The Benefits of Omega-3 for Exercise

It is pretty well known that omega-3 can reduce your risk of developing heart disease, but what about exercise? Can increasing your omega-3 intake help you to exercise for longer?

If recent studies are correct, then Yes it can.

Whilst these studies were small, and need expanding upon, all of them clearly prove that omega-3 can help you to exercise for longer, prevent fatigue and muscle soreness and essentially help you to burn more fat during exercise.

What did these studies prove?

For one, they prove that no matter your fitness level or age, increasing your omega-3 levels can make a significant difference to your health.

Take the results of each of these studies:

Study One: On Overweight sedentary adults at risk of heart disease

Split into 2 groups, half were given a placebo whilst the other half were given fish oil. These were then split into a further 2 groups, where some were assigned the task of walking 3 times a week, whilst the other group did not exercise.

After 6 weeks, scientists found:

• Fish oil helped to improve triglyceride levels, HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) and endothelial function (these did not occur from exercise alone)
• Fish oil and exercise combined helped individuals to reduce their total body fat as well as improve their heart rate variability between their resting state and when they exercised.

Study Two: Affect of fish oil on early fatigue in healthy, but untrained individuals

Taking into account that exercise can lead to early fatigue and delayed muscle soreness in healthy but untrained individuals, fish oil was offered to a group of men for 30 days. After this period, scientists found:

• Participants experienced less delayed onset muscle soreness and inflammation after 40 minutes of exercise in comparison to the men who took the placebo

Study Three: Affect of EPA and DHA supplementation on oxygen delivery

Taken over a 6 week period, fish oil (which contains EPA and DHA) was found to increase blood flow, improve oxygen delivery to active muscles and lower resting blood pressure.

Study Four: Affect of Omega-3 fatty acids on athletes

Conducted on a group of athletes, scientists found those who took fish oil supplements saw a significant improvement in exercise-induced asthma as well as a reduction in inflammatory mediators.

So can Omega-3 help exercise?

Whilst research into the benefits of omega-3 on exercise are still in their early stages, each of these 4 studies seem to conclude that introducing more omega-3 into your diet can make a significant improvement to your stamina levels, heart rate and overall health.

So if you are looking to combat soreness and fatigue, why not introduce a little fish oil into your diet, and set a new personal best the next time you exercise?

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