For as many years as there have been people, there have been people who enjoyed the healthful benefits and great taste of salmon. From the countries of Scandinavia and Russia to the United States and Europe, salmon is both a tasty treat and a staple of the diet.
While salmon are found swimming in many parts of the world, much of the commercially produced salmon today comes from the cold waters of the Pacific Northwest, eastern Canada, Norway, Greenland and Alaska.
Salmon contains a nutrient density found in few other foods, including the omega-3 fatty acids known to protect the heart from damage and lower cholesterol levels.
Major benefits of eating salmon
Eating salmon has many health benefits, but perhaps the most important benefit of salmon is its ability to protect the heart and cardiovascular system. That is because salmon contains all-important omega-3 fatty acids, and it is
these fatty acids that have been shown to provide important heart protecting benefits.
In addition, the omega-3 fatty acids contained in salmon have been shown to improve the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol and to lower the overall levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood as well.
The heart healthy benefits of salmon have long been known, and the evidence that salmon protects the heart from heart disease, stroke and high cholesterol has been growing with every passing year. Many recent studies have shown that salmon has the ability to protect the heart and cardiovascular system, through the presence of omega- 3 fatty acids and other important nutrients.
In particular, eating salmon and other fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to provide the following important benefits:
- Lowering the cholesterol and triglycerides in the bloodstream Improving the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol
- Helping to prevent the formation of blood clots
- Helping to inhibit the thickening of arteries
- Preventing obesity and improving insulin response in diabetics
Eating salmon may also provide important protection against stroke, and many studies have shown that the nutrients in salmon can help to prevent strokes, both by lowering the total cholesterol in the blood and helping to reduce the formation of the blood clots that can lead to stroke.
The heart healthy benefits of salmon are not limited to reducing the incidence of stroke and heart disease, however. Regular consumption of salmon has also been shown to help prevent arrhythmias of the heart. This protection was most evident when eating boiled or baked fish, while fried fish provided no such protection.
One of the omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon has also been shown to be effective at reducing inflammation. This fatty acid, known as EPA, is thought to provide anti-inflammatory effects by producing resolvins. These resolvins, which the body makes from EPA, are
thought to improve blood flow to the joints, thereby reducing the inflammation associated with a number of ailments.
Salmon may even have the ability to protect the skin against sun damage, and perhaps even provide protection against skin cancer. It is thought that the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in salmon, may help to protect the skin from the damage associated with excess sun exposure, including perhaps skin cancer.
And of course salmon and other fish have long been thought of as brain food, and for good reason. There is strong evidence to suggest that eating salmon on a regular basis may protect the brain as well as the body from the degenerative effects of aging.
In addition to general brain protection and memory enhancement, salmon may provide protection against serious diseases like Alzheimer’s. Eating salmon and other cold-water fish has been shown to be associated with a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. It is thought that these protective benefits are also a result of the omega-3 fatty acids that are contained in salmon and similar fish.
Regular consumption of salmon has also been associated with a substantial reduction in the risk of a number of cancers, including ovarian and various digestive tract cancers. It is thought that the nutrients in salmon provide protection against the cell breakdown associated with the formation of cancer tumors, and cancer prevention is one more important reason to eat salmon as often as possible.
In addition to ovarian cancer, regular salmon consumption has been associated with lower levels of such killers as pancreatic cancer, and with lower levels of stomach, mouth, colon, rectal and esophageal cancer as well.
The reason for this cancer protection seems to lie not only in the high concentration of omega-3 fatty acids contained in salmon, but in the fact that salmon is a strong source of selenium as well. Selenium is known to be very important to good health, and it is important to the proper function of many metabolic pathways, including those involved in immune system function and thyroid metabolism.
Additional information: The health benefits of fish have been well known for many years, and salmon is one of the most beneficial of all fish. This cold-water fish has a number of important health benefits, and there is no reason not to include regular servings of salmon in your diet.
Salmon is available in a great many different forms, including whole salmon, salmon steaks and salmon fillets. In addition, salmon is available in canned, frozen, smoked and dried varieties.
Whenever possible, it is important to choose wild salmon over its farm raised competition. There are worries that farm raised salmon could pose a cancer risk due to the accumulated PCBs and other environmental pollutants to can accumulated in the fat of farm-raised salmon. While the health benefits of eating salmon greatly outweigh its risks, eating wild salmon provides all the benefits of this superfood without introducing any unnecessary risks.
Originally posted 2019-09-30 09:52:36.