If you have ever heard of omega-3 fatty acids, it must be for their benefits for the heart. American Heart Association recommends omega 3s for the heart because they reduce the levels of triglyceride, clear the arteries and keep irregular heartbeats at bay.
A healthy heart is an important component, but even more so for runners, heavy lifters and other athletes. No athlete can expect good performance without having a healthy heart on the field and in the gym.
However, that’s not all. Omega-3 fatty acids also contribute to muscle gains, speedy recovery post-sports injury and improved athletic performance. Besides cardiovascular benefits, these fatty acids also improve skin, brain, eye and joint health.
I have put together this guide to encourage more athletes to take omega-3 fatty acid supplements into their fitness regimen and recommend two of the best omega-3 supplements.
Omega 3-Fatty Acids and Your Body: What’s the Correlation?
Simply, omega-3s are the healthy fats that support heart health and more. The three omegas include DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and ALA (alpha-linolenic acid).
DHA and EPA are long-chain fatty acids found in seafood, whereas ALA is a short-chain fatty acid found in olive oil, nuts, avocado, chia seeds and flax seeds.
Our bodies cannot make these fatty acids on their own. Thus, a good diet is important to increase these healthy fats in our bodies. However, you may still fall short on omega-3s despite eating lots of nuts, fish and avocados.
Our body can only use long-chain fatty acids. It converts ALAs into EPAs and DHAs to consume other forms. Unfortunately, this process is inefficient; only about 5% of ALA is converted into ELA, and less than 1% of EPA is converted into DHA.
This means relying on this process isn’t a sensible choice, especially if you’re an athlete looking to improve your performance. If you want to get enough omega-3s, you must take at least two servings of mackerel, salmon or tuna each week and add nuts, healthy oils and seeds to the mix.
This can be confusing and tricky but don’t worry! That’s why you should add omega-3 fatty acid supplements to your regimen. These supplements are abundant with DHA and EPA to improve your performance.
How Do Omega-3 Supplements Improve Athletic Performance?
Omega-3 supplements are popular in athletic, fitness and nutrition circles for all the right reasons. I have outlined some of the benefits below:
Improve Athletic Strength
Though you’ll need some iron to gain those coveted 20-inch biceps, omega-3s will ease the process for you. These supplements decrease muscle breakdown while increasing protein synthesis. In this process, muscles transform the protein into your biceps.
Studies show that omega-3s can increase muscle-building response to amino acids and insulin – both are released during workouts.
Speeds Up Recovery
If you work out, you must be familiar with post-exercise soreness or DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). It’s a stiffening and aching feeling in muscles for a few days after exercise. It affects everyone, mostly those pushing themselves harder or trying a new workout.
Your muscles feel riddled with tears after a hectic workout session. However, these microscopic tears only make you faster, stronger and bigger when healed. Omega-3 supplements have anti-inflammatory properties that make post-exercise recovery faster, so you can get stronger quickly.
This way, Omega-3 supplementation makes DOMS an age-old thing. Their inflammation-fighting properties can nix the soreness by reducing perceived pain while improving the range of motion.
Boosts Reaction Time
Our brain is 60% fat, so it’s not shocking that these fatty acids can help the fat in our brain do its thing. Omega-3 fatty acids can improve our mental and cognitive functioning while playing a pivotal role in signaling and visual processing.
They’re also important to neurons, muscle membranes and nerve endings. Studies show that taking omega-3 supplements dramatically improves soccer players’ reaction time.
Makes Muscles Better
When the brain function improves, the signals from one cell to another go at a faster speed. It’s because Omega-3s in the muscle membranes, nerve endings and neurons direct the neuromuscular function in your body.
Supplementing your fitness regimen with EPA and DHA increases this function so your muscles work better. It also reduces fatigue during or after the workout.
Reduces Overuse Injury Risk
Besides improving recovery time, these supplements also reduce the risk of getting injuries caused by overuse. Inflammation and tissue degradation are two common injuries caused by muscle overuse during a hectic training session.
Omega-3s boost blood and nutrients flow to the muscles to relieve joint tenderness and increase mobility.
Keeps Feet Light
One of the greatest benefits of omega-3 supplements is they burn excess unhealthy fat that may weigh you and your gains down otherwise. Omega-3 fish oil supplements decrease fat in adults in only six weeks, notes a study.
Adequate levels of healthy fatty acids expedite burning fat for energy, not muscles.
Prevents Bone Snapping
Bone snapping is a common concern in contact sports if you play rugby, football or soccer. Fortunately, studies confirm that taking omega-3 supplements can make your bones stronger to prevent brittle bones. Omega-3 fatty acids can also increase calcium absorption in the body while mediating bone growth.
Makes Workout Smooth
One of the reasons omega-3 supplements are getting popular in the athlete community is that they decrease the amount of oxygen and heart rate every minute during a workout. It’s especially important on a match day.
This means your body burns less oxygen for every minute of exercise, so you get a competitive edge over your opponents. It’ll take less oxygen and energy to kick a goal or run a marathon.
Fights Workout-Induced Asthma
Omega-3 fatty acids make a world of difference for asthma patients by reducing inflammation. They also reduce airway inflammation and improve lung function among those who work out regularly and suffer exercise-induced asthma (exercise-induced bronchoconstriction).
Increases Endurance
Omega-3 supplements also improve endurance levels among athletes. Evidence shows that supplementing omega-3s drastically increases your capacity during exercise and contributes to strength.
Omega-3 Supplements To the Rescue!
Not everyone can consume two servings of omega-3 abundant foods every week. Instead, you can take omega-3 supplements to reap all these benefits and improve your athletic performance.
You can find a variety of supplements at reasonable prices, but you shouldn’t go for the cheapest brands. Check the labels to ensure you’re buying reliable supplements.
My favorites are the omega-3 supplements by Garden of Life and Barlean’s Organic Oils. These supplements offer all the benefits I have highlighted above.
Garden of Life – Omega Fish Oil Supplements
These omega fish oil and lemon supplements by Garden of Life are soft gels that you can include in your fitness regimen. They’re doctor-formulated supplements to support overall wellness, including brain and heart health.
Garden of Life is a trusted brand that uses sustainable and traceable sources to manufacture these fish oil supplements. The specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPM) process makes these supplements essential to any athlete’s fitness routine.
Ingredients
These fish oil supplements are made from 1000mg of omega-3s per serving and compounds that support the inflammatory response in the body.
Certification
You’ll experience guaranteed freshness, potency and purity. These supplements are Third-Party Certified Non-GMO Project Verified as well as Certified by Marine Stewardship Council.
Taste
Garden of Life Fish Oil Omega-3 Supplements has a lemon-flavored pleasant taste. There’s no fish after-smell or taste. You can take two soft gels with your meals every day.
Barlean’s Omega-3 Fish Oil Supplements
These omega-3 fish oil supplements by Barlean’s Organic Oils are triglycerides from fish oil and gluten-free soft gels.
Barlean’s is a reliable brand offering organic oils and omega-3 supplements so athletes, especially those looking for gluten-free supplements, can meet their dietary goals. The brand has made it easier to fulfil omega-3 intake to improve the immune system, eye, heart and brain health.
The brand has sold these premium soft gel supplements since 1989, with each batch tested by third-party laboratories to ensure quality.
Ingredients
Each supplement contains 240mg DHA and 360mg EPA. The soft gels are made from fresh and wild-caught fish found in pristine waters. The brand uses patented soft gel technology to reduce drying time so that the supplements retain their quality for a long time.
The supplements are free of any heavy metals, including mercury, whereas the fish oil is sustainably harvested.
Taste
The supplements are orange-flavored to prevent any fishy aftertaste or smell. You can take 2-6 gels every day with a meal.
Certification
Barlean’s fish oil omega-3 supplements pharmaceutically-graded and ultra-purified fish oil in natural triglyceride form.
Conclusion
Not all fats are bad. Omega-3 fatty acids are the healthy fats that your body needs to ensure optimal functioning. Omega-3s not only support heart and brain health, but they also improve eye and immune health.
Unfortunately, our bodies can only use long-chain acids, whereas the process of converting short-chain acids is inefficient. Thus, you can meet your omega-3 intake by using omega-3 supplements. They increase your athletic performance by reducing recovery time and BOMs while strengthening muscles and improving endurance.
