Essential Supplements (Part One)
FISH OIL
I am a certified nutrition coach through Precision Nutrition and I really like their stance on supplements. They are just that – meaning supplements are not supposed to take away from a healthy well balanced nutrient plan. They are supposed to supplement your diet if you know you are not taking enough of the proper nutrient from your food.
That being said in these three articles I’m going to discuss the benefits of three supplements, Fish Oil, Greens Plus, and Whey Protein.
This article is going to be all about fish oil.
According to the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, (http://naturaldatabase.therapeuticresearch.com/nd/Search.aspx?pt=100&id=993&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1)
Taking fish oil orally, fish oils have been shown to have medical applications in the treatment of an extremely wide variety of aliments from stroke, bipolar disorder to Crohn’s disease.
Also it contributes to cell membrane health. If the fatty membranes surrounding brain cells are relatively fluid, as they are with lots of omega-3s, then messages from neurochemicals such as serotonin can be transmitted more easily. If people eat too many saturated fats (which are solid at room temperature) without enough omega-3s then these membranes become more rigid and matter can’t get through. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) insure cell membranes remain healthy by the membranes are flexible and contain larger numbers of insulin receptors that are more receptive and responsive to circulating insulin. If you have, this in turn results in decreased fat storage in the fat cells.
Fish oils also turn on the lipolytic genes. Which is extremely good if you want to lose weight because this means the genes responsible for burning fat are activated, which in turn means an increased utilization of fat stores from the fat cells.
Fish oils also offers very easy compliance. Taking fish oil on a regular basis is something very east for people to do. Nearly all obese people are depressed so for them because it raises serotonin, taking fish oil is an essential first step toward a lean healthy body, which makes sense because one of the very first habits that Precision Nutrition teaches you in the coaching program – is for you to take fish oil.
Another good example of why fish oils can benefit you is they help reduce inflammation from physical training because the EPA in the fish oil has the greatest effect by its downstream of metabolites known as resolvins. Resolvins may be the key to the beneficial actions of fish oil in human diseases.
So far I listed four great reasons why fish oil is a great supplement to take but it also increases focus in training, decrease blood pressue, it’s a great stress fighter, and they can also increase serotonin levels.
To read more about the benefits of Fish Oil check out
So it’s easy to see why Fish Oil is the first on my list to recommend to clients. You want to aim for 3-9 grams of total fish oil (1 to 3 grams of EPA +DHA) per day.
