Here are some surprising health benefits of eating fish:
- May help to keep your Heart and Brain healthy.
- Beneficial to consume during Pregnancy.
- Very good source of lean protein and for weight loss.
- Rich source of micronutrients.
- Enhances sleep quality.
- May help to prevent and treat depression.
- Reduces the risk of autoimmune disease.
Fish make for healthy food to eat. They contain a high amount of lean protein and lack harmful fats. Fish are often regarded as “White meat” making them the best food choice for people with high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetic patients.
There are many health benefits associated with fish. Since they pack a high amount of essential nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. The Omega-3 fatty acid found in fish, for example, is important for a healthy body and brain functioning.
A single serving of fatty fish is enough to fulfill your body’s daily nutritional needs. So it is always a good idea to include fish on your menu at least twice a week for optimal health.
Furthermore, eating fish twice a week lowers your risk of suffering from many diseases. Especially diseases related to heart such as heart attack and stroke. It also lowers your risk of suffering from other chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes.
Some of the healthy fishes that are low in mercury content include yellow croaker and salmon, tuna, etc. These fish are also high in protein and omega 3 fatty acids.
1. May Help to Keep Your Heart and Brain Healthy
Heart health is one of the health benefits of eating fish more often. It is equally beneficial for your brain health as well. The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish such as salmon, tuna, etc. help to keep your brain and heart-healthy.
There are a variety of choices when it comes to fish and not all species of fish are healthy to eat. Some fish are high in mercury content making them poisonous to eat. They may do more harm than good to you if you eat them as a part of your diet.
Thus, choosing a fish that is both healthy to eat and beneficial is important. Fish such as salmon, trout, sardines, herring, canned mackerel, canned light tuna, and oysters, prawns, etc are some of the healthy fish to eat.
A report from Harvard School of Public Health professors found that eating fish can actually lower the chances of having heart diseases. This helps to lower the chances of premature deaths from heart diseases.
The omega 3 fatty acid found in fish helps to lower bad cholesterol or LDL. These bad cholesterol are the major culprit of diseases such as stroke, heart attack, and chest pain.
Know more about high blood cholesterol and its effects on health.
Furthermore, omega 3 fatty acid plays an important role in providing the fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA helps in the growth, development, and functionality of nervous tissue. It also aids in the learning and memory power of the people.
Thus, adding fish to your menu at least twice a week could prove beneficial for your heart and brain health.
2. Beneficial To Consume During Pregnancy
Eating fish during pregnancy is important for prenatal and postnatal neurological development. Especially, fish rich in Omega-3(DHA) play an important role in the brain and eye development of the child.
A recent study suggests that pregnant women who eat fish more often during pregnancy give birth to healthy and intelligent babies. So even if you do not like the smell of it, which most people find it disgusting, you still need to eat it more often during your pregnancy months.
Here’s a list of benefit of eating fish during pregnancy (Pre-pregnancy and post-pregnancy)
- It helps in the proper brain development of the baby.
- It helps to increase the eyesight of the baby.
- Eating fish during pregnancy helps your baby to grow rapidly.
- It helps your baby to sleep well.
Apart from the above-listed benefit of eating fish during pregnancy, mothers with infants also can benefit from eating fish more often. Breastfeeding babies get much more essential nutrients from their mother’s milk who happen to eat seafood during the time of breastfeeding.
3. Good Source Of Lean Protein
Fish is considered to be one of the best sources of lean proteins. Since it is low in fat content compared to dense food like red meat and pork. Lean protein aids in the proper functioning of the body’s repair mechanism. It also aids in weight loss by restricting the daily calorie intake.
On the other hand, red meat and pork are considered not so healthy for our health as they contain saturated fat and trans fat. These fats are known to increase the bad LDL cholesterol level. Red meat is also linked with the development of gastrointestinal issues along with Uric acid.
People can switch to fish instead of red meat for better health benefits. It also aids in weight loss and is included in many healthy diet plans. These diet plans include a continental diet plan, a keto diet plan, and many other low carbs and calorie-restricted diet plans.
Here are different ways to lose weight fast:
- The keto diet guide for weight loss,
- Intermittent fasting to lose weight,
- A low carb diet guide to losing excess body weight.
4. Fish Are Rich Source Of Micronutrients
Fish are a very good source of vitamin D, B2(Riboflavin), sodium, manganese, potassium, iron, zinc,m, etc. These vitamins and minerals are needed for living a healthy life.
They also pack tons of micronutrients, vitamins, and protein. These micronutrients help in lowering blood pressure, energy production, immunity function, reducing the risk of a heart attack, stroke, etc.
Fish such as salmon also a very good source of Omega-3 fatty acids. Adding them as a part of your diet can prevent vision loss and your chances of macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is a leading cause of blindness in the elderly population.
5. Eating Fish Enhances Sleep Quality
Improved sleep quality is one of the health benefits of eating fish more often. In this world full of stress and anxiety, sleeping disorder, and insomnia are very common. People find it difficult to have a good night’s sleep even at the comfiest of bed.
Researchers believe that Blue-ray exposures and Vitamin D deficiency are to be blamed for sleepless nights. A comparative study of the brain regions associated with the sleep switch and the vitamin D target neurons show direct central effects of vitamin D on sleep.
Surprisingly, fish are what you need to obtain vitamin D which otherwise can be obtained from the sunlight. They are a good source of vitamin D which is essential for quality sleep. Eating fish 2 to 3 times a week helps to improve the sleep quality.
Furthermore, omega 3 found in fish is known to improve sleep quality in adults. It helps adults to fall asleep more quickly and have a sound sleep for a healthy period of time. So you could also say that eating fish helps to save your day by getting proper sleep at night.
Learn in detail about insomnia, a sleeping disorder.
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6. May Help To Prevent and Treat Depression
Eating fish is linked with a lower risk of suffering from depression and is also used in depression treatment. Depression is a medical condition (a type of mental disease) characterized by low mood, sadness, declined energy, and loss of a person’s interest in day-to-day activities.
Fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids help in lowering the risk of heart attack and strokes along with the risk of depression, Alzheimer’s disease, bipolar disorder, and other chronic diseases.
Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish help in fighting depression and are known to increase the effectiveness of antidepressant medicines. Studies conducted on different groups of people suggest that people who consume fish on a regular basis are less likely to fall victim to depression.
People who eat fish on a weekly basis tend to have more grey matter. It is a major brain’s functional tissue that regulates emotion and memory. Since depression is the result of emotions going wild, eating more fish helps to treat depression.
7. Reduces The Risk Of Autoimmune Disease
Lower risk of autoimmune disease is one of the health benefits associated with eating fish more often. Autoimmune disease is a condition where your own immune system mistakes your healthy body tissues as foreign bodies harmful for you thus attacking and destroying it.
Numerous findings consider omega-3 fatty acids to decrease the risk of type 1 diabetes in children along with autoimmune disease in the adult population. Experts believe that autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis can be lowered with the intake of omega-3 fatty acids.
Health Tips
Fresh fish taste much better are more nutritious when they are fresh. To check whether the fish is fresh or not look at the following signs while purchasing fish;
- Check the eye color. If it is black then the fish is fresh.
- Go for the gills and fins and see if they are moist or not. If the gills and fin are moist and look unharmed then the fish is fresh.
- A fresh fish smells natural and not pungent. So you might as well judge from the smell the fish is giving off.
- Fresh fish has a shiny texture and moist skin. Make sure you check the skin color and texture.
Make sure to add fish high in fatty acids such as salmon in your food at least twice a week. This way you’ll lower your risk of suffering from diseases such as diabetes, certain cancer, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, etc.
My mom has been thinking about eating some types of fish that can allow her to be a lot more healthy. She would really like to get some help from a professional to get the right fish. I liked what you said about how they can improve her sleep quality by eating fish two to three times a week.