How Omega-3 Foods Bolster a Diabetic Immune System
How Omega-3 Foods Bolster a Diabetic Immune System
You may have heard of omega-3 fatty acids before, often times found on pill bottles of vitamins. Omega-3s are very good for you, with their primary benefit being heart health. They help improve blood flow and can reduce the symptoms of inflammation, making you much more comfortable and making your heart much healthier.
The main immune system benefit of omega-3s is that part of them help your white blood cells communicate better and make them stronger. If you’re not aware, your white blood cells perform a very important task in your body, which is finding and fighting foreign bodies such as viruses.
The white blood cells will alert the rest of the body when it finds a virus, and will start to break down the virus cells and dispose of them. If you want to have a good immune system, you need to have strong white blood cells that have all the nutrients they need, and omega-3s are an important component of that.
For diabetics, the best source of omega-3s that you’re going to find is fish. Fish are a great source of these fatty acids, while being fairly low carb at the same time. While salmon is the most common fatty fish that you’ll find, there are others that you might find to be better or more convenient to buy.
Something you need to be careful of is how the fish is prepared. Of course a fish isn’t going to be diabetic friendly if it’s been deep fried, but oven roasted or pan seared fish is great.
If you’ve never cooked fish at home before, don’t worry, because it’s very easy to do. If you’re buying a whole fish then you’ll need to remove things like scales, but if you just buy the fillets already precut, then it’s much easier and you don’t have to worry about cleaning it up nicely first.
All you need is some seasoning and an oven and you’re good to go! You should also avoid eating your fish with certain things if you’re diabetic. For example, many people like to put sauces on their fish.
These sauces can have tons of carbs or sugars depending on what it is, so you want to avoid those as much as possible. Additionally, you should avoid high carb side dishes, such as French fries, which are frequently served with fish.
Try some oven roasted vegetables or a small salad instead, both of which are much more diabetic-friendly options.
