We all want to protect our brains, and knowing what fish to eat is a great way to do this.

Here are the best fish for better brain health.

Brain health is almost everything in life, and we love to know how to get the best out of our food.

This is the list of the top 7 types of fish to eat to increase your brain’s health.

Then, we’ll tell you how to make sure you get the maximum benefits these fish can offer, practical ways to add more fish to your day-to-day eating, and what to do if you can’t have fish because of allergies, etc.

7 Top Fish To Eat For Your Brain

Mackerel
Salmon
Sardines
Anchovies
Heering
Trout
Albacore Tuna

Why These Fish?

These fish give your brain omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of fat that our bodies can’t make, and this means we have to eat foods that have them; otherwise, we won’t be able to get them.

Reader, your brain needs omega-3 fatty acids, as do your eyes, heart, and other parts of your body.

There are three types of Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and here’s what each of them do:

DHA - helps your brain, eyes, and cells, plus it’s essential for a baby’s development in pregnancy (20% of the fat in your brain is made up of DHA)
EPA - helps your heart and helps you reduce inflammation in your body (inflammation is how a lot of sicknesses start)
ALA - this one doesn’t do that much compared to the other two, but what your body tries to do with it is to convert it into one of the others (it doesn’t usually work, though)

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What It Helps Your Brain Do?

Omega-3s help your brain in these ways:

They are essential building blocks for the cells in your brain, and they keep these cells strong and working well.

They help your brain's messaging system, vital for your mood and thinking abilities.

They help prevent inflammation in the brain before it accumulates and cause severe problems, such as mood disorders and difficulty with memory.

They take part in acting like bodyguards for your brain to protect it from damages as severe as Alzheimer's or as minor as headaches and migraines.

Here are some other health benefits you get from omega-3:

it can help with inflammation in your joints

it can help you with healthy skin because it reduces the inflammation in your skin and helps it keep moisture

if you're pregnant, omega-3 is essential for a fetus's brain and eye development

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How To Make Sure You're Getting The Most Omega 3 Out of Your Fish

To get the most omega-3 out of your fish reader, here are the things you need to do when:

Buying - you want to go for the wild-caught fish over the farm-raised because wild-caught has a more natural diet, and this can mean much more omega-3

Cooking - because omega-3 is sensitive to heat, try to use baking, grilling, or steaming to cook your fish; add to this, you want to keep the skin on not only to maintain the moisture and flavor of the fish but also because some of the omega-3 is in the skin

cooking/eating the fish with oils like olive oil or avocado oil can help your body better absorb the omega-3

Storing - freezing is a good option because it preserves the omega-3 in your fish

A key thing to remember, reader, is that eating things that have a lot of omega-6 in them (omega-6 is in many processed foods and oils like soy oil, canola oil, etc.…) will make you lose the omega-3 you get from eating these types of fish.

You want to go very low on the omega-6s to get the omega-3s.

What About The Mercury Thing?

Mercury is a natural element on earth, like the oxygen we breathe, and we have tiny amounts of it in our bodies, which we usually get from things we eat or our environment.

Too much mercury can be very, very dangerous for your health and the health of pregnant women, especially for the health of an unborn baby.

The problem is that some fish have a lot of mercury in them.

They have this mercury because mercury gets into the air when things like gold mining, metal smelting, burning coal for energy, etc…happen.

After a lot of biology, this mercury ends up in different types of fish.

Here’s how you can know the fish to avoid:

remember that large, predatory fish like sharks, swordfish, etc... tend to have a lot of mercury, and the fish that are lower on the food chain, like salmon, sardines, trout, etc... tend to have much lower amounts of it

other than that, make sure that in your local area, there aren’t any specific products/food warnings going about that you need to be aware of

Tips For Adding More Fish To Your Day-To-Day Eating

There are three choices: try different recipes for fish you find online, go out to eat and order fish, or load up on the sushi…

What To Do If You Can’t Eat Fish?

For those who can’t eat fish or who just don’t like it, omega-3 can be obtained from algae, some eggs, chia seeds, walnuts, flaxseeds, and grass-fed beef.

The only thing to remember with these (except for algae and some eggs) is that the types of omega-3 you get from these are the ALA ones.

These practically don’t do anything for your body, as mentioned above.

Also note that if you’re buying oils with omega-3, when the oil comes in contact with air (oxygen), the omega-3 becomes terrible (rancid) fast. You’re much better off using an oil that’s as fresh as possible.

What about fish oil, algae oil, and cod liver oil capsules?

These are a popular and good way to get omega-3s.

Here is a resource that tells you what would happen if you ate omega-3 fish oils for 30 days. Check it out!

FAQ

You should see results if you generally eat fish with Omega-3 throughout each month, but there is no specific amount.
Some possible signs are:
Dry Skin
Hair Problems (dry, brittle, dandruff)
Joint Pain and Stiffness
Fatigue
Poor Concentration
Vision Problems
Poor Circulation

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Conclusion

Our stomachs are one of the gateways to our brains. What we put in them affects everything from our mood to our nails. Eating fish with Omega-3 is just one step in improving our brain health through our stomachs. Another crucial step is the proper preparation of the fish. We've shared the dos and don'ts of fish prep with you so you know how to get the maximum benefits.

Take the Next Step: Check out the 5 Bad Eating Habits You Should Stop This Year For Gut Ease next to see if your eating behavior is the reason your health is slowing down.

What’s Your Go-To: Which fish is your go-to? Let us know in the comments!

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