Fish has high consumer preference due to its inherent nutritive values, taste and easy digestibility. Fish is considered a healthy food and recommended by nutritionists and doctors as an ideal food to take care of almost all the nutritional requirements of man in all stages. Fish is particularly advised for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers and old people. It is cheap source of good protein and often referred as ―rich food for poor people. Some of the fishes and the fish products possess good therapeutical factors which makes them highly medicinal.
Health benefits from eating fish
Fish is a low-fat high quality protein. Fish protein offers fewer calories than a similar-sized portion of meat It is filled with omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins such as D and B2 (riboflavin). Fish is rich in calcium and phosphorus and a great source of minerals, such as iron, zinc, iodine, magnesium, and potassium. Fish are low in sodium and are a good source of potassium.Fish oil in the fish tissues contain omega 3 fatty acid like Eicosa pentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Our bodies don’t produce omega-3 fatty acids so we must get them through the food we eat. The numerous benefits of consumption of omega 3 fatty acids through fish is that it
- Helps maintain a healthy heart by lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of sudden death, heart attack, abnormal heart rhythms, and strokes. They can help the blood flow better in your veins thereby reducing the risk of heart attack. Omega3s can reduce the amount of triglycerides in your blood, which are blood fats very similar to cholesterol, thereby reducing your risk of heart disease
- Our brain is made up of around 60% fat and half of that fat is DHA. It helps in Brain Development, Visual development and higher birth weight of Infants
- Development of vision and nerves of the infant during pregnancy. May reduce an infant’s sensitization to common food allergens and reduce the prevalence and severity of certain skin diseases in the first year of life. This effect may persist until adolescence with a reduction in prevalence and/or severity of eczema and asthma
- May prevent preterm labour and delivery
- May decrease the risk of depression, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, dementia, and diabetes.
- It prevents inflammation and thus reduce the risk of arthritis and psoriasis
- Anticancerous especially against breast, colon and prostrate cancer
Dr Tanuja S , Scientist (Fish Processing Technology), ICAR-Central Institute for Women in AgriculturePlot No.50-51, Mouza-Jokalandi, Baramunda, Bhubaneswar- 751 003, Odisha
PH: 8260374440
