• Availability: Canned and fresh tuna are available throughout the year.
• Available Forms: fresh, frozen, canned, smoked and pickled, steaks, fillets

Tuna fish is truly a nutrient-dense food, it is an excellent source of high quality protein and omega-3 fatty acids which are associated with both brain and heart health. Tuna is also low in fat and calories therefore it is a great substitute for meats and dairy products that are higher in saturated fats and trans-fatty acids. Avoid oil-packed tuna to keep your fat intake down.

Varieties:

• Albacore (white meat tuna), found in both Atlantic and Pacific waters."
• Bluefin, a large, oily species, is usually canned as "light meat" tuna or eaten raw.
• Yellowfin is the least oily kind of tuna; it is flavorful when cooked, and is good eaten raw.
• Bigeye is valued for sashimi.
• Bonito is among the smallest tuna, and has red meat.

Amount of Omega-3 fatty acid in Tuna:

• When cooked (dry heat), tuna provides 1.504 grams of omega-3, per 100 grams.
• When canned in water and drained, tuna provides 0.272 grams of omega-3, per 100 grams of tuna.
• When canned in oil and drained, tuna provides 0.202 grams of omega-3, per 100 grams.

Nutrient Values of Fresh Tuna: per 100g

• Vitamin. B1 (Thiamin): 0.501mg
• Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): 0.057mg
• Vitamin B3 (Niacin): 11.936mg
• Vitamin B6: 1.038mg
• Vitamin C: 1.0mg
• Calcium: 21mg
• Magnesium: 64mg
• Iron: 0.94mg
• Potassium: 569mg
• Zinc: 0.67mg
• Copper: 0.082mg
• Protein: 29.97g
• Sodium: 47mg
• Calories: 139kcal
• Total Fat: 1.22g

Health Benefits

• Tuna's omega-3 fatty acids content is beneficial for cardiovascular health. It benefits the cardiovascular system by helping to prevent erratic heart rhythms, making blood less likely to clot inside arteries (which is the ultimate cause of most heart attacks), and improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to potentially harmful (LDL) cholesterol.
• Excellent source of protein, the major building material for muscle, blood, skin, hair, nails and internal organs. In addition, protein is essential in fueling your metabolism, maintaining muscle tone and helping your body burn fat.
• Tuna's vitamin B content helps maintain and build red blood cells and increase energy levels.
• Help relieve joint pains due to inflammation.
• Helps decrease in dry eye syndrome and reduced risk of age-related eye disease.
• Help reduce the occurrence of renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer).
• Inhibit the growth of breast cancer.
• Tuna's fatty acids can help contribute to healthy brain function and also help postpone cognitive decline in the elderly.
• Helps reduce symptoms of depression and ADHD.

Buying tips:

• Tuna's eyes should appear bright and clear.
• The gills should be reddish, and the skin moist and with tightly adhering, shiny scales.
• The flesh will be pink or red, moist and without any hint of browning. It should never have a rainbow pattern on the surface of the meat.

Storing tips:

• To store tuna, remove packaging, rinse fish under cold water, and pat dry with paper towels (fish deteriorates when it sits in its own juices). Cover with cling wrap or foil and set in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Tuna will store well this way for up to two days. When placed in a freezer compartment tuna can stay up to two months.

Cooking tips: To get the best result when cooking tuna is tonot overcook it; overcooking makes tuna dry out. Whatever cooking method you use, you will know that your tuna is cooked when its flesh becomes opaque yet is still moist on the inside.