Want softer skin, a better mood, and less painful joints? Just include oily fish in your meal plan for each week. Fish like salmon, tuna, sardines, anchovies, herring and just about every fish from cold deep waters contain plenty of omega-3 oils. Scientific research has confirmed that these oils have a very beneficial effect on lots of health problems; including depression, anxiety, arthritis, high cholesterol and dry skin.
The omega-3 oils are so good for us because of their molecular structure: They’re fluid and flexible. Since our cell membranes are just really oil floating on fluid, a diet high in omega-3 oils promotes more flexible cell membranes. This means materials move in and out of your cells more readily, including neurotransmitters in your brain. Omega-3 oils also have a regulating effect on your immune system, helping dampen down over-reactivity that can occur in auto-immune disorders.
Oily fish, and seafood in general, used to play a much larger part in our diet than they do today. In the stone age, before humans began to settle in groups and farm animals, our diet was quite different from a modern western diet. We ate a lot more greens, seafood, seeds and nuts, with just a little wild game meat when we could run fast enough to catch it.
These days our diet is dominated by omega-6 oils, which, due to their different molecular structure, are pro-inflammatory. Grains, full fat dairy and farmed grain-fed animals are our main sources of fats. This gross imbalance between omega-3 and omega-6 oil intake is a major contributor to disease in modern western civilisations.
You can help correct this imbalance by including oily fish regularly in your diet. Naturally, these fish taste rich and, well, oily, due to their high oil content. Some of them, like anchovies and sardines, are really only palatable in small quantities. Others, less rich in oils, like tuna and salmon (wild) can be enjoyed in larger portions as they have a milder flavour.
An 84g serve of sardines contains 496mg of EPA and 613mg of DHA – as much omega-3 as two high strength fish oil capsules. Eating the oily fish will supply vitamins and minerals too: more fun than taking supplements.
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