Protein packed fish is good for you heart, brain and your mood. As you may know, fish is a great fuel for an active individual and has increasingly been linked to fat loss and decreasing fat cell size. What is the reason behind this exciting research? It may seem counter intuitive as you’ve been trimming your skin off your chicken and draining the grease out of you ground beef, but it’s the FAT.

Fatty fish like salmon, trout, tuna and sardines have high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s are a type of polyunsaturated fat found primarily in seafood. Omega-3s have numerous positive cardiovascular benefits including: the prevention of an irregular heartbeat, reduction of fatty plaques inside artery walls, decreases blood clotting, decreases triglycerides (fats in the blood), decreases inflammation and decreases blood pressure.

As stated above, Omega-3s are good for your brain. They are necessary for the optimal functioning of the neurons, they protect cells, decrease cell death and improve nerve transmission. Getting a dose of the two major omega-3s, DHA and EPA, is linked to improving focus and concentration and increasing the chemicals in your brain that make you feel happy.

The best part about these kinds of fatty acids is that eating them could actually help you lose fat. How? Scientist found that eating omega-3s increases fat burning and, when combined with exercise, can help you drop weight. This was found to be true for individuals who took fish oil supplements in combination with exercise. They lost ~4 pounds of fat in a study published by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in May 2007.