They are too mild for my taste. I prefer the richer taste of the VitalChoice brand of Portuguese pilchards -- and not just because half of my ancestors came from Portugal.

"I love VitalChoice as a brand," Keri told me. "I like their salmon as well. They are a great company."

Besides the choice of brand, I wondered about how important it is to eat whole sardines -- skin and bones and all -- compared to skinless and boneless. While I prefer whole sardines, I realize that some people might be put off by them.

"It doesn't matter too much," Keri told me. "You are getting a little more calcium in the bones, but you get most of the nutrients either way."

What about fresh versus canned sardines?

"In New York City a lot of Greek restaurants have them," Keri said. "That's the place to get them."

I've never seen fresh sardines here in Colorado -- until yesterday evening. The local Whole Foods store now has them.

Then I told Keri that I prefer the taste of sardines in olive oil, and the problem is that olive oil is omega-6. Are sardines in water better for us than those packed in olive oil?

"That depends on what else you have in your diet the rest of the day," Keri says. "If you are not getting any other fat in your diet, then sardines in olive oil are a fine choice. But if you are getting olive oil five other times a day in other places, you probably don't need it with your sardines."

All sardines are very low in mercury, which is the biggest problem with much seafood. Generally speaking, the bigger the fish -- the higher on the oceanic food chain -- the more the mercury. Shark, tuna -- and yes, salmon too -- are all high in mercury. As befitting their name, sardines are small. About the lowest on the food chain, they are also among the fish lowest in mercury.

And they are among the very highest in the best kind of oil, omega-3. I have written several times about the importance of omega-3 oil in our diet, including the importance of increasing the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 oil. In September my most recent article emphasized the importance of increasing our omega-3 consumption.

Wild Chinook salmon seems to have a bit more omega-3 oil per 100 grams than canned Atlantic sardines, according to my analysis of the USDA National Nutrient Database. The sardines have a total of 1.5 grams of the different omega-3 oils, which the USDA calls "n-3," and the salmon has a total of 2.1 grams.

But besides the mercury issue, salmon isn't available all year around. And salmon is much more expensive.

"Sardines are cheap!" Keri concludes. "They are a great power food."