Do sardines packed in oil have additional omega-3 fatty acid content?
Omega-3 fat is a polyunsaturated fat that seems to offer protection against both heart disease and cancer. However, research suggests that most of us don’t get enough of it to provide protection. Fatty fish – including sardines – are an excellent source of omega-3 fat. Fish oil has also been garnering attention as a concentrated source of omega-3s. Responding to consumer demand, some companies now sell sardines canned in fish oil for an added boost of omega-3 fatty acids, although this is not the norm. Sardines are typically canned in soybean oil; while this oil contains a small amount of omega-3 fat, it offers more than seven times as much omega-6 fat (a second type of essential fatty acid that is overabundant in the typical American diet). Most of the benefit from increasing our intake of omega-3 fat results from changing the proportion of omega-3 to omega-6 fat. Adding more omega-6 fat in the form of soybean oil offsets some of the benefit of eating sardines in the first place. Note
