Omega 3 and Weight (Fat) Loss

In addition to all the health benefits of increasing omega3 and decreasing omega6 in the diet mentioned in the previous blog entry, let’s now direct the conversation to this dietary intervention as it relates specifically to weight loss.

Metabolic Syndrome

Review of the current scientific research indicates that omega3 supplementation results in:

  • improvement in fat loss in obese individuals
  • an increase in muscle mass in obese individuals
  • a decrease in inflammatory substances in the blood that are created by excess fat cells
  • improvement in all the components of metabolic syndrome (hypertension, elevated triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol and insulin resistance) which is the major cause of diabetes, heart disease and premature death in the US and other developed countries

In addition to the very direct effects noted above there are several other secondary effects that support weight loss such as the positive effects of omega3 supplementation on mood and response to stress which of course might lead to less “stress eating” one of the major behavior patterns linked to obesity.

As mentioned in the earlier blog, lowering one’s intake of omega6 oils and foods will improve the ratio of omega6 (pro-inflammatory) to omega3 (anti-inflammatory) in the body and will result in even more impressive health benefits. Also since all the high omega6 foods are grain based white foods– i.e. breads, rice, pastas, beer, cereal – by decreasing consumption of these high glycemic foods one will see lower insulin levels and therefore less fat storage, since insulin drives fat storage.

ALL OVERFAT PEOPLE HAVE ELEVATED INSULIN LEVELS, WHICH WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO INSULIN RESISTANCE AND METABOLIC SYNDROME AND LIKELY DEVELOP DIABETES AND HEART DISEASE. THIS IS AN INDESPUTABLE FACT.

So what is the best way to increase omega3 intake. Well, there are 2 ways. The first is to increase high omega3 containing foods such as cold-water fatty fish (salmon, halibut, sardines) and to some extent leafy green vegetables.

However, because of the pollution in the oceans these fish store dangerous toxins like heavy metals such as mercury, dioxins, PCBs etc. So eating more fatty fish results in more dangerous toxins being ingested. The other way to increases omega3 is by taking a super high- potency, ultra purified omega3 supplement daily. It is also more convenient and much less expensive than eating fish every day. But with all the omega 3 supplements on the market which one would be best for you? This will be the subject of our next blog entry.