditions can feel better after eating salmon because it reduces inflammation.
Regularly eating salmon and other omega-3 rich foods can help minimize flare-ups of digestive symptoms. In one study, patients with Crohn’s disease who took fish oil supplements for one year had significantly fewer relapses than those who did not take supplements.
Salmon Improves Digestion
The benefits of salmon for gut health go beyond reducing inflammation. The omega-3s in salmon can also enhance digestion in several ways
- Stimulate digestive enzymes and bile production
- Improve gut motility
- Increase absorption of nutrients
- Modulate gut microbiome
The protein and amino acids in salmon also support the stomach and intestinal lining, enabling more efficient breakdown and assimilation of nutrients from your food.
Additionally, salmon provides vitamin D, which research indicates may help prevent inflammatory bowel disease. Salmon is one of the few natural food sources of vitamin D, especially wild-caught salmon.
Salmon Supports Gut Microbiome
The complicated group of trillions of bacteria and other microbes that live in your intestines is called your gut microbiome It is important for gut health and immune function to have a diverse and balanced microbiome
Emerging research shows salmon can benefit your gut microbiome in a couple key ways:
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The omega-3s help increase microbiome diversity and growth of beneficial bacteria like Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus species. They also limit growth of harmful bacteria.
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Astaxanthin, the antioxidant that gives salmon its pink color, also has prebiotic properties that feed good gut microbes.
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Salmon protein provides amino acids that serve as metabolites for microbiome health.
More studies are still needed, but these benefits of salmon for the gut microbiome contribute to its overall support for digestive health.
Tips for Eating More Salmon
To reap the gut health benefits of salmon, I aim to eat it at least twice a week. Here are some quick tips for getting more salmon in your diet:
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Choose wild-caught Alaskan or Pacific salmon for maximum omega-3 content. Atlantic farmed salmon is a budget-friendly alternative.
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Roast a salmon fillet and vegetable medley for an easy weeknight meal.
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Transform leftover cooked salmon into salmon cakes, salmon salad, or salmon avocado toast.
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Use canned salmon in place of tuna for salmon salad sandwiches or wraps.
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Add sliced smoked salmon to salads, omelets, grain bowls, or lettuce wraps.
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Make homemade sushi rolls with smoked or grilled salmon.
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Whip up salmon burgers using fresh or canned salmon.
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Stir diced grilled salmon into soups, pasta dishes, and risottos.
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Grill a whole salmon side and use leftovers throughout the week.
With its stellar nutritional profile and versatility, there are so many great ways to enjoy salmon and reap the digestive benefits. I focus on sourcing sustainable salmon and eating it in place of less-healthy proteins like fatty beef and processed meats. Your gut will thank you!
Participants, study setting and ethics
The study design, the description of study participants, the study setting and the protocol for study visits have been published in detail previously [31]. In brief, the study population consisted of adults with overweight or obesity, and all participants were of Norwegian ethnic origin (Caucasian) living in the Bergen area in South-Western Norway. Inclusion criteria were: BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2, fasting blood glucose ≤ 7.0 mmol/l and age 18–69 years. Exclusion criteria were high habitual fish/seafood intake (> 500 g/week), pregnancy, incompatibility with fish consumption (allergies, intolerance and/or dislike), diagnosed diabetes mellitus, heart disease or gastrointestinal diseases, use of medications affecting lipid metabolism or glucose homoeostasis, use of anti-inflammatory medications, use of supplements containing n-3 PUFAs, intentional weight loss and large fluctuation in body weight (> 3 kg) over the previous 2 months. Participants were interviewed about their fish/seafood intake before they were included in the study, and those with a regular fish intake > 1 fish dinner per week were instructed to avoid eating fish for 4 weeks before the baseline visit. Very few participants (< 10%) had an intake above 1 fish dinner per week before enrolment to the study and went through a 4–week fish-free period, and those with a habitual fish/seafood intake > 500 g/week were not included in the study.
The study was designed as a randomised, controlled intervention study with a parallel group design, with three intervention arms: Atlantic cod (wild-caught Gadus morhua) in weekly doses of 750 g, Atlantic salmon (farmed Salmo salar) in weekly doses of 750 g, and no-fish intake as the Control group. The intervention period was 8 weeks. In total, 76 participants were included in the study and were randomly assigned to the Cod group (N = 27), the Salmon group (N = 27) or the Control group (N = 22). The participants were randomised into the different groups by the project manager by drawing lots, and the participants were informed about their group allocation during the baseline visit. All examinations were conducted at the Clinical Research Unit at the Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway. To enhance compliance, the participants were contacted by phone approximately 1 week prior to baseline and end point visits, during which they were informed of the schedule and procedures for the following visit. Also, a text message was sent 1–3 days before the 8-week visit, as a reminder of how to prepare for the upcoming visit. For any inquires during the trial period, members of the research group could be reached by email or telephone. Compliance was monitored through interviews; after 1, 4 and 8 weeks intervention, the participants in the fish-eating groups were asked how many dinners with cod/salmon they had not eaten since the last contact, instead of asking how well they had complied, to lower the bar for reporting missing intake. Participants in the Control group were interviewed about their intake of fish/seafood after 1, 4 and 8 weeks. Noncompliance was defined as not following the protocol with regard to fish intake (omitting more than 3 fish dinners in the fish-eating groups), other dietary changes or use of prescription medicine not compatible with the inclusion criteria, or changes in physical activity. As reward for completing the study, participants were offered a dietary consultation with a student dietician and all results from blood analyses.
The study was conducted according to the guidelines laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki, and all procedures were approved by the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics of Western Norway (REC no.: 2011/572). Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects.
Health professionals performing blood sampling, and personnel conducting the laboratory analyses, were all blinded to participants’ identity and group allocation. All data were analysed anonymously. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02350595.
Cod and salmon fillets were provided to the participants as frozen skin- and boneless fillet portions (mean weight with standard deviation; 150 (SD 10) g; Lerøy Seafood Group ASA), and pallets of fish were chosen at random from Lerøy’s warehouse in Bergen, Norway. The cod and salmon fillets were supplied free of charge to the participants, and were distributed at the baseline visit or at any time during the study period, if preferred. Participants in the Cod group were instructed to eat five dinners per week containing 150 g of cod fillet, and participants in the Salmon group were instructed to eat five dinners per week containing 150 g of salmon fillet. The participants in the fish-eating groups were instructed not to exceed a total amount of 750 g of fish/week, not to consume any other types of fish or seafood during the study period, and to otherwise maintain their normal eating habits throughout the study period apart from eating the mandatory amount of 750 g fish/week. The Control group was also instructed to continue their normal eating habits, except to avoid fish and seafood intake. Participants in both fish intervention groups received a booklet with recipes for inspiration and to help them to increase the variation of their meals, as previously described [13]. The participants in the Control group did not receive any recipes, to avoid them being inspired to change their dietary habits during the study period.
Subjects in all groups were instructed not to change their physical activity level during the intervention period. The participants’ dietary intake and habitual lifestyle were recorded at the baseline and the end point visits, using food record charts and a questionnaire for reporting physical activity. The participants were asked about the types of physical activity they engaged in, such as whether they worked out in a gym, were members of sports clubs or whether they worked out individually, the type of physical activity (e.g. hiking, running, biking) and the number of hours of light physical activity (not sweaty/not breathless) or hard physical activity (with sweat/breathless). The participants completed the questionnaire at the baseline and end point visits. The weekly number of hours and the intensities of the physical activities were coded as continuous variables. Reported energy and macronutrient intake and physical activity were similar between the groups at baseline and did not change within the groups during the study period [31].
Estimation of dietary intakes
Participants completed dietary records of the five preceding days before the baseline visit and the 8-week visit, including at least 1 weekend day. The intakes of non-digestible dietary fibre, starch, total fat, cholesterol and protein were calculated from the participants’ dietary records using the ‘Mat på Data 5.1’ software [32], which contains information on the nutrient contents in food items sold in Norway. In this database, dietary fibres are defined as non-digestible carbohydrates, and the collective term carbohydrate is used for available carbohydrates, i.e. including sugars and starch but not dietary fibres. Food records were checked for completeness at both study visits.
5 Health Benefits of Eating Salmon
FAQ
Does salmon heal your gut?
Salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help reduce inflammation. Digestive disorders, inflammatory bowel disease and food intolerances can all cause inflammation in the gut. Not only can eating more salmon help reduce discomfort, it can improve digestion.
Which fish is best for gut health?
As we noted, omega-3 fatty acids are great for fighting inflammation, which plays a role in many digestive issues, especially problems like inflammatory bowel disease. Whole grains are a good source of omega-3s, but these foods are even better sources: Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines)
Is salmon gentle on the stomach?
Is salmon good for an inflamed stomach?
Salmon is packed with omega-3 fatty acids that produce great anti-inflammatory properties. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce the production of certain hormones like prostaglandins, which cause the uncomfortable swelling you want to avoid.