We’ll come right out and say it: salmon is probably one of the healthies foods you could possibly eat.
From omega-3s to B vitamins and everything in between, salmon is packed full of nutrients that will help you live your best life.
Take a look at some of the great ways salmon can benefit your health.
9. Improve Your Cardiovascular Health.
Your heart health is a key to living a long life to the absolute fullest. Your heart is a powerful muscle that works tirelessly day and night. Because it lies deep in our chest, doing its work quietly, people often neglect its health and take it for granted. Don’t wait until it’s too late to keep your heart operating at its best.
When it comes to your heart health, few foods are better than salmon, which is great for your heart in so many ways.
How Does Salmon Help With Your Cardiovascular Health?
The vitamins, fats, and antioxidants in salmon can help:
- Prevent or reduce heart attacks.
- Keep blood pressure levels within healthy limits.
- Prevent or reduce strokes.
- Keep the cells that line your arteries healthy.
- Prevent excess fluid retention.
- Reduce oxidation.
- Increase HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol) levels.
- Reduce LDL cholesterol levels.
That’s a lot of heart health benefits packed into one food.
What in Salmon is Good for Your Heart Health?
There are a lot of things contained in salmon that all work together to keep your heart healthy and strong, including:
- Omega-3 fatty acids.
- A complex of B vitamins.
- The antioxidant astaxanthin.
- Potassium.
8. Can Help With Weight Loss
Salmon is a food packed with protein for very few calories.
Protein is both essential for your overall health and is also a good regulator of your appetite. You can feel fuller faster from fewer calories if those calories are coming from protein as opposed to, say, carbohydrates.
Protein is also essential for people who are trying to work out for weight loss. The high protein content in salmon allows you to get the nutrition you need without eating too many calories.
7. Reduces Inflammation.
Did you know that some experts have argued that inflammation is responsible for such things as:
- Heart disease.
- Diabetes.
- Cancer.
Not to mention that inflammation is what does so much damage and causes so much pain to your joints in people with osteoarthritis.
The nutrients in salmon can help decrease inflammation while increasing collagen synthesis (an important part of protecting your joints from damage).
What Components of Salmon Help Reduce Inflammation?
Salmon contains several nutrients in it which can help reduce the inflammation within your body, including:
- B vitamins.
- Omega-3 fatty acids.
- The antioxidant astaxanthin.
As you may be starting to notice, many of the things in salmon play more than one role in helping you live the best life possible.
6. Keeps Bones Strong
We often think of milk and other sources of calcium when thinking of having strong bone density, but did you know that protein plays an important role in it, too?
The high-quality protein you get when you eat a serving of salmon goes a long way to maintaining your bone health.
5. Thyroid Health
Your thyroid is something we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about until something goes wrong and then it can do a surprising amount of damage all over your body.
Selenium found in salmon can help prevent oxidative damage that can arise during the synthesis of the thyroid hormone.
4. Promotes Healthy, Beautiful Skin
Who doesn’t want the best skin possible? If you ask us, we sure do!
Once again, salmon to the rescue.
How does salmon help you have better skin? There are three key things in salmon that do the trick:
- Omega-3 fatty acids.
- Vitamin A.
- Protein.
These three things all play a role in building up healthy skin and reducing the damage that causes aging (including by lowering free radicals).
Sounds great to us.
3. Hormonal Balance
Another thing we all want is a good hormonal balance. Luckily, the B12 found in salmon can play a crucial role in keeping your hormones operating the way they should.
2. Supports a Healthy Brain
Just like with cardiovascular health, there’s a lot going on in salmon that helps keep our brains at their sharpest.
Let’s take a look at what’s in salmon that’s so great for your brain:
- B6.
- B12.
- Vitamin A.
- Vitamin D.
- Selenium.
- Omega-3 fatty oils.
- DHA.
- The antioxidant astaxanthin.
How Does Salmon Help You Have Better Brain Function?
The nutrients found in salmon are particularly helpful for preventing memory related brain problems. Omega-3s have been given to patients with Alzheimer’s to reduce some of their symptoms.
Astaxanthin (an antioxidant) is particularly helpful in combating a range of neurodegenerative diseases and problems.
Fatty fish in general can help increase the grey matter in your brain if eaten on a regular basis. Having a healthy amount of grey matter could reduce the risk of memory problems later in life. The fatty oils in these kinds of fish can also slow age-related memory loss as well as lower your risk of getting dementia.
These nutrients can be especially good for children with studies suggesting that eating them during pregnancy could improve fetal brain development and health. It can even help improve academic performance and alleviate ADHD to some degree.
1. Could Help Kill Tumor Cells in Some Cancers.
The omega-3s found in salmon could help kill tumor cells. In particular, skin, prostate, colorectal, liver, and brain cancers could be partly reduced by consuming more of these fats.
There you have it! 9 awesome reasons for having more salmon in your diet. Follow us on social media for more mind and body food news.
