5 Reasons to Include More Fish in Your Diet

How many servings of fish do you eat in a typical week? If it's fewer than two, you should probably rethink your diet. Whether you prefer tilapia, salmon, trout, grouper or tuna, adding more fish to your diet can improve your health in several ways. To learn more about the health benefits of fish and why you should include more of it in your diet, keep reading.

#1) Lower Risk of Heart Attack

Eating more fish can lower your risk of heart attack. According to a study cited by Harvard University, people who consume fish on a regular basis are less likely to suffer a heart attack than people who rarely or never consume fish. Considering that heart attacks cause hundreds of thousands of death each year, this is a huge benefit shouldn't be ignored.

#2) Promotes Healthy Cholesterol Levels

Eating more fish can also help regulate your body's cholesterol levels. Fish does two things to your cholesterol levels: It lowers levels of bad cholesterol, and it raises levels of good cholesterol. What does this mean exactly? It means that fish keeps your body's cholesterol levels in check to support a healthy cardiovascular function. If you have trouble managing your cholesterol levels, try eating more fish for this very reason.

#3) Low in Fat

It's also worth mentioning that fish is low in fat. Fish contains no trans fat and very little saturated fat, so it's not going to add pounds to your waistline. On the contrary, eating more fish will help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight thanks to its low concentration of saturated fat. This is why many diets focus around fish as their main source of protein. And while fish contains high levels of unsaturated fat, this is a good type of fat that doesn't contribute to weight gain.

#4) Promotes Healthy Cognitive Function

Eating fish even promotes healthy cognitive function. Studies have shown that people who eat lots of fish are less likely to suffer from dementia than people who eat little or no fish. It's unknown how exactly fish improves the brain, but researchers agree that it does have a direct, positive influence on cognitive function.

#5) Reduces Bodily Inflammation

Finally, eating fish can reduce inflammation in your joints, tissue and other parts of your body. This is particularly beneficial, as millions of Americans suffer from inflammatory conditions like arthritis. When inflammation builds in your body, it can lead to pain, discomfort and limited mobility. The natural oils within fish, however, have an anti-inflammatory effect. They reduce inflammation in your body to protect against the aforementioned conditions.