Haddock Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits

For better health, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends you eat 8 ounces of fish or seafood a week. If you’re not a fan of fish, but want to improve your diet and health, haddock is a good choice. It has a sweet, not-so-fishy flavor and a firm, moist texture. 

Haddock is also low in fat, high in protein, and a source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential fats that play a significant role in supporting your body’s health and well-being.

Here’s a look at the nutrition, health benefits, and uses for haddock.

Haddock Nutrition Facts

A 3.5 ounce (100g) serving of cooked haddock has 90 calories, 20 grams of protein, 0.6 grams of fat, and no carbohydrates. Haddock is also an excellent source of vitamin B12, vitamin B6, selenium, and phosphorus. This nutrition information comes from the USDA.

Carbs

Haddock has no carbohydrates, fiber, or sugar. 

Fats

With only 0.6 grams of fat per 3.5-ounce serving, haddock is a very low-fat food choice. In addition to being low in fat, most of the fat in the fish comes from healthy polyunsaturated fats, with 0.204 grams per serving.

Haddock also contains omega-3 fatty acids, with 0.166 grams per 3.5-ounce serving. Most of the omega-3 fatty acids are in the form of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). 

Though alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is also a form of the essential fatty acid, consuming food sources of EPA and DHA is the best way to improve your blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids.

ALA is found primarily in plant foods like flaxseeds. Your body needs to convert ALA to EPA and DHA to perform essential functions. Your body’s conversion is inefficient, meaning the amount of ALA you consume won’t supply the same amount of EPA and DHA. 

Cooked haddock has 0.111 grams of saturated fat and 0.074 grams of monounsaturated fat.

Protein

Most of the calories in haddock come from protein, with 20 grams in a 3.5-ounce serving of the cooked fish. Haddock is a high-quality source of protein, providing all the essential amino acids your body needs to perform at its best.

Vitamins and Minerals

Haddock is also an excellent source of many essential vitamins and minerals. One serving of the cooked fish meets more than 20% of your daily needs for niacin, vitamin B12, phosphorus, and selenium.

The fish is also a good source of riboflavin, vitamin B5, and vitamin B6 and contains small amounts of iron, vitamin D, vitamin E, and folate. 

Calories

Haddock is a low-calorie protein food with only 90 calories per 3.5-ounce cooked serving. Nearly 90% of those calories come from protein—the rest coming from healthy fat. 

Health Benefits

Good for the Heart

Heart disease causes one out of every four deaths in the United States. Modifications to your diet, adding more nutrient-dense foods, can help decrease your risk of developing heart disease.

Fish is one category of food that fits this criteria. The omega-3 fatty acids in fish play a significant role in improving heart health by reducing inflammation, lowering triglyceride levels, and improving blood pressure.

However, it’s not just the omega-3 fatty acids in fish that benefit your heart. Fish is a healthy source of protein, rich in B vitamins, vitamin D, and selenium. These nutrients also support heart health by regulating blood pressure and protecting against oxidative damage. 

Benefits the Brain

Including more fish in your weekly diet also benefits your brain. Omega-3 fatty acids play a vital role in brain development. A retrospective cohort study found that eating fish twice a month during your childhood improves visual learning, memory, and attention.

But the benefits of fish and your brain don’t stop once you become an adult. Regularly eating fish may also prevent dementia as you get older. Dementia causes problems with memory, problem solving, and language that interferes with daily life. 

Reduce Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of vision loss in older adults. As you get older, your macula—the part of your retina responsible for crisp clear vision—thins, making it more susceptible to damage that leads to vision changes.

Making healthy lifestyle choices may lower your risk of developing AMD. More specifically, regularly eating fish like haddock may lower your risk of AMD by as much as 18%.

Low in Mercury

There are many health benefits of adding more fish to your diet, but you may have concerns about mercury. All fish contain some amount of mercury. Though a naturally occurring metal, mercury in high amounts is toxic. 

Pregnant and nursing women need to be especially mindful about the amount of mercury in their diet because of how it can affect the neurodevelopment of their baby. However, that doesn’t mean you need to cut fish from your diet. Instead, include fish with low amounts of mercury like haddock. 

Fits Most Special Diets

Low in calories, high in protein, and carb-free, haddock makes a healthy addition to almost any diet plan you may be following. Whether you're cutting carbs for the keto diet or looking for healthy additions to your Mediterranean diet, haddock is a good option.

Allergies

Fish like haddock are one of the most common food allergies. While most food allergies first appear during childhood, fish allergies are more likely to occur during adulthood than childhood.

Fish allergies cause a wide range of reactions, including life-threatening anaphylaxis, which causes a decrease in blood pressure and loss of consciousness. Consult an allergist if you're unsure whether or not you have a fish allergy.

When It’s Best

Commercial fisheries catch haddock all year long. You can find the fish fresh, frozen, or salted at your grocery store and fish market. 

Storage and Food Safety

Like most seafood, fresh haddock has a short shelf-life. You should store it in the refrigerator and cook it within a day or two of purchase. You can keep frozen haddock in your freezer for up to eight months from the date of purchase.

Discard any fish that smells “fishy” or has an off-color or texture. 

How to Prepare

Haddock is a firm moist fish with a mild flavor. It’s a type of cod and makes a good substitute for any of your cod recipes. Baking the fish in the oven is one of the easiest ways to prepare haddock. 

Place your fish in an oven-safe dish, sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and add slices of fresh lemon. Then bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.