12 Health Benefits of Salmon

salmon

Salmon has graced a lot of menus, whether as smoked with cream cheese on rye, or with wasabi and soy sauce as delectable sashimi. Small wonder that we’ve been consuming salmon for ages: this delicious fish is not just a versatile food, it’s healthy as well!


Experts caution against eating farmed salmon, however, since there might be hormones or proteins that offset the healthful properties of wild salmon. Moreover, the ideal serving would be two 150 g portions each week, making for a balanced diet.

So why should you eat salmon? Here are a dozen reasons.

It can keep your connective tissues healthy – Salmon has bioactive peptides, the building blocks of proteins, which can help your body build – and rebuild your cartilage. One such bioactive peptide is calcitonin, which is usually produced by the human thyroid, and which stabilizes the amounts of collagen in our body, as well as minerals in our bones.

With calcitonin from salmon, you can hope that your body can recover faster from connective tissue injuries, and can even help heal swollen joints! This is good news for arthritis sufferers and athletes alike!

It can help rebuild your muscles – Salmon is also high in proteins, and your body can easily absorb these proteins. It is also high in calcium and iron, both of which your bones need in order to stay healthy. Together, proteins, calcium, and iron contribute to the growth of muscle tissues in your body.

This makes salmon the ideal fish to eat if you’re engaged in strenuous workouts, which might cause muscle tears if you’re not careful.

It can keep your heart healthy – We’ve always been told that fish like salmon are high in Omega-3 fatty acids, but what does that mean? Omega-3 fatty acids are molecules that can help lower the amounts of cholesterol in your body and can help provide the building blocks for good cholesterol.

Eating salmon, therefore, can strengthen your circulatory system, help repair your heart, and add strength to your heart muscles by lowering your blood pressure and keeping your arteries supple.

Without omega-3 fatty acids in your diet, your arteries could harden faster, increasing your chances of getting a heart attack.

It can help your brain work faster and better – Salmon’s omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, vitamin D, selenium, and proteins help your brain work faster and better, and can even improve your memory. Research has shown that people who consume salmon are at a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s and Parksinson’s disease.

Moreover, because salmon has omega-3 fatty acids that can lower your bad cholesterol, it can also lower the chance of your forming blood clots that could lead to a stroke.

It can speed up your metabolism – As we grow older, our bodies tend to digest food slower and absorb fewer nutrients. Our bodies tend to accumulate fat faster as we age, too. Salmon has been found to actually hasten metabolism by allowing our body to process sugar faster, which can lower blood sugar levels. This can help lower the risk of diabetes.

It can keep your eyes healthy – Our eyes degenerate as we age. One such way is through macular degeneration, which can lead to loss of vision in older people. Omega-3 fatty acids, which salmon has a lot of, can help prevent macular degeneration.

It can keep your skin and hair healthy – A combination of omega-3 fatty acids and selenium make salmon an ideal candidate for beauty pageant diets! These two major nutrients help rebuild keratin and collagen, leading to shinier, stronger hair and healthier, glowing skin.

It has a lot of vitamins that can help you rebuild your immune system – Just 4 oz of wild salmon can meet at least half your daily requirements of Vitamin B12, selenium, niacin, and Vitamin D. B-complex vitamins help support your immune system, so that you don’t feel sluggish and your body can easily fight off diseases.

Vitamin D helps to support your bones and muscles, which store calcium – a mineral that your immune system needs in order to function.

It can even prevent cancer! – Research has shown that those who consume salmon are at a lower risk of developing breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer.

The omega-3 fatty acids in salmon have also been shown to be effective against lymphatic system cancers or blood cancers, including multiple myeloma, leukemia, and non-Hodgkins lymphoma. These omega-3 fatty acids delay the appearance of tumors and can even shrink them.

The high levels of vitamin D and selenium in salmon are likewise responsible for preventing cancer by keeping cells from producing cancer-associated proteins.

It can relieve swelling and inflammation – If you’re suffering from arthritis, asthma, ulcerative colitis, or psoriasis, the omega-3 oils in salmon can help you recover. In particular, the inflammation associated with asthma and arthritis can go down because of salmon.

It has powerful antioxidants that can help heal you! – Salmon is also high in Vitamin E, which can help rebuild your cells by ridding them of free radicals. Free radicals speed up the aging of cells and tissues, and can even lead to a development of cancerous cells or tumor growths.

The vitamin E that you get from salmon can help prevent this from happening, and it can even give your immune system a boost by expelling free radicals that your body cannot get rid of.

It can work on a mental level, too! – A diet high in omega-3 fatty acids has also been shown to lower the incidence of depression. Thank goodness salmon is high in omega-3 fatty acids: not only will you be less depressed, you’ll have better memory and a good immune system, to boot!

These are just a few benefits of eating salmon. You can add salmon to your soups as a natural flavor for broth. You can eat smoked salmon on toast, or you can eat it with sticky Japanese rice and some nori (seaweed). You can even lightly sear it and have it with fresh vegetables.

There are many ways to eat salmon, and its strong, delectable flavor will make any dish a masterpiece!

Its high omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidant vitamins can help you get an energy and immune system boost, too! So what are you waiting for? Add this miracle fish to your diet, and you’ll be saying “Hello!” to better health in no time!

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