Fish Oil Explained

Fish oil is a popular supplement that has gained attention for its numerous health benefits. Derived from the tissues of fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines, fish oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, specifically EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).

In this article, you are going to learn what it is, what it does in your body, and what it can do for your health. You can then take all the information and decide whether Fish Oil is worth your investment.

Fish Oil - What is it?

Fish oil is a common term used to refer to two kinds of omega-3 fatty acids: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Moreover, "Fish oil" refers to a solution of fatty acids where the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA are dominant. But, to understand fish oil and its beneficial contribution to our health even better, we are going to need to get back to basics and discuss fats.

Understanding Fats

Fats are macronutrients that are made up of three fatty acids combined with a molecule called glycerol. The fatty acids can be divided into three main categories based on the types of bonds they have:

Saturated fat can be found in foods like butter meat and coconut oil. Saturated fat is made up of fatty acids that have no double bonds and fatty acid chains have all single bonds with carbon. This is why they're called saturated because they're saturated with carbon atoms. Furthermore, because of this structural characteristic saturated fatty acids are straight and can pack together tightly which is why saturated fats are often solid at room temperature.

Unsaturated fatty acids have at least one double bond and this bond causes the fatty acid chain to have a slight bend in the middle which means unsaturated fats don't pack together as tightly and are liquid at room temperature.

There are two types of unsaturated fats; monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats:

- The monounsaturated fatty acid has only one double bond in its structure, and one slight kink in the chain. They can be found in olive oil, rapeseed oil, spreads made from this oil, avocados, and nuts such as almonds, brazils, and peanuts.

- The polyunsaturated fatty acid has more than one double bond and even more links in the chain. We can further classify polyunsaturated fatty acids by where the first double bond appears in the chain. If the first double bond appears at the sixth carbon atom from the end of the chain it's called an omega-6 fatty acid. They can be found in sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, and other vegetable oils. If the first double bond occurs at the third carbon atom from the end it's called an omega-3 fatty acid. They can be found in flax seeds, walnuts, and oily fish.

There are over 10 different omega-3 fatty acids that can be found in nature. Each of the omega-3 fatty acids varies in length and number of double bonds. Humans and animals aren't able to make unsaturated fatty acids which means we need to get them from our diet which is why the two aforementioned polyunsaturated fatty acids are called essential fatty acids. The omega-3s that we are interested in are Linoleic Acid (LA) - the omega-6 essential fatty acid and Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA) - the omega-3 essential fatty acid.

Furthermore, ALA needs to be converted to a more active form to be used by our bodies. It needs to be made longer and to be more unsaturated. Once this happens they are called long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. One of the long-chain fatty acids produced is called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). EPA is then converted to docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Finally, it's EPA and DHA that seem to have some very significant health benefits. The greatest source of those two is oily fish. Make a note that it has to be oily fish such as salmon, trout, sardines, tuna, and the oiliest mackerel (3.2 grams of omega-3 per 100 grams) as white fish like cod is so low on fat that it can't be considered a source of omega-3.

Fish Oil - Benefits

Omega-3s play a huge role in a lot of our body's processes from immunity and inflammation to brain development and heart health. They are called essential fatty acids for a reason as we need them to live and to be healthy. The fatty acids EPA and DHA are involved in regulating various biological processes such as the inflammatory response, various metabolic signalling pathways, and brain function. Here is a brief overview of the health benefits of fish oil.

 - Cardiovascular System

Fish oil causes a significant reduction in triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are one of the main blood lipids tested along with total and HDL cholesterol. Excessively high triglycerides can lead to a greater risk of heart disease. 20-35% decrease in triglyceride levels with 2-4 grams of omega-3 supplement over 6-8 weeks has been shown.

It can significantly increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL) which is popularly known as “good” cholesterol, decrease low-density lipoprotein (LDL) known as “bad” cholesterol, and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol which is sometimes considered “bad” cholesterol

It can reduce both systolic and diastolic blood pressure when used regularly.

- Brain, Muscular and Nervous System

EPA and DHA help maintain muscle size and strength as we get older. DHA is essential for proper brain development, and function and is neuroprotective. DHA is the most abundant fatty acid in the brain, making up 10-20% of total brain lipid content. DHA increases the number of synapses in the brain and regulates neurotransmission throughout the nervous system.

- Mood

It appears to notably improve mood in people with major depression. EPA and DHA are effective in reducing anxiety by 20% when supplemented with around 2.5 grams per day. Fish oil is considered to regulate the transmission of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine which are important in mood and cognitive health.

- Inflammation and Immunity

Fish oil may lower markers of inflammation. Due to decreased chronic inflammation and autoimmune markers, it may improve symptoms of arthritis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) Note that most of fish oil's beneficial effects happen over days and weeks, rather than immediately. Also, even though fish oil is not a stimulant, it increases brain activity, so a stimulatory effect may be felt after supplementation.

Fish Oil - Dosage

The main problem with getting enough omega-3 through eating fish is that you'd have to eat a lot of it and there are a lot of people that simply don't like it. Then you also have to consider the calories that come with it. There are about 170 calories in 100 grams of mackerel and 150 calories in 100 grams of salmon. If you are trying to lose weight by being in a caloric deficit this could make a big portion of your daily calories that you could use differently.

Essentially, this is where fish oil supplements come in to be of benefit for you as could get the EPA and DHA you need from 1 to 3 grams a day of fish oil which makes a maximum of 27 calories. Moreover, if you're a vegetarian or vegan you can also get EPA and DHA from algal oil supplements. The reason oily fish is so high in EPA and DHA is that algae are the base of the ocean food chain and these fatty acids build up in the flesh of fish.

There is a lot of conflicting advice when it comes to how much omega-3 you need in your diet. Fish oil doses vary depending on the goal of supplementation. For general health, 250mg of combined EPA and DHA is the minimum dose and can be obtained via fish intake or fish oil supplementation.

Now, the thing is to look for a good fish oil supplement and those vary in how much EPA and DHA they contain per capsule. A good dose to aim is 1000 to 2000 milligrams of combined EPA and DHA to be consumed per day. Typically, 1,000 mg of fish oil supplies around 300 mg of combined EPA and DHA. Generally, up to 3,000 mg of fish oil daily is considered safe for adults.

Final Thoughts

When looking at all the benefits that have been associated with the appropriate dosage of omega-3s, we cannot deny the fact that they are an essential nutrient in preserving our health and well-being. As we can see above they serve as important mediators in many tissues and organs throughout the body. Insufficient intake of omega-3 could lead to many issues such as decreased brain function, depressed mood, and elevated inflammation which with time can lead to much more significant problems.

So, it makes sense to put a few portions of oily fish in our diets or if we do not necessarily want to be bothered with that we can simply use good fish oil or krill oil supplement to cover all our bases. Ultimately, just make sure you are getting enough EPA and DHA in your diet consistently whichever way is convenient to you. The dosage that seems to be most beneficial for preserving overall health starts from around 2 grams per day of combined EPA and DHA.