Caviar--the hors d'oeuvre of high society--is declared the best source of omega-3 fatty acids by researchers.

For all of the good things about seafood (low in fat, low in calories, high in protein, iron, etc.), it’s most distinguishing characteristic is it being the best source for omega-3s.  Other foods have omega-3s, sure, but you won’t find a more abundant source for omega-3s than what you’ll find in the seafood section.

It begs the question, though:  When it comes to omega-3s, what fish is the best of the best?  According to researchers from the University of Almeria, the answer may be the fish that aren’t quite fish yet.

That’s right, caviar—the hors’doeuvre of high society.

In the battle of the bulge, hors d’oeuvres can easily lead dieters astray.  They’re small pre-dinner offerings designed to whet the appetite, but their bite-sized quality is not matched by their calorie quantity (one mozzarella stick has just under 100 calories and five grams of fat!).

But that’s not the case with caviar, the hors’doeuvre that delivers a boatload of omega-3s from nary a tablespoon.

The researchers discovered this after analyzing the fatty acid content of 15 seafaring mammals, looking to see which ones were the most abundant in DHA and EPA, the primary types of omega-3s.  All of them were high in omega-3s, but the fish roe of mackerel, squid, cuttlefish, lumpsucker, hake, and salmon were the most impressive offerings.   Just a small sample of caviar more than satisfies the body’s omega-3 fatty acid daily requirement, according to researchers (there is no official requirement for omega-3 consumption, but dieticians and nutritionists agree that everyone should be getting at least some omega-3s every day).

The study is published in the European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology.

Now, to be perfectly honest, I’ve never had caviar.  It’s not that I refuse to eat it or anything like that; it’s just that I’ve never been in the company of others who were eating it.

The other thing that hasn’t exactly led me to caviar’s coffers is its cost.   A four-ounce jar of salmon caviar can cost $13, and that’s considered relatively inexpensive (you can get a pound of salmon for less than that at any fish market on the east coast)!

That said, given its richness in omega-3s, I can pretty much guarantee you that I’ll at least try caviar should the opportunity arise.  I hope you’ll do the same.  Because when it comes to increasing and improving health, everyone should try something at least once.

Sources:
sciencedaily.com
msnbc.msn.com