Maybe it's because I used to sell salmon, splendid salmon, that I've become a real proponent of omega 3 fatty acids. You don't have to eat salmon, there's other fatty fish like mackerel, flaxseed oil you might have on hand, that old stand-by cod-liver oil or you can give in, save time and take fish oil capsules. They're great for your skin and I think brain functioning, raising HDL (the good cholesterol), promoting heart health, boosting fetal growth and maybe even treating schizophrenia
Omega 3 fattty acids are essential fatty acids, necessary from conception through pregnancy and infancy and undoubtedly through all of life. Essential because they are fats the body can not manufacture yet are essential for building cell membranes An inadequacy of essential fatty acids is one of the most widespread nutritional deficiencies among modern humans.
Dr. Joseph Mercola rates Omega 3 thusly
The following is a partial list of diseases that may be prevented or ameliorated with omega-3 fatty acids, in descending order of the strength of the available evidence as perceived by this reviewer:
Coronary heart disease and stroke;
Essential fatty acid deficiency in infancy (retinal and brain development);
Autoimmune disorders (e.g., lupus and nephropathy);
Crohn disease;
Cancers of the breast, colon, and prostate;
Mild hypertension; and
Rheumatoid arthritis.