Fish Oil Capsules

If there is one supplement (after a good multi vitamin) you need to include in your diet, it’s fish oil capsules.  Fish oil has so many great benefits I cannot include all of them here.  However, I will go into a few related to weight loss:

Reduction of Belly Fat

Researchers at Inserm in France discovered in a two-month-long experiment with thirty women who had Type 2diabetes that consuming 3 fish oil capsules a day for 2 months decreased belly fat ^1/.

In the study, Half of the women were given fish oil capsules. The other half got a placebo. For those women getting fish oil, the three capsules that the test subjects took provided a daily dose of 1.8 g of n 3-fatty acids. [1.1 g EPA en 0.7 g DHA.]

Net results were that on average those getting the fish oil lost about 2lbs of weight and showed significant fat decreases in the abdomen area. Moreover, those getting the fish oil showed significant decreases in PAI-1 in the blood. PAI-1 is commonly referred to as the heart attack protein so as that declines, so also should the probability of a heart attack.

The supplement reduced the activity of inflammatory genes in the women’s fat cells, the researchers discovered. According to the French, this molecular effect is the cause of the health effects that were observed.

Fish Oil May Preserve or Increase Muscle Mass

This is not quite as clear.  As PA-1 decreases, the theory is that UPA (urokinase-type plasminogen activator) is allowed to work more freely.  UPA is an enzyme that prevents the formation of blood clots and breaks down cell structure. If you produce enough of it, it gives protection against thrombosis and cancer.

In a study with mice, it was shown that The muscles of the mice without uPA recover more slowly, the muscles of the mice without PAI-1 recover more quickly^2/ .  Researchers think the enzyme makes it possible for white blood cells to move through the damaged muscles to clear up the muscle cells that have been destroyed.  So researchers theorize that UPA stimulates growth factors in the muscle tissue.

Beware, not all Fish Oil Capsules are the Same!

To get the amount of DHA/EPA that produced the results in the French study, you need to shop carefully.  Many fish oil capsules contain less than half what was included in those capsules.  You could take more capsules but you may end up burping up a nasty fishy taste.  Fortunately, I’ve found a source that I like quite a bit because of the strength, purity and quality.  It’s Orange OxiMega Fish Oil from Controlled Labs.  Three capsules a day gets you to the required levels used in the study, it’s coated with a citrus flavoring and does not produce any fishy burps for me (other brands do).  The 3 capsule dose costs less than $.40 per day.  But for an even better deal go with the Orange Triad/Orange OxiMega combo which provides you a fantastic multi vitamin/mineral/nutrient formula to keep you in top condition.  The price is so low it’s like paying for the nutritent formula and getting the fish oil capsules for free!

Sources:
^1/ Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Dec;86(6):1670-9.
^2/ Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2005 Jul;289(1):C217-23.