6 Ways Fish Oil Enhances Athletic Performance
You may know fish oil as a premium omega-3 supplement – helping optimize brain function, heart health, vision and mobility. Both nourishing and restorative, fish oil can help athletes attain physical breakthroughs; its omega-3 profile consists of EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid), DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid) and ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) – beneficial compounds which work to enhance athletic performance in the following ways:
1. Improved Strength & Recovery
Omega-3s are known as being a powerful anti-inflammatory, helping muscles recover post workout. Furthermore, the compounds in omega-3 are a strong catalyst that may help our bodies synthesize proteins from our food. By aiding in the facilitation of protein absorption, taking fish oil can help restore torn microfibers from our workouts – helping you return stronger, sturdier, and rejuvenated in less time.
2. Enhanced anti-inflammatory & Injury prevention
As previously mentioned, fish oil helps you recover; it also helps keep pain away for good.
The compounds in omega-3s help prevent tissue damage by reducing inflammation and increasing blood and oxygen flow to muscles – thereby improving your range of motion and relieving joint tenderness. By helping manage inflammation, athletes with chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis are better able to exercise. Furthermore, the increased blood flow means your body uses oxygen more efficiently, thereby reducing the pain and strain from heightened exertion.
3. Assists with weight loss & lowered cholesterol
When combined with exercise, fish oil can help significantly decrease body weight. Weight loss may occur because ample omega-3s in your body allows you to metabolize fat proficiently.
Furthermore, fish oil can help raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels in your body while eliminating LDL (bad) cholesterols, which further decrease through weight loss.
4. Prevent bone fractures
As mentioned before, Omega-3s help us metabolize proteins. Research shows they also assist with calcium absorption, thereby retaining bone density and preventing breakage. Broken bones are a significant concern in contact sports such as martial arts, boxing, football and rugby. In addition to strengthening your bones, fish oil will help you recover from other injuries and soreness associated with close contact.
5. Improved reaction time & coordination
Fish oil is well known for its powerful cognitive benefits–therefore it’s no surprise that soccer players reported better reaction time after just 4 weeks of fish oil consumption. The DHA in Omega-3’s contributes to better mental processing, as well as maintaining our vision to assist with our overall cognitive processing.
6. Reduces activity-induced asthma
As mentioned, fish oil is a potent anti-inflammatory. These properties remain true throughout our entire body, as demonstrated in a 2013 respiratory medicine study that revealed omega-3 supplements had significantly reduced inflammation and improved lung function among athletes with asthma.
Taking fish oil may offer an abundance of benefits for athletes, including: pain reduction, injury prevention, reduced inflammation, better coordination, and increased absorption of vital nutrients. For further benefits, as well as any risks associated with taking fish oil, please view our detailed product page for our premium fish oil 1000.
