Salmon is among the most nutritious foods on earth. Need another reason to switch from fried chicken, beef, and pork to grill salmon?
Well, salmon is also very delicious, satisfying, pretty affordable, versatile, and widely available. Let’s be completely honest. All types of fish are just delicious so eating healthy doesn’t mean that you have to eat boring food.
With salmon, there are lots of flavors and all its health benefits are a huge plus.
Source: OnceUponaChef
Here are seven impressive benefits of eating salmon:
1. Protects your heart
Eating salmon regularly helps protect you from cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks, stroke, and high blood pressure. This may be attributed to the fact that salmon boosts the level of omega-3 in the blood and lowering the level of omega-6 fatty acids thus decreasing triglycerides.
Usually, when a person’s blood has an imbalance of omega-6s in relation to omega-3s, they are at a higher risk of getting cardiovascular diseases.
Try swapping steak and other unhealthy meats with grilled salmon and notice massive improvement of your heart health.
Scientists have proven that including salmon in your diet reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases by 21% and 31% if you eat it once a month and twice a week respectively.
2. Safeguards your brain and mental health
Including salmon in your diet improves brain function. People who consume salmon regularly have more grey matter in their brains
Regular consumption of salmon also helps reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Vitamin D is found in salmon and is one of the important vitamins that help to treat different mental conditions such as Seasonal Affective Disorder.
SAD is associated with the lack of vitamin D in winter due to limited contact with the sun.
Some SAD symptoms include feeling depressed and fatigued. Eating salmon is very helpful in treating these symptoms.
The DHA found in salmon is called brain food for a reason – when digested it turns into proteins that help to prevent excessive inflammation which causes dementia.
Eating salmon has been linked to an increased IQ, a benefit from the omega-3 fats. Additionally, eating salmon has been found to protect fetal brain health.
3. Boosts your vision
Eating salmon and other types of fish on a regular basis maintains your 20/20 vision. Your eyes are able to open wider than normal. And we don’t mean the creepy kind of wide.
The high levels of omega-3 fats found in salmon are the reason behind the improved vision. If you include salmon in your diet you are 30% less likely to have vision problems in the future. It’s about time that you start making friends with fishmongers if you want to avoid loss of eyesight as you age.
Source: SeafoodMarket
4. Helps in decreasing risk and fighting cancer
A regular serving of salmon every now and then will protect you from cancer. The fatty acids found in salmon inhibit COX-2 which is the enzyme responsible for the development of common cancers known as adenocarcinoma that are usually found in the colon, pancreas, and prostate.
Another way that cancers may start is in the form of tumors. The growth of tumors can be prompted by normal inflammation. Inflammation also speeds up the spread of cancers that have already developed.
The omega-3 and LDL found in salmon generally decreases inflammation in the body which keeps lowers the risk of developing cancerous tumors.
For those who are already fighting cancer, salmon helps them deal with the side effects of treatment and also boosts their chances of survival as well as long-term remission.
| Read also: Most Popular Food Items From The Sea |
5. Prevents and even fights type 2 diabetes
Salmon and other fish are low in bad fats and cholesterol. Instead, they’re high in good lipids that have been proven to help people who are suffering from diabetes by reversing the condition.
It’s also very important in helping individuals who are at risk of suffering from type 2 to stay healthy.
6. Helpful during weight loss
If you have been battling with your weight, we have some great news for you. Salmon will help you with all your weight loss goals. It doesn’t matter whether you’re trying to lose weight or keep it off. Salmon’s got you!
It works by regulating hormones that control appetite making you feel full for longer.
Additionally, your metabolic rate is increased promoting the burning of calories.
Ultimately, overweight individuals are able to cut some belly fat.
7. Good for your bones and joints
Salmon also contains bioactive peptides that are small protein molecules that support the cartilage found in joints. This plays a significant role in reducing the symptoms of arthritis o keep your joints functional.
Source: Foodnetwork
Conclusion
Salmon has a uniquely delicious flavor and can be prepared in quite a number of ways. Also if you’re craving this nutritional powerhouse you can still get canned salmon which is far more convenient and affordable.
Eating at least two servings every week is helpful in meeting most of your nutritional needs and reducing the risk of quite a number of diseases. Ultimately, this will improve your overall quality of life.
About The Author:
Dorine Njatha is a passionate writer, which, considering you’re reading this, makes perfect sense. She has, for the past four years, enjoyed writing authentic content that captivates readers and delivers clients’ vision into words – but never at the expense of providing an entertaining read. A lot of her SEO articles focus on balancing an informative aspect with SEO needs to help your Google search rankings surge.
