Know2eat

Wild Atlantic salmon

Salmo salar

Also known as Wild salmon, Atlantic salmon

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An anadromous fish that feeds at sea and returns to fresh water to spawn. Its pink flesh comes from astaxanthin accumulated through the krill and crustaceans in its diet, not from the muscle itself.

Heart HealthInflammationBrain & Cognitive Health

Potential health benefits

Best supported: Strong

Ordered by how well the human research supports them — strongest first. A rating describes the state of the evidence, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Blood lipid profile

Heart Health
Strong evidence

Research suggests that regular intake of oily fish or its long-chain omega-3 fatty acids lowers blood triglycerides. This is one of the most consistently replicated effects in nutrition, with a clear dose relationship and the largest effects in people whose triglycerides start high.

What may be going on: EPA and DHA reduce hepatic VLDL triglyceride assembly and secretion and increase lipoprotein lipase-mediated clearance.

Strong evidence. Consistent findings across multiple good-quality human studies.

3 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Cardiovascular risk markers

Heart Health
Moderate evidence

Observational data links regular oily fish consumption with lower cardiovascular mortality, and pooled cohort analyses point consistently in the same direction. Randomised trials of omega-3 supplements have been more mixed, which is why this is not rated higher.

Moderate evidence. Several human studies point the same way, with real caveats.

2 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Inflammatory markers

Inflammation
Limited evidence

Some trials report reductions in circulating inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein with higher oily fish or omega-3 intake. Effects are small, results are inconsistent across studies, and it is unclear whether they translate into anything a person would notice.

Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.

2 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Cognitive ageing

Brain & Cognitive Health
Insufficient evidence

Observational data links higher fish intake with slower cognitive decline in older adults, but intervention trials of omega-3s have largely failed to reproduce a benefit. Confounding by overall diet quality is a serious problem in this literature.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

No source is attached to this association yet, so it is rated insufficient by default. It is listed because people commonly ask about it — not because there is evidence for it.

Ask about Wild Atlantic salmon

Ask about Wild Atlantic salmon

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories142 kcal7%
Protein19.8 g40%
Total fat6.34 g8%
Carbohydrate0 g0%
Fibre0 g0%
Water68.5 g—
Fats
Saturated fat0.981 g5%
Monounsaturated fat2.1 g—
Polyunsaturated fat2.54 g—
Cholesterol55 mg18%
EPA (omega-3)0.321 g—
DHA (omega-3)1.11 g—
DPA (omega-3)0.287 g—
Linoleic acid (omega-6)0.172 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A12 µg1%
Vitamin C0 mg0%
Thiamin (B1)0.226 mg19%
Riboflavin (B2)0.38 mg29%
Niacin (B3)7.86 mg49%
Pantothenic acid (B5)1.66 mg33%
Vitamin B60.818 mg48%
Folate25 µg6%
Vitamin B123.18 µg133%
Minerals
Calcium12 mg1%
Iron0.8 mg4%
Magnesium29 mg7%
Phosphorus200 mg16%
Potassium490 mg10%
Sodium44 mg2%
Zinc0.64 mg6%
Copper0.25 mg28%
Manganese0.016 mg1%
Selenium36.5 µg66%
Other measured compounds
Ash2.54 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Fish, salmon, Atlantic, wild, raw (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 173686).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

  • steamedPreserves EPA and DHA

    Gentle moist-heat methods retain more long-chain omega-3s than deep-frying, where fat exchange with the frying oil dilutes the fatty acid profile of the fish.

  • friedReduces omega-3 fatty acid proportion

    Deep-frying in a seed oil substantially changes the lipid profile of the finished portion and oxidises some of the polyunsaturated fat.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Allergy

    Fish allergy

    Finned fish are a major regulated allergen. Reactions are usually to parvalbumin, are often lifelong, and can be severe; sensitivity to one fish species frequently extends to others.

  • Worth knowing

    Parasites in raw preparations

    Wild salmon can carry Anisakis nematodes. Commercial freezing to specified time and temperature is the standard control before serving raw as sashimi or gravlax.

  • Too much

    Contaminants at low levels

    Salmon is a low-mercury fish and appears on best-choice lists in national advisories, but like all oily fish it carries some persistent organic pollutants that concentrate in fat.

  • Interaction

    High omega-3 intake and anticoagulants

    Very high long-chain omega-3 intakes can modestly extend bleeding time. The concern applies mainly to concentrated fish oil doses rather than to eating fish, but is worth flagging to anyone on anticoagulants.