Omega 3: Cuts Body Fat

Fish oil omega 3 fatty acids combined with exercise can reduce body fat. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, may 2007) Australian researchers, in a study of overweight adults, found fish oil supplements improved cholesterol levels and blood vessel function. They also found that fish oil combined with exercise reduced body fat.

The study participants who took omega 3 fish oil supplements, either alone or with exercise, experienced their good HDL cholesterol going up and their triglyceride levels going down.

These results were in line with many previous studies showing fish oil’s positive effect on lowering blood pressure and triglycerides, reducing risk of blood clots and improving vessel function.

There’s also been some evidence from test tube studies that show fish oil affecting metabolism in a way that could reduce body fat. The research on humans, however, had conflicting results.

Dr. Peter R. C. Howe and a team of researchers from the University of South Australia decided to test the hypothesis. They randomly assigned 75 overweight adults to four different groups: one took fish oil, one took fish oil and walked three days a week for 45 minutes, one took sunflower oil and the fourth took sunflower oil and walked.

After a twelve week period, Dr. Howe and his team discovered those participants who were on the omega 3 fish oil supplements had significantly better improvements in their blood fats than those on the sunflower oil capsules.

And those participants on fish oil supplements who exercised also had significant improvements in their body fat ratios.

Eating fish and/or taking fish oil supplements has been proven over and over again to be one of the best things you can do for your heart. That’s why the American Heart Association recommends everyone eat fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, herring or tongol tuna at least two or three times a week.

But now Dr. Howe’s findings show that fish is not only good for how you feel, but it’s also good for how you look. So if you want to look and feel your best, eat lots of fatty fish and/or take a good quality omega 3 fish oil supplement.

After 12 weeks, the researchers found, volunteers who were taking fish oil showed greater improvements in their blood fats and blood vessel function than those who took sunflower oil.

What’s more, exercise and fish oil each helped reduce body fat.

“Increasing intake of (omega-3 fatty acids) could be a useful adjunct to exercise programs aimed at improving body composition and decreasing cardiovascular disease risk,” Howe and his colleagues write.

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