Wild salmon is the ocean’s answer to steak. It’s meaty, hearty, and doesn’t have a strong “fishy” taste compared to trash-eating fish like tilapia. More importantly, it’s one of our “superfoods,” those food items that are so loaded with healthy vitamins that they need their own classification.

It’s worth noting that not all salmon is made equal. Nutritionists swear by wild salmon, as it’s much higher in essential minerals like potassium and zinc and lower in saturated fat and calories than farmed salmon. If you can find and afford nutritious wild salmon, give it a chance based on these 6 amazing health benefits.

 

1. Wild Salmon is Full of B Vitamins

 

 

 

 

 

B Vitamins are essential, versatile compounds that help us turn food into energy, create and repair DNA, and reduce the inflammation in our bodies that eventually builds up and leads to disease. B Vitamins support brain and nervous system function as well.

Wild salmon is an excellent source of these coveted, essential vitamins.

 

2. Wild Salmon Can Help You Look Younger

 

 

 

 

 

 

The vitamins and proteins in salmon include selenium, which is an antioxidant that decreases joint inflammation and encourages healthy immune system and thyroid function. These can all make you feel younger.

As for your skin, selenium can also help prevent cell damage, which will keep your skin looking young and healthy.

 

3. Wild Salmon is Good for Your Heart

 

 

 

 

 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids are great for your heart as they offset Omega-6 acids and encourage healthy cardiovascular function by reducing inflammation. If your last blood pressure reading was a little high (it happens to all of us!), regularly eating wild salmon can be a great way to make sure that your blood pressure levels don’t result in a heart attack or stroke later.

 

4. Wild Salmon Reduces Inflammation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Salmon contains proteins called bioactive peptides, which help our osteoarthritic cartilage stabilize collagen synthesis. You don’t have to look up all those words! Basically, it means that eating the peptides in something like wild salmon improves our bone density and strength over time, even allowing us to heal more quickly from an injury.

These proteins help people who are losing weight maintain muscle mass, as well as people who are aging and losing weight naturally over time.

 

5. Wild Salmon is Good for Kids

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eating salmon while pregnant and nursing can help increase children’s learning capabilities by encouraging brain growth. Children who eat salmon directly or indirectly have been shown to have higher academic performance.

 

6. Wild Salmon Can Help with Depression

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you know that our brains are mostly fat? This means that the Omega-3 fatty acids in salmon help maintain our nervous system, which can reduce instances of depression in all age groups and prevent cognitive decline in the elderly.

If you’re experiencing memory issues, brain fog, or depression at any age, introducing wild salmon into your diet might help.

 

The Takeaway

Wild salmon is a versatile superfood, probably the most “entrée-worthy” of all of them. As an alternative to red meat, salmon offers tons of health benefits that can help you reduce inflammation, get beneficial B Vitamins, and help cope with depression and age-related cognitive disorders.

I can’t always afford to have wild salmon in the house, but I try to make it a priority because of these amazing benefits. You should weigh them against your dietary needs to see if wild salmon is worth the cost (it probably is!).