NICK BARRINGER, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS
OMEGA-3S FOR THE TACTICAL ATHLETE
Tactical athletes put their bodies through the ringer, so to speak,
on a daily basis. Optimal recovery is essential to improve or simply
maintain performance. Omega-3 fatty acids can help tactical
athletes recover by increasing protein synthesis and protecting
muscles from breakdown (1,2,5,6,7).
Omega-3 fatty acids are derived from fish oil and have long been
known to promote cardiovascular health. Fish oil is comprised of
eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
However, more recent research has demonstrated that the benefits
of omega-3s might extend a ll the way to skeletal muscle as a
means to promote strength, hypertrophy (muscle growth), and
blunt inflammation (1,2,7). As with much research, the first signs of
these benefits were seen in animal studies.
Gingras et al. demonstrated that omega-3s helped regulate wholebody protein metabolism in three 5-week experimental periods
involving six growing steers. The researchers discovered that
feeding omega-3s to the steers improved insulin sensitivity and
promoted anabolic pathways (1). The authors pointed out how
this research could be of particular interest to humans as loss of
insulin sensitivity is one of the contributing factors to muscle
loss due to aging.
In a study involving human subjects, subjects were provided
a 6-week diet with the same amount of calories and then
measurements of insulin sensitivity and inflammation were
taken. The subjects then underwent an 8-week experimental
diet that was supplemented with 720 g of fatty fish and 15 mL
of sardine oil daily. The experimental diet significantly increased
insulin sensitivity and lowered C-reactive protein (a marker of
inflammation). The study demonstrated that omega-3s could
indeed improve insulin sensitivity in humans and possibly protect
muscle from catabolic processes by blunting inflammatory
markers (7).
Baseline measurements of body composition, resting metabolic
rate, and salivary cortisol were taken in another study. Cortisol
is the stress hormone the body produces during a stressful
operation. When the body produces a significant amount of
cortisol, performance and muscle mass both decline. In the study,
the subjects were randomly assigned to receive either 4 g per day
of safflower oil (control) or 4 g per day of fish oil for six weeks,
at which time baseline measurements were repeated. The fish
oil group significantly gained more muscle mass, significantly
reduced fat mass, and demonstrated a tendency to decrease
salivary cortisol levels (3).
In another study, Smith et al. took 16 healthy older adults and
randomly assigned them to receive either omega-3 fatty acids or
corn oil for eight weeks. The rate of muscle protein synthesis was
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measured both pre- and post-supplementation during basal, postabsorptive conditions, and during a period where the subjects
were given extra insulin and amino acids. The corn oil group
showed no increase in muscle protein or anabolic signaling across
all testing. The omega-3 group showed that when omega-3s were
added with amino acids and insulin there was an even greater
anabolic response (6).
The concern with the previous study is it was conducted on
an elderly population. Smith’s team repeated this study using
a younger population (25 – 40-year-olds). The subjects were
provided 4 g per day of omega-3s for eight weeks. Again, it was
demonstrated that omega-3s have a synergistic effect when the
body is exposed to more amino acids and insulin (5).
The previous studies demonstrated the positive effects that
omega-3s can have on muscle growth. However, a study by
Rodacki et al. looked at muscle strength specifically. In this study,
Rodacki’s team had one group only strength train for 90 days, one
group strength train and receive 2 g per day of fish oil for 90 days,
and one group strength train and receive fish oil at 2 g per day for
150 days. The third group also started fish oil supplementation 60
days prior to training. Peak torque and torque rate improved for
all groups, but the fish oil groups gained more strength than the
strength training only group and performed better in functional
tasks compared to the strength training only group (4). This
showed that omega-3s can help promote functional capacity and
also muscular strength (4).
For tactical athletes, sometimes it is not about gaining muscle and
getting stronger but rather just keeping the strength and muscle
already gained. For this point, Kamorlat et al. showed that cells in
a starvation state when exposed to EPA reduce protein breakdown
by 22% compared to the control (2). This study demonstrated
that not only does fish oil have anabolic potential but also has the
potential to be anti-catabolic during periods of caloric restriction.
The ability to spare muscle during calorie restriction could make
fish oil a powerful ally when dieting and during periods of high
stress and low calorie intake like those seen in certain military
scenarios.
It has been shown that omega-3s can aid in increasing muscle
mass, muscle strength, potentially blunt inflammatory and
catabolic signals, as well as protect the muscle currently
attained even during times of caloric restriction. There are also
other potential benefits of omega-3s involving protecting the
brain and enhancing cognition but that is best left for another
article. According to most studies presented here, 3 – 4 g of
omega-3 fatty acids per day in the form of either fish and/or
supplementation will benefit tactical athletes in many ways.
NSCA’S TSAC REPORT | ISSUE 33