Don't be
afraid of fried foods!
At Scalawags
Whitefish & Chips, all our fried menu items are
cooked in Trans Fat-Free oils. Not only does
that make for a healthy meal for you and your family,
but one that tastes great as well.
There are
four kinds of fats: monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated
fat, saturated fat, and trans fat. Monounsaturated fat
and polyunsaturated fat are the "good" fats. It is
generally accepted that consumption of saturated fat
should be kept low, especially for adults. Trans fat
(which means trans fatty acids) is the worst kind of
fat, far worse than saturated fat.
At all of
our Scalawags restaurant, we cook our foods in Trans
Fat-Free oils to reduce this health risk and provide
you with great-tasting meals.
Freshwater
fish is also a great source of
Omega 3-fatty acids
Various fats from freshwater
fish, including our fresh Great Lakes Whitefish, are
high in Omega-3 fatty acids, monounsaturated fats, and
Omega-6 fatty acids, all of which we need in our diets.
Recent studies suggest
that eating 0.5 to 1 gram of fish oil daily reduces the
risk of heart disease death in middle-aged men by a
whopping 40 percent.
The star of the show is
Omega 3-fatty acids because of its significant role in
reducing the risk of heart disease.
Oil from freshwater fish
is the best food source of Omega-3 fatty acids. In fact,
in a study during the ’90s, Lake Superior fish came out
ahead of chinook salmon, one of the best saltwater
sources of Omega 3-fatty acids.
Fish from a cold-water
environment, like whitefish, are especially high in
Omega-3 fatty acids. The Lake Superior study also found
that Lake Superior chub, lean lake trout, fat lake trout
(siscowet), smelt, whitefish, and burbot (loesch) are
all good sources of the fatty acid.
How the health benefits work
Omega-3 fatty acids are the sort of fat found
in flax and canola oil. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce heart
disease risk by reducing platelet activity (blood
clotting). This works in two ways. Overactive platelet
activity may help to accelerate the build up of plaque
on the arteries. Further, blood clots formed by blood
platelets may become stuck in a plaque-narrowed artery
and trigger a heart attack.
In a recent study of Lake
Superior fish, some species were also found to be an
excellent source of monounsaturated fats, like the fat
found in olive oil. This sort of fat reduces blood
cholesterol.
Including freshwater fish as part of a healthy diet
It is best to eat a variety of oils in
moderate quantities, with a diet heavier on Omega-3
fatty acids than other fats. The best way to get these
oils is to eat two meals per week of fish rich in
Omega-3 fatty acids, prepared without additional oil.
Many commercial species
of Great Lakes fish offer the health benefits of Omega
3-fatty acids, monounsaturated oils, and Omega 6-fatty
acids, all of which are needed for a healthy diet.
