Why Nutritionists Want You To Eat Salmon Skin (& The Best Way To Prepare It)

Salmon skin is polarizing. While some people consider it the tastiest part of the fish, others are averse to its funky texture and salty bite. If you fall somewhere in the middle, you're probably wondering whether there are any health benefits to leaving the skin intact.

Salmon skin is made of collagen, phospholipid molecules1, and mucus cells1 that give the fish structure and protect it from various pathogens. It's a good source of proteins and healthy fats, including the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA.

These fatty acids are present in the skin itself and abundant in the fatty layer right underneath the skin known as the "fat line."

Many people don't get enough omega-3s in their diet, but it's essential for heart health and brain health. "People who have higher omega-3 intake have a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases2, basically across the board," Penny Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., RDN, LDN, FAHA, a professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State and past chair of the AHA Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health, tells mindbodygreen. "Beyond that, omega-3 fatty acids seem to play an important role in cognition3, especially in the young."

Salmon skin also contains collagen proteins that help support skin and joint health.

"Cooking a salmon filet with the skin on may also better preserve the natural fat and nutrients in the salmon during preparation," adds clinical dietitian Huma Chaudhry, R.D., LDN. These nutrients include vitamin D for immune support4, potassium for blood pressure control5, and vitamin B12 (folate) for blood and nerve cell health6.

All this is to say, it's worth leaving the skin on if you can. It'll help take salmon—which is already a very healthy food—to the next level nutritionally. "I tell people, if [salmon] comes with skin on, leave it on—there's no need to remove it," says registered dietitian nutritionist Roxana Ehsani, M.S., R.D., CSSD, LDN.

One argument against eating salmon skin is that it contains toxins from the fish's environment. While it's true that skin does hold on to lipophilic (fat-loving) organic contaminants7 like PCBs, this won't be an issue as long as you're buying salmon from clean waters.

Farmed salmon has a higher concentration of pollutants than wild-caught salmon in some cases, but again it depends on where the fish comes from. While wild-caught Chinook salmon from Alaska tends to be lower in PCBs8 and pesticides than farmed salmon, wild Atlantic salmon can actually be up to three times higher in PCBs, mercury, and arsenic9 than farmed salmon, according to research.