Useful properties of smelt

Smelt is a small fish from the Salmon family. This seafood has an unusually delicate taste and a wide range of medicinal properties. The benefits and harms of smelt are always of interest to people who want to include this product in their daily diet. Its popularity is due to its usefulness, low calorie content and various cooking methods.

What does smelt look like and where is it found

Small sea fish with delicate silvery scales. Her life expectancy is from one to ten years. It has an elongated body of 20-30 cm, but in some cases it grows up to 40 cm, and weighs about 350 g. This marine life is characterized by transparent fins and a green back. The eyes are bright black, and the mouth is small and has many large teeth. An interesting feature of the fish is the smell of fresh cucumber.

Fish can be found in the region of the northern seas and lakes, bays and estuaries of the rivers of Russia, Scandinavia and the Baltic states. She often travels to cooler areas to search for food. Her diet consists of small crustaceans, planktonic algae and small fish.

Smelt composition

Sea fish is popular not only for its excellent taste, but also for the presence of irreplaceable useful components in its composition. It is a high-protein, easily digestible product with a low calorie content.

Nutritional value of useful smelt

Fish contains such important for human life trace elements as iron, fluorine, chromium, phosphorus, as well as vitamins of the PP, B and D groups, which are indispensable for the immune system.

Such a huge content of organic and inorganic substances significantly enhances the nutritional value of fish. Therefore, it must be included in the diet to improve health and prevent various diseases.

Caloric content of smelt

The calorie content of smelt per 100 grams is 102 kcal, but this figure can vary, since it depends on the time of catching the fish, its habitat, and also on the method of preparation.

Moderate consumption will saturate the human body with the necessary substances and will not harm the figure.

How is smelt useful?

The benefits of smelt for the body are invaluable due to the high content of vital micro and macro elements. It is recommended to include fish in the diet for the treatment and prevention of many diseases, since it:

• copes with problems of the cardiovascular system;
• strengthens bones and joints, supplies the body with a large amount of calcium;
• improves metabolism and provides a feeling of lightness in the stomach;
• good for dental health;
• fights puffiness, ridding the body of excess fluid;
• used to heal external damage to the skin.

Sea fish is useful due to its rich chemical composition, since the contained useful substances help to comprehensively strengthen and restore body functions, stabilize the work of important systems. Therefore, with the systematic use of a sea product, the likelihood of forgetting about many serious diseases will significantly increase.

Smelt in folk medicine

The oil of this sea fish is often used in folk medicine as an antibacterial and healing agent. For various skin lesions - scratches, cuts, ulcers, burns - fat is used as a lotion, to accelerate the tightening and fight against many bacterial organisms.

Is it possible for children to smelt

Due to the significant content of macro- and microelements, vitamins and acids, the product is necessary for children to strengthen the musculoskeletal system and support the immune system. Before giving the child a product, you need to remove the bones from it and boil it. To check if the baby has an allergic reaction to fish, and to be safe from problems, it is necessary to inject gradually in small portions. Complementary feeding can start on average from 1.5 years.

Smelt is useful for the bones and joints of a small organism, and can also improve or restore vision, which is quite important in our time for schoolchildren who spend all their time near a computer monitor.

Is smelt good for a diet

The seafood product does not have a high calorie content, therefore it is perfect for a dietary menu when served with vegetables and herbs. It contains a huge amount of easily digestible proteins, which explains the benefits and nutritional value of fish. It is best to use it baked, since the calorie content after such heat treatment decreases slightly.

During the diet, it is allowed to eat even healthy fried smelt with a large amount of raw vegetables and herbs added to the finished dish. Such a dinner will quickly saturate, give strength and energy, and also speed up the metabolism, which will have a positive effect on the figure.

Is there any benefit in fried, dried and dried smelt

Saltwater fish retains many beneficial components during processing. Frying is the easiest and most common way to cook fish. Even after heat treatment, it has a positive effect on brain activity, immunity, and support system.

Dried fish enriches the human body with essential components that prevent the appearance of wrinkles, slow down aging, reduce the occurrence of heart failure and are an excellent prevention of cancer.

Healthy dried smelt is necessary for pregnant women for the development and growth of the baby's brain, as well as in the fight against depression.

How to cook smelt deliciously

According to numerous surveys, it has become known that this sea product tastes best when fried. To do this, you just need to clean the fish, getting rid of the entrails, and roll in flour on both sides, place an unheated pan with sunflower oil. Here is one of the most delicious recipes for making healthy smelt:

But frying is not the only way to cook fish tasty and, most importantly, healthy. Healthy smelt is baked, stuffed, smoked, marinated, grilled and even stewed in white wine.

The product goes well with lemon sauce, vegetables and cheese. It is also used for making fish soup and cutlets. In Scandinavia, fish oil of excellent quality is obtained from it, and canned food is very common in other countries.

Smelt harm and contraindications

Each product has contraindications, smelt is no exception. Significant harm to the body can be caused by sea fish in the case of:

• diagnosing a patient with gout or urolithiasis, since it contains a nitrogenous substance with a purine base, which negatively affects the course of the disease;
• an allergic reaction to sea fish;
• purchases of a substandard marine product containing arsenic or polychlorinated biphenyl, which was caught in a contaminated area;
• poor processing of fish before consumption, as it can contain many parasites characteristic of sea fish.

How to choose and store smelt correctly

When choosing sea fish, you need to pay attention to the smell and appearance of the product. There are several criteria to help you make the right choice:

1. The smell of smelt should resemble a fresh cucumber, if it smells like fish, this means that the product is expired.
2. If the abdomen of the sea fish is not swollen, the scales are smooth and shiny, the eyes are bulging and transparent, and the gills have a dark red tint and are characterized by the absence of mucus, then the product is fresh.
3. If doubts about the expiration date of the smelt appear at home, you should place the fish in water, then the fresh product will instantly go to the bottom.
4. When frozen, a pale shade of the gills and a drooping state of the eyes are permissible.

It is necessary to store sea fish in freezers, since when frozen, it does not lose either its taste or useful properties. But before that, it must be thoroughly washed and cut, removing the insides. Without freezing, the product can be stored for no more than three days, if it is dried, cleaned of the insides, rubbed with salt both inside and outside and placed in a cloth moistened with vinegar.

Dried and sun-dried sea fish are stored for a year, wrapped in wrapping paper and placed in a wicker basket or cardboard box, which should be kept in a warm, dry place. In a pickled form, smelt should be stored in the refrigerator for about 2 days, just like fried and boiled.

Conclusion

Moderate consumption of valuable seafood in any form will saturate the body with useful components and preserve health and youth for many years. It is important to know what are the benefits and harms of smelt, as well as be able to choose the right fresh product.

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