Omega-3 Fatty Acid Content of Lake Superior Fish

• Main Authors: Paul B. Addis, Ph. D
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic Lake
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.367.8515; http://www.lakesuperiorwhitefish.com/PDF/omega3.pdf

Fish and seafoods have recently increased in popularity due to reports of the health benefits of fish oils (omega-3 or N-3 fatty acids). People in the Midwest may feel dependent upon saltwater fish to get N-3 oils, based on misinformation and misconceptions concerning the N-3 content of freshwater fish. The truth is, freshwater fish do contain N-3 fatty acids, although as with saltwater fish, some fish are better sources of N-3 oils than others. Fish with high total lipid (fat) content from a cold water environment, saltwater or freshwater, are most desirable. In the Upper Midwest, we have a significant resource of these fish in Lake Superior, which is so cold it could almost be classified as an Arctic lake. This publication provides a summary of the health benefits of N-3 fatty acids and reports recent findings on the fatty acid composition of