9 Incredible Health Benefits of Eating Fish

While talking about the health benefits of eating fish, we can’t often draw a clear image of it!

Although fish has been regarded as one of the gullible sources of superior nutrients, like high-quality protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals, having significant positive impacts on the development and smoother functions of different organs of the human body.

You may not be a big fan of fish, however, being aware of its enormous food value, can possibly lead to your ultimate health benefits afterwards.

Checkout the incredible health benefits of eating fish which are pointed out here for you!

1. Fish, the powerhouse of nutrients

Fish is one of the most nutrient-rich fleshes compared to the red meats. For its diversified taste, texture and nutrients, fish is widely esteemed as the SUPERFOOD!

Whether you prefer eating herring, sardine, tuna, salmon, mackerel, catfish, pollock, or cod, all these species of fish are packed with high-quality and easily digestible protein, essential vitamins, and minerals that play crucial roles in keeping your health as good as you desire.

High-quality protein

Protein is an essential and prime nutrient for repairing muscle, boosting immune system functions, and improving overall cellular health. Eating fish ensures the supply of high-quality, simple structured protein that is comparatively easier for your stomach to digest and to assimilate in the intestines finally. This unique property has made it a great choice for people who are focused on building muscle, as well as those who are intending to promote general health and longevity.

Good fats that prevails

Fish embodies significantly lower levels of saturated fats which has made it more heart-friendly food. On top of that, it offers a great alternative to meat for those people who have been following a low-fat diet or even trying to replace red meats from their diet charts.

Fatty acids are chain-like biochemical molecules, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, where carbon atoms constructed the backbone of the structural bond, and hydrogen atoms along with the carboxyl group complete the rest of the bonds. You might have heard that there are two types of fatty acids that are saturated fats (bad or unhealthy fats) and unsaturated fats (good or healthy fats).

Several dangerous cardiovascular diseases, like heart attack and brain stroke, can occur due to the excessive presence of saturated or unhealthy fats in the body. Whereas good or unsaturated fats always help to reduce the hazards of cardiovascular diseases as well as to protect from many other diseases and malfunctions of different biochemical systems inside the human body.

Good or healthy fats (unsaturated fatty acids) are mainly categorised into three distinct groups:

i) Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA),

ii) Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and

iii) Highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA).

Among all other types of polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega fatty acids are well-known for their excellent health benefits.

As your body can’t synthesize polyunsaturated fatty acids, eating fish 2-3 times a week can be an excellent way to acquire omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Although you can also get these nutrients from walnuts, chia seeds, kidney beans, Brussels sprouts, and seaweeds, PUFAs from aquatic origins are always treated as superior sources!

Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are the most important PUFAs (available in many fatty fish) as well as charismatic nutrients having a series of health benefits.

Omega-3 fatty acids (also found readily available as fish oil supplements in the superstores) help to lower your triglyceride level.
It may assist you in lowering your blood pressure by raising “good cholesterol or HDL”
It lowers the risks of certain cardiovascular diseases like heart attack and brain stroke.
Omega-3 helps to lower the risks of blood clots, dementia, and some specific types of cancer.
Omega-6 fatty acids play pivotal roles in brain development, skin and bone growth, metabolic activity, and the human reproductive system.

Vitamins and minerals

Fish is an ideal source of several important vitamins and minerals that your body needs to function perfectly, including:

Major vitamins:

Vitamin A: Fish are enriched in vitamin A, helps to improve your eyesight, cell growth and overall immune system.
Vitamin B6: Vitamin B6 is closely associated with the production of insulin and hemoglobin in your body.
Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12 plays a vital role in producing red blood cells (RBC) and functioning your nervous system.
Vitamin D: Fish is treated as one of the best natural aquatic sources of vitamin D. It is a must for optimal bone development, proper functioning of your immune system, and lowering the risk of chronic diseases. Calcium and phosphorus, two minerals that are key for healthy bones and teeth can’t be absorbed in your body without the presence of vitamin D in your body!

Major minerals:

Iodine: Marine fishes and other seafood are widely renowned for their rich contents of iodine. Iodine is an essential trace mineral, responsible for the development and proper functioning of your thyroid gland, which plays a critical role in regulating energy levels and metabolism.
Calcium: Calcium is one of the most crucial as well as essential minerals found in fish that ensures the growth and development of your bones and teeth.
Phosphorus: In respect to the proper bone health maintenance, phosphorus works beside calcium. It is also more prevalent in marine fishes.
Iron: Iron acts as a transporter in your body that literally carries oxygen to your blood and makes you live!
Zinc: Zinc is also an important trace mineral essential for boosting your immune system and healing wounds.
Selenium: This antioxidant mineral helps to protect cells from the stress of oxidation and takes part in supporting a healthy immune system.

Nutrition facts of some common fish

Sometimes it needs to check facts against the available information regarding any kinds of frequently consumed foods such as fish. That can help you to build self-confidence in the quality as well as the specific food value of the items.

You find a table below that showcases the proximate analysis of frequently consumed fish in the United States. This information would assist you in understanding what type of nutrients are embodied in these fish and in what quantity or portion.

A study has been conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the nutritional composition in fish in order to raise awareness among the American store operators as well as the buyers. This investigation was conducted on cooked seafood based on a 2000-calorie diet, where the edible weight portions percent daily values (DV) per serving (84g) were considered. You can download the posters presenting nutrition information on the same.

2. Lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases

When we used to talk about some of the crucial health benefits of eating fish, we couldn’t deny the solid impacts of it on our cardiovascular health. Research has shown that consuming fish regularly, particularly marine fatty fish, can dramatically lower your risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Keep you heart healthy

To reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases dramatically, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommended eating at least two meals of fatty fish every week.

According to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, people who consumed two or more servings of fatty fish per week had a 36% lower risk of developing heart-related problems.

An important contributing element to the development of cardiovascular disorders is inflammation, which is also decreased by omega-3 fatty acids, a particular type of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Fish helps maintain healthy blood arteries and a healthy heart by lowering inflammation.

Significantly reduce “Bad” Cholesterol

It has also been demonstrated that omega-3 fatty acids lower high-density lipoprotein (LDL), generally known as “bad” cholesterol levels, which can clog your blood vessels and raise the risk of heart diseases.

And at the same time, they can also increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or “good” cholesterol levels, which helps to remove excess cholesterol from the bloodstream and bring it back to the liver for further processing.

Heart health depends on the ratio of good to bad cholesterol. The systematic balance of good and bad cholesterol is essential for maintaining your heart health consistently.

3. Enhance brain health

Fish is not only beneficial to your body, but it also has outstanding effects on your brain. For the maintenance of a sharp memory and cognitive functions, the PUFAs found in fish seem to be essential.

Regulate cognitive functions

Keeping fish on your diet menu regularly may help prevent cognitive deterioration, according to an increasing amount of research studies. The formation of brain cells and the maintenance of appropriate communication among brain cells depend on omega-3 fatty acids, which are abundant in fish.

Boost mental health

It can be difficult for you to relate fish to your mental health, right? Actually, we often overlook our dietary completeness in terms of nutritionally balanced as well as healthy food.

Besides supporting cognitive function, regular fish consumption also has some mental health benefits. It has been demonstrated that omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce the symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. The American Journal of Psychiatry claims that omega-3 fatty acids can considerably lessen the intensity of depressive symptoms and, in certain situations, may even be used as an adjunctive treatment for depression.

4. Your skin revival tonic

The nutrients your skin needs to remain young and vibrant are quite abundant in fish. Eating two to three servings of fish on your plate per week will help you retain moisturised and glowing skin, regardless of your concerns about acne, premature aging, or overall skin health.

How your skin revives

Fish containing omega-3 fatty acids can help your skin hydrate. And at the same time, help to get rid of some skin problems as well as diseases like skin irritations, redness, paleness, and dryness.

If you are getting depressed about getting older and your skin may be susceptible to different abnormalities like skin thinning, easy bruising, age spots, and even wrinkles, you can add this superfood to your current food menus undoubtedly for getting a big relief.

Fish are also rich in vitamin D, which improves the capacity of your skin to heal itself automatically and can shield your skin from damage by UV rays. Additionally, vitamin D may reduce the possibility of developing skin disorders, including acne, psoriasis, and eczema.

5. Helps to prevent and manage obesity

Now-a-days, obesity has becoming a severe health hazard for the urban civilization. If you take foods indiscriminately and become bulky, it might lead to some serious health hazards like heart disease, hypertension, diabetes (type 2), arthritis, liver disease, and certain cancers. It also significantly impacts mental health and socioeconomic states.

According to recent statistics, in the U.S., 40.3% of the adults have been suffering from obesity within the age ranges from 40 to 59 years, while 9.7% of them are the worst victims of severe obesity.

In order to get out of this plight, fish must be replaced as one of the healthiest choices in your regular meals. Fish can be a great alternative to those foods containing high calories plus being full of bad fats for anyone planning to control body weight because it is enriched in high-quality protein, vitamins, essential minerals, and is low in calories.

6. Improve eyesight

Another incredible benefits of eating fish, is the enhancement of your vision . Let’s see how fish do these jobs:

Fatty fish embodies omega-3s, which are found to be beneficial for those people who have been suffering with Meibomian gland dysfunction and dry eyes.
It may also help to rectify the Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).
Fish contains omega-3s, vitamin A, and zinc, which are essential for eye health.

The retina, the area of your eye that senses light and communicates with your brain, is largely made up of omega-3 fatty acids, particularly DHA, which are abundant in fish.

In order to prevent age-related macular degeneration (AMD), eating different varieties of fish is a must. According to research, eating fish on a daily basis can reduce your risk of AMD by as much as 40%.

Fish is also an excellent source of vitamin A, which supports good eyesight and helps prevent the eyes from problems such as night blindness and dry eyes.

7. An outstanding food to manage diabetes

You can control and manage your diabetes by eating fish, especially marine fatty fish, which naturally contains a great portion of high-quality protein, unsaturated fats (omega-3 & omega-6), vitamins, minerals, and lower calories that help to optimize blood sugar levels.

8. Eliminate Asthma

Regular consumption of fish by the children might lower the chance of developing asthma.

9. Reduce the risk of premature birth

Did you know that eating fish during pregnancy can significantly reduce the risk of premature birth? As you have already gone through this blog and come to know about the nutrition profile of fish, therefore, you can easily guess how beneficial the fish could be in this case. When a pregnant mother used to eat fish on a regular basis, the baby growing inside her would get full nutritional support and become healthy and hearty.

In addition to these , there are some simple but important benefits can be obtained by eating fish, which are as follows:

Fish may improve the quality of your sleep that becomes triggered by vitamin D and omega-3s.
It may also diminish the risk of developing autoimmune diseases.

The finishing line

Even if you are not a fish geek, nevertheless, try to include fish or shellfish or recommended seafood in your weekly meals. You can have fish recipes for yourself as you want it roasted, grilled, or curried.

Try to eat twice a week and select at least a fatty fish like herring, sardine, mackerel, or Atlantic salmon for your meal.

Next time you visit a retail store, do not forget to pick one of these fishes!

9 Incredible Health Benefits of Eating Fish – You won’t believe!