The power of fish never ceases to amaze us. Sometimes it’s because the salmon come streaming into the river after multiple tides of straining water, looking for fish but falling short. Until, the wind turns or the tide shifts or they just show up - presenting us, yet again, with one of those spectacular Bristol Bay experiences of which we never tire. This month, our sheer amazement has to do with brain power. No, not the brain power of fish; we’re not exactly sure how their teeny brains work to get them back upriver to spawn after years in the greater Pacific, exactly where they first hatched, although that is impressive. What we’re talking about is our brain power. Your brain power.
Fish is brain food. The high levels of protein and Omega-3s support your mental health, and not just in the book smart kind of way, although they do that too. More and more studies are showing how fish can support our brains in another much-needed way - to stave off depression and other mental health illnesses like schizophrenia and Alzheimers.
This article in Medical Daily states the importance of recent studies and discoveries, “With depression being one of the most common and disabling mental disorders in America, finding ways to curb rates is vital, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. [...] participants who ate the most fish had an average 17 percent reduction in depression risk compared to those who ate the least amount of fish.”
More recently, the New York Times highlighted Dr. Drew Ramsey, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columba University, and other researchers speaking on how important our diet is to our emotional well-being in this article. May is Mental Health Month in the United States, and has been since 1949; the Times article suggests that whole foods like fatty fish, along with other tenets of a Mediterranean-style diet, like legumes and vegetables, are the menu items that will serve our long-term brain health and overall well-being.
More research needs to be done to better understand the direct link between long-chain Omega-3s and mental health, but we are grateful that this issue is receiving the attention it merits and that our trusted sockeye salmon includes these health-supporting nutrients. We trust that meals that bring joy can also help to soothe the more serious, chronic illnesses that are becoming all the more apparent in our modern lives.
We believe so much in our all-natural, healthy wild salmon that we started a business in order to better share it with you. Research that suggests its nutrients support overall happiness and well-being makes our work all the more meaningful.
Take care of yourselves this month and always!