Best Snacks - Healthy Low Calorie Snack Foods - Tuna

Tuna fish is a quick and easy high protein snack to make anytime. Just mix a can of water-packed Albacore tuna with a tablespoon of nonfat mayonnaise and you have a snack that contains over 30 grams of protein!

Health Benefits
Tuna, an excellent source of lean protein, vitamins and minerals. Tuna can also help lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Research has shown that omega-3 fatty acids can help lower the risk of heart disease, ease the pain of arthritis, reduce asthma complications, and is essential in the growth and development of young children.

Protein is essential to building lean muscle mass and providing the body with energy. The protein in tuna contains all essential amino acids required by the body for growth and maintenance of lean muscle tissue. The protein in tuna and all other fish protein are considered to be a complete protein sources.

The protein source can be important to lose weight because high quality proteins such as the protein in tuna can be used to maintain an active metabolism. Low quality protein contains low amounts of the essential amino acids required for use in protein synthesis and means the protein must either be used for energy or converted to fat.

Which Type of Tuna To Buy?
Several different varieties of tuna are canned. Skipjack, Bluefin and Yellowfin (called Ahi in Hawaii) tuna are canned and sold as "light meat," while Albacore (also called Longfin tuna , Tombo Ahi, and Ahi Palanacan) is the only tuna that can be labeled premium "white meat".

To get the most omega 3 fats from your canned tuna, choose water-packed tuna rather than oil-packed. The oil mixes with some of the tuna's natural fat, so when you drain oil-packed tuna, some of its omega 3 fatty acids also go down the drain. Since oil and water don't mix, water-packed tuna won't leach any of its precious omega 3s.

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