Some years ago we ran an article series in Ironmag called “Supplements worth your money”, and since there seems to be a lot of confusion on this subject, I thought I’ll revamp the series with some blog posts.

Fish oil, or Omega-3 capsules, ranks at the top of my must have supplement list. Since the late 1990s when large clinical trials were published supporting the cardiovascular benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil has been one of the most sought after supplements. If you do a search for fish oil supplementation at PubMed, you’ll get more than 1800 studies, and that number is steadily increasing. Besides its cardiovascular benefits, fish oil has shown to reduce risk of and/or treat psychiatric disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, and aggression/hostility. And as little as three or more servings of fish/week or one fish oil capsule has been associated with 50% decreased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. However, for us gym-goers, the really interesting pieces are the metabolic and anti-inflammatory properties of fish oil.

Fish oil and the metabolic rate
A study by E.E. Noreen showed that 3g a day of concentrated fish oil supplying about 900 mg EPA and 600 mg DHA increased resting metabolic rate by 199 kcal to 488 kcal a day after 28 days of supplementation. That’s a huge metabolic boost!
Also, fish oil increases the levels of fat burning enzymes and decreases the levels of fat-storage enzymes. And if that’s not enough, omega-3 fatty acids allow the body to burn fat at times when fat burning is normally inhibited by insulin release, like after a carbohydrate meal.

Omega-3 and inflammation
Inflammation is associated to a host of human conditions such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, joint pain, obesity and even neuropsychiatric conditions (as mentioned earlier). The biggest contributor to inflammation is a diet high in trans- and saturated fats and by an excess of dietary sugars. In addition, an over consumption of omega-6 fatty acids (such as corn, safflower, sunflower and soybean oils) has been shown to promote inflammation.
Now, on a cellular level, inflammation is mediated through eicosanoids. Eicosanoids are built from 20-carbon long chained fatty acids. Inflammatory cells typically contain high proportions of arachidonic acid (AA) and low levels of other 20-carbon fatty acids (EPA), thus making AA the usual substrate for eicosanoid synthesis. Consumption of Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) results in increased uptake of these fatty acids into cell membrane; and cells with higher DHA and EPA contents, as opposed to AA, produce fewer inflammatory eicosanoids, thus decreasing local and systemic inflammation.
Most inflammatory conditions could probably be improved and/or treated by supplementing omega-3 fatty acids.

This is only a small piece of the tip of the omega-3 iceberg. There are a lot of other conditions where omega-3 supplementation has shown improvement, including cancer.
When it comes to dietary recommendations for omega-3 fatty acids, it is still a matter of debate among scientists (depending on desired disease prevention). However, to cover all the bases and to get a metabolic increase, I would recommend about 1000mg EPA and 600mg DHA. This would probably sum up to about 4g (or 4 capsules) of fish oil daily (depending on concentrations).

Finally, you should be aware of that there are several other nutrients that influence your body’s Omega-3 status. Zink, at 25 mg, has been shown to increase omega-3 status significantly in our cell membranes at the expense of saturated fats. Selenium deficiency has been shown to increase the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio and can also interfere with the conversion of omega-3 into EPA and DHA. A deficiency in folic acid has also shown to decrease omega-3 status, but will increase your omega-3 status when supplemented. Also, a diet low in antioxidants has shown to lower the levels of essential fatty acids within the bloodstream.