Straight Dope on Medicine: Sardines

Author

Scott Ganser
July 24, 2023

What is a sardine?

Did you expect me to ask, “What is a woman?”

No, Matt Walsh has already compiled a documentary for the ages. He has over 170 million views of his film on Twitter.

He settled on “an adult human female.”

My definitional searchings are more nutritional in nature.

The term sardine can refer to several different species of fish. All these species of fish are in the herring family, Clupeidae, but not all species of herring are true sardines.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization have created the “Codex Alimentarius” to create codes for food standards. This is generally considered the international standard for defining food standards based on nutrition, origin, contamination, labeling, and much more.

They control the dictionary for the sardine designation.[i]

Jim Butcher wrote a more adventurous, swashbuckling Codex that is a must for science fiction/fantasy readers. This is the Codex Alera series.

However, that’s a rabbit yellow brick road I don’t care to pursue at the moment.

We’ll get back to our subject at hand – sardines.

Are Sardines genetically engineered?

Not at the moment. Or as far as I can tell.

At least 35 species of fish are currently being genetically engineered around the world, including trout, catfish, tilapia, striped bass, flounder, and many species of salmon. These fish are being engineered for traits that allegedly will make them better suited for industrial aquaculture, such as faster growth, disease resistance, larger muscles, and temperature tolerance. The genes engineered in these experimental fish come from a variety of organisms, including other fish, coral, mice, bacteria, and even humans.[ii]

That’s good, because if we are eating Frankenfish, I’d like to know.

Nutritional value of a sardine.

Does a fish so small pack a nutritional wallop?

Sardines have been described as a “nutritional powerhouse,” so they are punching far above their weight. Rich in calcium, selenium, and protein, but the biggest benefit is that they’re incredibly convenient.[iii]

No cooking needed. Just peal the cover back on their tin, and they are ready to go.

The average 4.4oz can of sardines contains up to 23 g of protein. As whole sardines also have the cofactors of healthy fats, calcium, and vitamin D.

They are fortified in Omega-3s.

Omega-3 fatty acids, which are a type of polyunsaturated fat, are particularly important in maintaining heart and brain health, per the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Omega-3s are essential, which means your body can't make them, so getting them from your diet is extremely important.

There are three types of omega-3 fatty acids:

· Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)

· Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

· Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)

EPA and DHA primarily come from fish and ALA are most commonly found in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, grass-fed animals, and some leafy vegetables, per the Harvard T.H. Chan School for Public Health.[iv]

Increasing Omega-3 has been linked to decreasing anxiety and depression by about 20%.[v]

Lower in Mercury than other fish

Mercury in fish is indeed a concern, especially if we’re deficient in selenium, have blocked detox pathways, and consume a lot of large fish like tuna or swordfish.

The smaller the fish, the less mercury it will have.

High in Selenium

Selenium is vital for thyroid health and is something that I focus on as someone with Hashimoto’s. Sardines are a rich source of selenium that comes with the cofactors to make it easy to absorb.

Rich in vitamin D

Sardines are rich in vitamin D which is vital for our overall health. Many people suffer from vitamin D deficiency which can impact our immune system, hormone health, and health. Eating foods like sardines and getting more time in the sun can positively influence our vitamin D levels.


Calcium
Sardines are a rich source of calcium, containing higher amounts than other fish. Approximately 100 g of sardines provide 38% of the recommended calcium dietary allowance (RDA).[vi]

High in CoQ10

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is an antioxidant that your body produces naturally. Your cells use CoQ10 for growth and maintenance.

Levels of CoQ10 in your body decrease as you age. CoQ10 levels have also been found to be lower in people with certain conditions, such as heart disease, and in those who take cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins.[vii]

. CoQ10 has been shown to improve symptoms of congestive heart failure. Although findings are mixed, CoQ10 might help reduce blood pressure. Some research also suggests that when combined with other nutrients, CoQ10 might aid recovery in people who've had bypass and heart valve surgeries.

Induce Satiety and Aid in Weight Loss

This country needs agents that assist in weight loss. We are one of the most obese nations on the planet.

Eating sardines surges the fat-based hormones that are in charge of suppressing our appetite, like cholesystokinin and peptide YY. Bile production also increases which emulsifies fats.

One study found significant decrease in serum total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerols (TG), and insulin concentrations. Furthermore, hepatic lipids, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (C), the non-esterified cholesterol/phospholipids ratio, serum transaminases activities and lipid peroxidation were lower, and serum high density lipoproteins-C were higher.[viii]

Sardines in Film

Not only do I bring you nutrition, but culture as well….

The level of pollution in the world today is becoming intolerable.

Only the other day I opened a can of sardines to find it was full of oil and all the fish were dead.[ix]

 

What do Popeye and sardines have in common?

They both come in olive oil.

Two sharks are swimming in the sea...

One shark sees a school of sardines, and says "bro you hungry?" and the other shark says "nah, I'm good. You go for it." So the first shark swims right into the sardines, and nom-nom-noms on hundreds of the little fishes. Minutes later, the shark curls up in pain. "Oooh, aaaagh, uuuurgh...." the second shark says "What's the matter?" and the first shark says "I forgot you're supposed to wait half an hour before swimming after you eat... >_<"

 

Sardine Poetry

Jim Davis Nov 2018

Our eyes filled with wonder
Our minds twisted in change
Much like hobbits going afar
Then returning to sweet home
Our lives were changed forever

We rode slow and flew so fast
In tin cans from here and to there
Never taking off our shoes
Hardly touching the ground
Hardly touching Africa

Hiding behind camera lens
Wearing our face in masks
As a people not African black
Who worry not the future
Living easily in time’s moment

Like sardines aligned in tight
Wild creatures within confines
Electricity, steel, and wire
Tall fences stopping escape
To other worlds and realms afar

 

Chilled or Frozen?

 

Chilled (0, 2, 6, 10, 13, and 15 days) and frozen (0, 0.5, 2, 4, 8, and 12 months) sardines were used to determine the influence of such storage times of fish over the quality of the final canned product. Traditional determinations of lipid quality (free fatty acids content, thiobarbituric acid index, and polyene index) were studied and compared with the formation of fluorescent compounds expressed as the ratio between fluorescence readings taken at two excitation/emission maxima (393/463 and 327/415 nm). No clear correlations were found between the common measurements of lipid deterioration and the time of storage prior to canning. Satisfactory correlations were found between the fluorescence ratio obtained from the filling medium of cans and the time of storage of the starting material (r = 0.90 and 0.91 in brine- and oil-canned samples, respectively). According to the present results, fluorescence detection of interaction compounds can provide a rapid and sensible method to assess quality differences in the final product as it relates to the quality of the raw material used.[x]

A global distribution of sardines highlighting the range for Sardinops sagax (data sourced from Nature Serve and IUCN, 2020).

Glycemic Control?

No.

Sardines won’t do that.

Here we see that recommendations aren’t as powerful as it was supposed they were.[xi]

Background

Nutrition therapy is the cornerstone of treating diabetes mellitus. The inclusion of fish (particularly oily fish) at least two times per week is recommended by current international dietary guidelines for type 2 diabetes. In contrast to a large number of human studies examining the effects of oily fish on different cardiovascular risk factors, little research on this topic is available in patients with type 2 diabetes. The aims of this pilot study were to investigate the effects of a sardine-enriched diet on metabolic control, adiponectin, inflammatory markers, erythrocyte membrane fatty acid (EMFA) composition, and gut microbiota in drug-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods

35 drug-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes were randomized to follow either a type 2 diabetes standard diet (control group: CG), or a standard diet enriched with 100 g of sardines 5 days a week (sardine group: SG) for 6 months. Anthropometric, dietary information, fasting glycated hemoglobin, glucose, insulin, adiponectin, inflammatory markers, EMFA and specific bacterial strains were determined before and after intervention.

Results

There were no significant differences in glycemic control between groups at the end of the study. Both groups decreased plasma insulin (SG: −35.3 %, P = 0.01, CG: −22.6 %, P = 0.02) and homeostasis model of assessment - insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (SG: −39.2 %, P = 0.007, CG: −21.8 %, P = 0.04) at 6-months from baseline. However only SG increased adiponectin in plasma compared to baseline level (+40.7 %, P = 0.04). The omega-3 index increased 2.6 % in the SG compared to 0.6 % in the CG (P = 0.001). Both dietary interventions decreased phylum Firmicutes (SG and CG: P = 0.04) and increased E. coli concentrations (SG: P = 0.01, CG: P = 0.03) at the end of the study from baseline, whereas SG decreased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio (P = 0.04) and increased Bacteroides-Prevotella (P = 0.004) compared to baseline.

Conclusions

Although enriching diet with 100 g of sardines 5 days a week during 6 months to a type 2 diabetes standard diet seems to have neutral effects on glycemic control in drug-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes, this nutritional intervention could have beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk. Furthermore, both dietary interventions decreased HOMA-IR and altered gut microbiota composition of drug-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes.

Mediterranean Marvels

In the Mediterranean sardines and anchovies are workers’ food.[xii] My 1938 copy of The Golden Book of Portuguese Tinned Fish says, “Among the great variety of Portuguese tinned fish, the sardine occupies the most important place.” The first sardine factory was founded in the town of Setubal in 1880 to overcome the shortage of fish on the Breton coast. In 1930 Portugal surpassed France to become the era’s largest producer; they still account for about a third of the fish brought to port each year. Sardines practically have their own holiday; on St. Anthony’s Day (June 13th) freshly grilled sardines are the street food of choice for celebrants. The Portuguese sardine season runs from May through October, which contributes to their popularity as beach food; grilled sardines, accompanied by potatoes, bread and a salad, are probably the summer meal in Portugal.

It’s similar on the southern side of the Mediterranean. Majid Mahjoub, from whom we get marvelous harissa, sun-dried couscous and Onsa’s Olive Oil bottled just for us, told me that sardines are “a giant food in the kitchen of the Tunisian coastline.” Tunisians eat them both fresh and tinned, preferring the smaller, skinnier sardines. “They are,” Majid explained, “the fish of the poor.” Just-caught sardines are frequently grilled, then served with lemon and fresh, green olive oil.

Sardines are big in Greece, too. A Greek salad with a tin of sardines is a good way to go. A green salad with roasted peppers, some cucumber, olives, and other assorted vegetables is excellent. Greek cookbook author Aglaia Kremezi (whose work I highly recommend) has a recipe for sardelosalata—the sardine version of the classic taramosalata spread (made from carp roe). It makes an excellent hors d’oeuvres or sandwich.

In addition to nutrition and culture, I also provide travel.[xiii]

It’s a one-stop shop.

Setúbal is an ancient and picturesque town along the southwestern coast of Portugal. Bathed by the Atlantic Ocean, the town’s strategic location has made it since Roman times an important trading port and a location famous for harvesting salt and storing food in salting barrels. Now Setúbal not only boasts the country’s third-largest port, after those of Lisbon and Porto, but is also an important tourist center characterized by distinctive neighborhoods and sites of great interest.

The city sits on the Setúbal Peninsula in a scenic bay at the mouth of the Sado River at the foot of the protected area known as Serra de Arrabida, which is a popular area for hikers and bikers. This area of the city’s territory, in fact, is included in the Parque Natural da Arràbida, a protected park that turns out to be the perfect destination for a day trip filled with nature and relaxation. -

The End.

Fade to Black…

 


[viii] Daidj NBB, Lamri-Senhadji M. Hepatoprotective and Anti-Obesity Properties of Sardine By-Product Oil in Rats Fed a High-Fat Diet. Prev Nutr Food Sci. 2021 Sep 30;26(3):285-295

[x] J. Agric. Food Chem. 1997, 45, 9, 3617–3621

[xi] Balfegó M, Canivell S, Hanzu FA, Sala-Vila A, Martínez-Medina M, Murillo S, Mur T, Ruano EG, Linares F, Porras N, Valladares S, Fontalba M, Roura E, Novials A, Hernández C, Aranda G, Sisó-Almirall A, Rojo-Martínez G, Simó R, Gomis R. Effects of sardine-enriched diet on metabolic control, inflammation and gut microbiota in drug-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes: a pilot randomized trial. Lipids Health Dis. 2016 Apr 18;15:78