Most people would probably agree with you if you said that taking fish oil is good for them, yet it seems like it’s another supplement that people don’t take regularly, enough of, or even at all! Similarly to creatine and vitamin D as discussed in other articles, the active components of fish oil are difficult to get from diet alone unless you’re eating an entire salmon (not just a small piece of one) every day. Then shockingly not long ago there seemed to be some sort of backlash against fish oil in some media outlets claiming it’s benefits that were previously claimed were not true, so is it worth taking or not?

The reason I recommend so many people take fish oil is not just purely about performance and body composition it’s more to do with the health benefits that it provides, fish oil alone will not directly stimulate fat loss, but maintaining a healthy body and cells (whilst in a calorie deficit) it will definitely help. I would even go as far as to say if I could only take 3 supplements for the rest of my life, fish oil would definitely be one of them!

What you’re actually looking for when buying a fish oil supplement is the amount of 2 things it contains, EPA and DHA. On the back of the supplement you will see this breakdown, cheap products may say ‘up to 1000mg fish oil’ but when you look at the back there’s barely any EPA and DHA and it’s just full of something else called ALA which is similar (so technically not false advertising) but ALA is far less absorbable, with between 9 and 21% being absorbed depending on whether you’re a male or female. Doses will be dependant on the individual so just go for the one that’s got AT LEAST 300mg of EPA and DHA combined in it.

The benefits:

Heart Health

Fish oils are very good for long term cardio vascular health due to their antihypertensive properties, so people with high blood pressure are likely to benefit from taking these as well as people who are just trying to maintain a healthy heart. – Miller et al. 2014

Healthier Blood Lipids

Fish oils have a antihyperlipidemic effect meaning that when blood lipid profiles (a screening of blood health) get too high fish oil can help in bringing them back into a normal range, much like a statin would. – Zulyniak et al. 2013

Decreased risk of stroke and DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) 

Fish oils have an antiplatelet activity effect which will help thin the blood, which is important in reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes in unhealthy individuals but also to help prevent DVT. DVT is a condition where blood clots in the veins usually in the lower extremities like legs and causes a bulging of the vein, this can cause damage to the valves that prevent back flow in the veins and if very bad can cause death. This is why dosing is very important of fish oil, if you dose these too high and take things like aspirin too you can bruise like a peach!

Anti Inflammatory

Inflammation can occur in the body through an imbalance of omega 3’s (fish oil) and omega 6’s in the diet, and because the modern diet is very omega 6 heavy it is a very good idea to increase the omega 3 level to reduce inflammation. Inflammation is another large topic on it’s own which I won’t go into too much detail here but it’s not a healthy thing for your body and can result in some serious health conditions if left untreated. A positive omega 3 to omega 6 ratio will help keep this under control without having to take NSAIDS (non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs) which have a whole host of negative side effects. – Kremer 2005. 

Help Reduce Anabolic Resistance in Elderly

Anabolic resistance in the elderly basically means as we age, our ability to build or even keep muscle decreases massively. This is a huge problem which I will be going into in much more detail next week but a study by Smith et al 2011 showed that after a period of 8 weeks significantly increased muscle sensitivity in people aged 65 and above. So they could maintain and build muscle massively easier (along with the correct diet and training of course) which helps reduce risk of falls etc. What this also shows is that fish oils can contribute to the sensitivity of amino acid uptake in the muscles, so never mind the elderly anyone can benefit from the anabolic effects of fish oil! 

Helps Induce Weight Loss

One study by Noreen et al 2010 took 2 groups of people who were relatively healthy and exercised to some extent but nothing crazy. Then one group would take a fish oil supplement and the other a placebo and it concluded that “6 weeks of supplementation with fish oil significantly increased lean mass and decreased fat mass.”

Decreased Depressive Symptoms 

It’s often said that healthy fats are food for the brain, well in a study by Sublette et al 2011 they showed that getting adequate EPA and DHA in your diet was consistently shown to decrease depressive symptoms in individuals! 

Please don’t just look at these and think you don’t have to take adequate amounts of EPA and DHA if you don’t already have cardiovascular disease, DVT, depression, elevated blood lipids etc. Although fish oil has shown time and again to help reduce these things, prevention is much better than the cure. You should be using fish oil to help reduce the risk of getting them in the first place! Like I said earlier doses vary on the individual but a minimum of 300mg of EPA+DHA per day is advised, often times more. Be careful to store your fish oil properly wen you get them, you can play it safe and refrigerate them because if you let the oil go rancid you will not only not reap the benefits but it could actually be detrimental to your health. You can check if the oil has gone rancid by cutting one of the capsules in half, now it should smelly fishy but it shouldn’t smell like gone off fish, trust me you’ll know the difference!

Fish oil aside, investing in your health should be a priority, spending money on things that will improve and prolong the quality of your life should be important. Don’t wait until it is too late and then try throw money at the problem because we only get one body, once that is knackered then it’s game over so while you still have your health make sure you look after it!