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Fish is a key ingredient of a balanced diet, and it is recommended to consume between two and four servings of fish per week. In addition, at least one of them should be blue fish. But do you know how to distinguish “white” and “blue” fish?
The main difference between both lies in their fat content. White fish barely has fat (between 0.1% and 2%) while blue fish contains between 8 and 15% fat; however, these are healthy fatty acids.
Fats provided by blue fish are unsaturated, including Omega 3, recommended to take care of the heart, reduce the level of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, regulate blood pressure, prevent degenerative diseases… Besides, Omega 3 fatty acids are also considered powerful anti-inflammatories. Our body does not produce this type of fatty acids by itself. Thus, it must be obtained through the diet.
The reason why some species of fish accumulate more fat in their body than others is simply for survival: those with more fats in their body are those that need more energy at certain periods of their life cycle, such as undertaking long migrations.
There is a third group, the “semi-fatty” fish, which fat content depends on the season and place of fishing.
Some examples of white fish:
- Cod
- Sea bream
- Megrim
- Hake
- Monkfish
- Sole
- Turbot
Some examples of blue fish:
- Canned and fresh anchovies
- Horse mackerel
- Mackerel
- Tuna
- White Tuna
- Dogfish
- Saurel
- Salmon
- Red mullet
- Sardine
One way of physically distinguishing white fish from blue fish is by the shape of the tail: straight or fan-shaped for white fish, arrow-shaped for blue fish, like the one of these two beautiful White Tunas.
Dr. Arantza López-Ocaña
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