5 Reasons to Start Supplementing With Fish Oil

Adding food supplements to your daily diet might not be easy for anyone who is new to the bodybuilding or training regime. We get so busy in maintaining a nutrition plan, calculating nutrients and calories needed, consumed and is absorbed by the body that figuring out supplements is the last thing you would want to do. First of all, anyone who is going to include supplements in his/her diet must know that they are not replacements, they cannot replace a good nutrition plan, hard workout but can help you reach your fitness goal faster.

Though the list is endless when it comes to bodybuilding supplements, fish oil is a relatively recent addition to it.

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Now, instead of talking endlessly about the supplementation, let’s jump straight to what fish oil supplements are, how they are useful, advantages and shatter some popular myths about this supplement.

Many people who have started out with supplements have avoided Fish oil capsules. Common reasons for avoiding these fish oil capsules are the size of the fish oil tablet and also how it tastes. Some have a predisposition towards the very idea of fish oil capsules thinking it will be an unpleasant and horrible experience. Actually, fish oil capsules are not something to be afraid of or be worried about, they are in fact healthy and provides essential fats that the body breaks down to prevent several ailments. Some studies have also suggested that fish oil tablets can act as an important factor in preventing coronary heart diseases, neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, dementia etc. Some evidence also suggests the possibility of successful treatment of Zellweger disease commonly found in Infants.

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Now we should see what actually fish oil tablets is. Fish oil capsules contain a crucial fat required for the body called Omega-3 Fatty Acid. This Omega-3 Fatty Acid is usually found naturally in fresh fish, seeds, and leafy vegetables and in a variety of nuts. As the Omega-3 fatty acid even though found in many food items, it is not easy for the body to get the required amount easily. More and more people now suffer from a deficiency of Omega-3 fatty acids. This should not be left alone as easily as these Omega-3 fatty acids affect physical well being as well as positively impacting mental and emotional health which is necessary in today’s scenario.

Regarding the positive effects of fish oil tablets and omega-3 fatty acids, various studies are going on around the globe on how they react to different medical conditions and situations. Conditions range from brain injury, epilepsy, autism, autoimmune diseases etc. Some studies are also going on for possible benefits of fish oil capsules on pregnant women and on the infant development and health. It has not yet been determined if it is safe for fish oil capsules to be used during pregnancy but expect the results in the near future. So if any of the pregnant women are reading this, please consider the advice of your physician before consuming Fish Oil Tablets or Omega-3 Fatty Acids during pregnancy so as to be safe during the pregnancy period.

Now let us see the five main reasons so as to use fish oil capsules as supplements:

1. To Stabilize Your Mood

Fish oil capsules can be very important for stabilizing your mood. It can help regulate your anger and also in relieving depression which has become common nowadays among all classes of people. Clinical depression has become a household name. Bipolar disorders are something we are starting to hear a lot more about and Omega-3 fatty acids can help control these bipolar disorders. Omega -3 benefits also include controlling mental health issues that may arise suddenly.  It is to be understood that consuming these supplements may not fix the issues entirely as all these disorders and diseases depends on several different factors both external and internal like the quality of sleep, social environment, diet, food habits, immunity etc.

2. Cardiac Health 

In this age when cardiac health is in the decline and coronary heart diseases are becoming common leading to cardiac arrest and myocardial infarction some studies have shown that fish oil capsules might possibly reduce high blood pressure, regulate blood clots and simultaneously help in reducing the chances of heart diseases and ailments. Fish oil helps prevent heart disease by decreasing triglyceride levels, slowing the development of plaque in arteries.

According to a research, there are very rare cases of a heart attack from the Atlantic region, as people there tend to consume the salmon fish which is one the richest source of omega-3 fatty acids. There are a number of other researchers too that prove the fact that omega-3 is extremely beneficial for the heart. Fish oil helps in lowering down the bad cholesterol (LDL) and aid in the production of good cholesterol (HDL). Nowadays, taking care of one’s own heart and cardiac health is the least to do in improving the quality of life. Avoiding stress can also help in achieving better cardiac health as it is proven that stress is one of the main factors behind certain severe diseases in this fast-paced modern world.

3. It Helps You To Improve Focus

Getting focused on a particular thing is becoming more and more difficult with lots and lots of distractions like social media, internet, and other stuff.

From 2003-11 more than 6.4 million children were diagnosed with ADHD in the USA. This is a huge exponential increase in children having ADHD within a few years. This shows that Gen Y is having severe problems in focusing on stuff and is having severe attention deficit problems. If properly combined with a healthy diet and exercise routine Fish oil capsules can alleviate effects of ADHD and help provide better focus and provide clarity to your mind. Results will be achieved only through proper methods over a period of time, there are no shortcuts and supplements are what they are, they are not cured, you need your medicines for that.

4. Memory Enhancement

In this age of forgetfulness, memory is a priceless possession to have. Fish oil capsules have been shown to increase long and short-term memory in people who are aged 65 and above. Research suggests that fish oil may also help enhance cognitive performance because of the way omega-3s, specifically EPA and DHA, support nervous system development and repair. Further research among healthy participants suggests that taking omega-3s can also improve reaction time, higher-level brain function, and decision-making. Of course, it should be consumed along with the daily consumption of fruits and vegetables to have the necessary effect but a decreased risk of getting dementia, Alzheimer’s diseases and other memory-related stuff is definitely a positive point for fish oil tablets. DHA is a primary structural component of the brain and specifically of the cerebral cortex, the area of the brain responsible for memory, language, abstraction, creativity, judgment, emotion and attention. It also helps in the formation of brain cells and acts as an anti-inflammatory.

5. Prolonged Protection From Vision Impairment

It is known that as we age, our vision begins to decline, over time the functionality of the eyes ceases to decrease which can indirectly cause problems like cataract, astigmatism etc. By consuming Omega-3 fatty acids and food items rich in Omega-3 fatty acids on a daily basis, the rate of potential decline of vision can be reduced significantly.

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Other advantages of Omega-3 fatty acids and fish oil capsules

In some studies of omega-3-rich fish oil supplementation, individuals reported less pain, reduced inflammation, and a greater range of motion when taking fish oil versus a placebo. This is most likely due to fish oil’s ability to strengthen cell membranes, reduce oxidative stress that occurs with strenuous exercise, and lessen the body’s inflammatory response to exercise. Improved recovery means you can train more often and at a higher intensity for greater progress. Research studies have shown that supplementing with fish oil can help you feel full after meals, so you’re less likely to reach for seconds or thirds. Joint pain also can definitely hamper your daily activities.

The omega-3 derived from fish oil has been proven to improve joint health. The study suggests omega-3 fatty acids help in controlling certain types of inflammation in the body and can support the joint mobility.  If you’re already on a reduced-calorie diet and exercise regularly, supplementing with fish oil can help you lose more body fat than if you dieted and exercised without it. Researchers suspect that this greater weight loss is due to fish oil’s ability to increase fat oxidation, which refers to your body’s ability to break down fat to use for fuel. Better fat breakdown means that instead of storing fat, your body uses it to fuel your daily activities. By improving body’s ability to use fat for fuel, fish oil can help your body store more muscle glycogen.

This news should be music to any athlete’s ears. Supplementing a healthy diet with fish oil for three weeks has been shown to increase fat metabolism during endurance exercise. Similar studies on exercise and metabolic response to omega-3 supplementation suggest that people are more able to use fat stores for energy, sparing their stored glycogen for the most intense exercise.

They also support in regulating testosterone levels, preventing strokes and reduce the possibility of clot formation providing a blood thinning effect. Some studies have also claimed it helps in hair growth and having good scalps and hair thinning but cannot prevent hair loss. Most of the studies are done comparing the fish oil capsules’ effect against a placebo which severely undermines the quality of the research but does not totally make it good or bad.

Although not extremely common, consuming too much omega-3 fatty acid can lead to decreased blood clotting ability and platelet aggregation which is also proven through studies. Most people should consume no more than 4 grams per day and should consume it under the guidance of a trainer, dietician or a nutrition expert.

How to optimize the consumption of fish oil capsules during bodybuilding and training?

For optimum cardiac health and exercise performance, supplement with 1-2 grams of EPA/DHA (Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are the primary omega-3 fatty acids that we get from fish oil).per day. If you eat fatty fish 2-3 times per week, you’re probably getting enough omega-3 rich food already. But if your diet lacks fish, you must consider heavily investing in a quality supplement that contains twice as much EPA as DHA and is free of heavy metals. Companies will often put it on their label, website, or both if they have third-party testing to remove heavy metals and any other possible contaminants. But if heavy metals are present it can really harm your body in different ways. Because consuming fish oil supplements can cause digestive symptoms for some people and potential “fishy taste,” in your mouth you may want to consume your supplements with another food item or with a meal.

Although there are so many numerous advantages to consuming these health supplements, some people are adamant and cannot accept the intake of these supplements. The following list is especially for them so that they can eat foods rich in Omega-3 and still feel good. So these are the food items that contain

Omega-3 Fish Oil Benefits:

• Oily fishes, such as anchovies, sardines, salmon, trout, and mackerel, Shellfish, crab, mussels, and oysters.
• Flax seeds and Chia seeds as well as raw, sprouted radish seeds
• Spirulina
• Nuts, such as walnuts and almonds
• Eggs
• Fresh basil and dried tarragon
• Dark, leafy green vegetables such as spinach and kale

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In the end, the decision to take supplements or not to take it depends on you. If you don’t take it, make sure to eat lots of food rich in same nutrients to be included in your diet and if you do take it, do it under expert guidance only in supervised environments with proper dosage and serving all mandatory exercises to assimilate the same. It is easy to achieve a good body but very difficult to maintain it for a long time and the goal should be the long-term maintenance of the body.​