Sharing a post seen on The Diabetes Diet Blog here
"Which: Best tinned fish for omega-3
Adapted from Which Magazine June 2026
Tinned fish is a simple, affordable way to boost your intake of high quality protein and nutrients including vitamin D and B12. Oily fish are also high in omega-3 fats which are essential for heart, immune and lung health.
Mackerel, sardines, and salmon are the top three fish for dietary omega-3s. From 80 tins of fish, Which researchers found that the best sources seem to be mackerel, then sardines, then salmon. It should be noted that mackerel is being overfished.
Fish in tomato sauce or spring water are lower in calories and salt than those in sunflower oil or brine. Richly sauced options such as sweet chilli flavour, were found to have high amounts of added sugar and salt.
Eating “with bone” varieties give more calcium. Smaller fish species such as sardines naturally accumulate less mercury than bigger fish like tuna.
The UK government recommend at least two portions (140g) of fish a week, one of which should be oily. The NHS advises that girls and women planning a pregnancy should not eat more than two portions of oily fish a week. Everyone else can have up to four portions of oily fish a week.
Which’s top picks (UK) are:
Mackerel: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference smoked Scottish mackerel with black pepper. This contains 4,700mg of omega-3 per 100g and costs £3.20 for a 110g tin.
Sardines: Fish4ever sardines in organic piri piri sauce contains 4,200g per 100g and costs £3.35 for a 120g tin from Ocado.
Salmon: Marks and Spencer’s wild Alaskan red salmon contains 2,000mg of omega-3 per 100g. This costs £.3.65 for a 213g tin and Sainsbury’s wild pacific red salmon contains the same omega-3 and costs £3.50 for a 212g tin."
Tinned fish is a simple, affordable way to boost your intake of high quality protein and nutrients including vitamin D and B12. Oily fish are also high in omega-3 fats which are essential for heart, immune and lung health.
Mackerel, sardines, and salmon are the top three fish for dietary omega-3s. From 80 tins of fish, Which researchers found that the best sources seem to be mackerel, then sardines, then salmon. It should be noted that mackerel is being overfished.
Fish in tomato sauce or spring water are lower in calories and salt than those in sunflower oil or brine. Richly sauced options such as sweet chilli flavour, were found to have high amounts of added sugar and salt.
Eating “with bone” varieties give more calcium. Smaller fish species such as sardines naturally accumulate less mercury than bigger fish like tuna.
The UK government recommend at least two portions (140g) of fish a week, one of which should be oily. The NHS advises that girls and women planning a pregnancy should not eat more than two portions of oily fish a week. Everyone else can have up to four portions of oily fish a week.
Which’s top picks (UK) are:
Mackerel: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference smoked Scottish mackerel with black pepper. This contains 4,700mg of omega-3 per 100g and costs £3.20 for a 110g tin.
Sardines: Fish4ever sardines in organic piri piri sauce contains 4,200g per 100g and costs £3.35 for a 120g tin from Ocado.
Salmon: Marks and Spencer’s wild Alaskan red salmon contains 2,000mg of omega-3 per 100g. This costs £.3.65 for a 213g tin and Sainsbury’s wild pacific red salmon contains the same omega-3 and costs £3.50 for a 212g tin."
Please note prices given above are subject to change
The NHS guide to Fish and shellfish can be seen here
Related Post
'More omega-3 in the blood, longer life' - read it hereAll articles / posts / studies (and any comments) within this blog are provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. If you have any concerns about your general health, you should contact your GP or local health care team/provider.
All the best Jan
Dear Jan, thank you so much for sharing this. I am not a fan of mackerel or tuna, but I love salmon! This is great information, important to know.
ReplyDeleteGood information as always. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteMuito bem explicado e importante sdisso saber!
ReplyDeletebeijos praianos, chica
Gracias por el consejo. Te mando un beso.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the nutritional info, Jan. Have a wondrous weekend.
ReplyDeleteSo true on the sweet chili. Crazy amounts of extra salt. I used to eat these sweet chili corn triangles and had to stop for two reasons. They hurt me and they cost too much.
ReplyDeleteI don't recall ever seeing tinned Mackeral, here it is Tuna, Salmon and Sardines mostly and if I'm lucky Herrings in tomato sauce. I have also seen herrings in jars, pickled and called rollmops.
ReplyDeleteSome of mental hospital try to serve fish couple times a week.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jan...Happy Sunday!
ReplyDeleteAn extremely useful post about Omega-3s.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, Jan!
I’ve been eating a lot of mackerel and wild salmon since I started living by the sea—that’s a great piece of advice, thanks Jan! Have a lovely Sunday, hugs Elke
ReplyDeleteGood article. We often have tin sardines and a paste that is available of salmon.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this information Jan.
ReplyDeleteI usually by the tuna in water, I have not tried other tinned fish.
Take care, Happy Sunday. Have a wonderful week!
I've never seen salmon in a tin. Other fish, yes.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI've never eaten mackerel or sardines, but I do love having a can of salmon on hand. So delicious and easy.
ReplyDeleteI remember it with SMASH - Sardines, Mackerel, Anchovies, Salmon, Herring
ReplyDeleteI have to say that if I can choose I opt for fresh fish. We love wild Alaskan Sockeye salmon. We try to avoid farm raised fish as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteThat's great to know, as I often eat tinned mackerel. Thank you, Jan. X
ReplyDeleteGood information. I have to say that I don't care for canned fish of any kind.
ReplyDeleteMy. son eats a lot of sardines for their omega 3 content. Great information. Thanks Jan.
ReplyDeleteTinned sardines, mackerel and salmon are convenient, nutrient-rich options for boosting omega-3 intake, with sardines offering the added benefit of calcium when eaten with their bones
ReplyDeleteI fall short here.
ReplyDeleteI so wish I liked fish since it is so good for me, but I just get sick smelling it.
ReplyDeleteour fish is of sweet water (river) so i can say i like it very much ,though we have just few months to eat fish due to extreme hot season most time of the year
ReplyDeleteMe gustan las sardinas en lata, a veces como atún. Besos.
ReplyDelete