The One Dinner Food to Eat to Avoid Heart Disease, According to the Mayo Clinic

If you’re a fan of tuna melts and baked salmon fillets, this should be good news for you! According to an article published by the Mayo Clinic, eating fish twice a week can actually reduce your risk of heart disease. All you need is two servings of fish, and you’ll be reaping the heart-healthy benefits immediately. Here’s why fish can help you avoid heart disease, and for even more healthy tips, be sure to check out our list of The 7 Healthiest Foods to Eat Right Now.

The reason fish is considered the one dinner food to eat to avoid heart disease is because of the rich omega-3 fatty acids. Fish is full of healthy unsaturated fats (omega-3 fatty acids) that help reduce inflammation throughout the body. According to the American Heart Association (ACA), inflammation is what causes damage to your blood vessels, which can lead to cardiovascular diseases.

While there are plenty of foods that are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids (like these 26 Best Omega-3 Foods to Fight Inflammation), fish is still considered one of the best to eat on a regular basis. According to the JAMA Network, higher consumption of fish and omega-3 fatty acids has been associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in both men and women.

Fish generally contains more omega-3 fatty acids than any other food. In a half a fillet of wild-caught salmon, you get a whopping 3,428 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids. This is triple the amount you would get even from an omega-3 supplemental pill.

Two servings of fish a week is all you need, according to the Mayo Clinic and the AHA. A serving of fish would be considered 3.5 ounces of cooked fish, or a 3/4 cup of flaked fish. Some of the easiest to snag include salmon, mackerel, herring, lake trout, sardines, and albacore tuna.

Incorporating fish into your dinner routine is likely easier compared to other omega-3 rich foods (like flaxseed or hemp seeds). To ensure you’re eating enough fish during the week, you can follow the Mediterranean Diet. It’s considered the best diet for weight loss and overall health, according to the U.S. News & World Report. While the bulk of the Mediterranean diet comes from whole plant-based foods (like fruits, vegetables, and legumes), the second-largest category of food in the Mediterranean diet is fish and seafood. Here are 9 Things to Know Before Starting the Mediterranean Diet.

So while any omega-3 rich foods would be good to have your diet and would be considered great to eat to avoid heart disease, cooking fish for dinner is a lot easier to manage on a regular basis. Especially when you have a list of recipes you can reference when you want to cook up some fish for dinner, like one of our 61+ Best Healthy Fish Recipes.