Trout is extremely healthy and nutritious as it is tasty. Trout is packed with tons of protein, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats with low levels of mercury and other unhealthy contaminants.
There is a reason why so many health professionals recommend trout as one of the best fish to eat and has been referred to as “the most nutritious fish on earth”.
In this blog post, we will take a deep dive into what makes trout so healthy and good for you.
Trout Health Benefits: Why You Should Eat More of This Fish
Many people think of trout as a “luxury” fish. But they may not know that trout is also one of the healthiest fish you can eat. Here are some of the most notable health benefits of eating trout:
- High In Protein
- Great source of Vitamin B Complex
- Excellent source of Niacin
- Extremely High in Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- Rich in Potassium
- Good Source of Phosphorus
- Great source for Selenium
In order to better understand how healthy some of these nutrients are for you, let’s take a deeper dive into each of these macronutrients and how it impacts you.
How Much Protein Does Trout Have?
You probably know how important protein is for you to repair and build tissue for your skin, hair, organs, and muscle. So yea, it’s fair to say that protein is pretty important.
For a 4oz (113g) serving size of trout, you can expect about 23g of protein. Eating 0.8g of protein for every 2.2 lb (1 kg) of body weight is recommended as a minimum.
How Much Omega-3s Does Trout Have?
Omega-3s are a vital healthy fat we all need, and most of us are probably not getting enough of it. There is a long list of why we need to make sure we are getting enough Omega-3s. Here are just some of the reasons why we need Omega-3s, according to Healthline.com:
- Fight Depression and Anxiety
- Promotes good eye health
- Decrease Heart Disease
- Fights against inflammation in the body
- Fights against autoimmune diseases
- Improves mental health
- Reduces age-related mental health decline and diseases
- Help fight against cancer
- Improves Bone and Joint Health
- Aids with getting better sleep
For a 4oz (113g) serving size of trout, you can expect about 0.3g of Omega-3s. Eating 0.25g – 0.3g every day is recommended as a minimum but not exceeding 3g.
How Many Vitamins Does Trout Have?
A 2010 study determined how many vitamins trout have. The study found that trout have high amounts of Vitamin B complex as well as moderate amounts of various vitamins. Which should only reinforce why trout is a popular healthy dietary choice.
Here are the vitamins that you can find in trout:
- Vitamin A: 16.2 IU (1% of the recommended daily intake) – Vitamin A help with forming and maintaining healthy teeth, bones, soft tissue, and skin.
- Thiamine (Vitamin B1): 0.1mg (7% of the recommended daily intake) – Helps the body convert carbohydrates into energy and plays a big role in heart and nerve health.
- Riboflavin (Vitamin B2): 0.1mg (6% of the recommended daily intake) – Works with the other B vitamins to support the growth and production of red blood cells.
- Vitamin B6: 0.1mg (5% of the recommended daily intake) – Vitamin B6 (also known as pyridoxine) helps your body develop red blood cells, maintain brain function, and help your body utilize the protein you consume more efficiently.
- Vitamin B12: 2.2ug (93% of the recommended daily intake) – Vitamin B12 supports your metabolism, helps your body develop red blood cells, and maintains your central nervous system and brain functions.
- Vitamin C: 0.1mg (1% of the recommended daily intake) – Vitamin C helps your body be able to absorb iron and promotes healthy teeth and gums, including general issues. It also plays an essential role in healing wounds.
- Vitamin D: 43.9 IU (8% of the recommended daily intake) – Vitamin D helps your body absorb Calcium for normal development and maintenance of healthy teeth and bones. Vitamin D also supports your immune system, reduces the risks of developing various diseases, regulates mood and fights against depression, and helps with weight loss and hormone production.
- Vitamin E: 0.1mg (1% of the recommended daily intake) – Vitamin E is an antioxidant which prevents and delays damage to cells. Vitamin E also plays a role in supporting red blood cell production.
- Niacin: 1.3mg (7% of the recommended daily intake) – Plays a large role in maintaining healthy skin and nerves. Niacin is also linked with being able to lower cholesterol.
- Folate: 3.7ug (1% of the recommended daily intake) – Folate works with Vitamin B12 to help produce new red blood cells. Folate is also responsible for tissue growth and cell function. An extremely important vitamin for pregnant women as low levels of folate has been linked to birth defects.
- Choline: 18.4mg (4% of the recommended daily intake) – Helps support the brain and nervous system functions.
What Minerals Does Trout Have?
A 2008 study investigated the nutritional value of trout and what minerals they have. This study just reinforced what many already knew about trout but also uncovered a lot of new minerals that are vital for our bodies to function properly.
Here is the list of minerals:
- Sodium: 14.7mg (1% of the recommended daily intake) – Sodium is a type of electrolyte that provides proper fluid balance in the body, helps transmit signals from your nervous system throughout the body, and helps with muscle contraction.
- Potassium: 102.3mg (3% of the recommended daily intake) – Similar to Sodium, Potassium is a type of electrolyte that provides proper fluid balance in the body, and helps transmit signals from your nervous system throughout the body and helps with muscle contraction.
- Calcium: 12.2mg (2% of the recommended daily intake) – Calcium helps support healthy bones and teeth. It plays a big role in muscle’s ability to relax and contract, nerve functions, blood clotting, immune system health, and regulates blood pressure.
- Iron: 0.4mg (6% of the recommended daily intake) – Iron makes up part of the hemoglobin (a molecule) found in the red blood cells responsible for carrying oxygen throughout the body. Iron is also responsible for energy output.
- Magnesium: 6.2mg (2% of the recommended daily intake) – Magnesium is found in bones and required for making proteins in the body, including supporting muscle contraction, nerve system activation, and overall immune system functions.
- Phosphorus: 69.5mg (7% of the recommended daily intake) – Found in bones and teeth and in every cell in our body. Phosphorus is extremely important in maintaining acid/base balance in the body.
- Zinc: 0.2mg (2% of the recommended daily intake) – Zinc is very important to the body in creating enzymes and proteins. Plays an important role in our ability to taste, heal from wounds, pregnancy, various sexual functions, and immune system health.
- Copper: 0.1mg (3% of the recommended daily intake) – Copper makes up part of many of the different enzymes we create and is needed to metabolize iron consumption.
- Manganese: 0.2mg (13% of the recommended daily intake) is part of many of the different enzymes we create.
- Selenium: 3.6ug (6% of the recommended daily intake) – Is an antioxidant which prevents and delays damage to cells.
What Is The Nutritional Valve Of Trout
The nutritional value of trout changes depending on what species of trout we are talking about, their environment, and their diet. Since so many variables determine the exact nutritional value of each trout species, we need to depend on what the research says as an average.
Here is the table of some of the popular species of trout and their estimated nutritional values:
(table)
Is Trout Good For Your Heart?
Trout is extremely healthy and provides a lot of nutrients that contribute to a healthy heart. Trout is full of Omega-3 fatty acids, which are known to improve your heart health and reduce your risks of developing heart-related diseases.
Trout has a moderate amount of Thiamine (Vitamin B1), which improves your overall heart health.
What Is The Nutritional Value Of Trout Skin?
Hold Up! Don’t throw away that Trout Skin!
Did you know that Trout skin is packed with many of the nutrients we have talked about so far? Throwing that away would be a shame if you get to get the most out of your trout.
Its hard to determine the nutritional value of trout skin, but we know that trout skin is an excellent source of protein, omega-3s, healthy cholesterol, and vitamin E.
Does Trout Reduce Inflammation
Trout is full of healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals that have anti-inflammatory properties. So can trout reduce inflammation in the body?
Yes, Trout has anti-inflammation properties because they are full of Omega-3s and have some Vitamin E and Selenium, which acts as an antioxidant that reduces inflammation in the body.
Does Trout Have Iodine
Wild Trout typically has trace levels of Iodine. Farmed trout can have Idoine levels of about 5% of your daily recommended amount.
Farmed trout is enriched with Iodine by having trout feed on Gracilaria vermiculophylla.
Iodine is important to support your thyroid hormones which assist with creating proteins and enzymes and help regulate your metabolism.
Does Trout Have Mercury?
When consumed in large amounts, mercury has been linked to having a negative effect on the central nervous system, kidneys, and liver. Mercury can cause issues with the immune system and has been linked to tremors, impaired vision and hearing, insomnia, emotional instability, paralysis, and baby development.
Many health organizations recommend that mercury can be safely consumed at a rate of 0.045 mcg/pound of bodyweight/day. Here is your mercury safe limit based on different bodyweights:
| Bodyweight | Safe Daily Dose Limit Of Mercury (ug) | Safe Weekly Dose Limit Of Mercury (ug) |
|---|---|---|
| 100 lb (45 kg) | 4.5 | 31.5 |
| 110 lb (50 kg) | 5.0 | 34.7 |
| 120 lb (54 kg) | 5.4 | 37.8 |
| 130 lb (59 kg) | 5.9 | 41.0 |
| 140 lb (64 kg) | 6.3 | 44.1 |
| 150 lb (68 kg) | 6.8 | 47.3 |
| 160 lb (73 kg) | 7.2 | 50.4 |
| 170 lb (77 kg) | 7.7 | 53.6 |
| 180 lb (82 kg) | 8.1 | 56.7 |
| 190 lb (86 kg) | 8.6 | 59.9 |
| 200 lb (91 kg) | 9.0 | 63.0 |
According to the FDA, the average mercury level on a trout is about 0.141 mcg, with a maximum level of 0.678 mcg. Typically, the larger and older the fish, the more naturally mercury levels it will have.
If you weighed 160 lbs, you would need to eat about 51 trouts to reach your safe limit to give you an idea of how little mercury is in trout. That is a lot of Trout!
Is Trout Bad For You?
We have covered a lot of good things about trout and all of its health benefits but is eating too much trout bad for you?
Remember that old saying …
Too much of a good thing can be a bad
Eating too much trout will not negatively impact you, but eating too much of it will result in nutritional imbalances assuming you are eating within your maintenance caloric intake.
Happy Fishing & Tight Lines