Omega-3 fatty acids and exercise: a review of their combined effects (2011) [pdf]
lookgreatnaked.com
lookgreatnaked.com
In this case, fish oil sources matter. Oxidation, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) matter. You can filter for quality sources that meet the International Fish Oil Standards here: https://certifications.nutrasource.ca/certified-products?typ...
* Everyone is excited about X which improves Y
* Studies looking into X find no improvement in Y and/or some people don't notice X improve Y
* People invested in X argue that they are not timing/dosing X properly, or people do not have the right form of X
It usually descends into absurdities where you are supposed to find this rare unicorn brand that has the proper quality (for now, who knows next year!) then dose it at some exact time before bed time, but avoiding calcium or citric acid or something because that would nullify it etc etc.
Supposing the supplement even ever worked, it simply is not practically useful with such constraints. I'm not going to get a PHD in fish oil quality in order to achieve some single digit risk reduction of heart disease.
The paper pretty much says fish oil + exercise does not increase performance ("inconclusive") and some evidence for improved fat loss. Many of the studies reviewed by the paper show evidence that heart rate is lower during "submaximal" exertion.
GP links to a list of "certified" fish oil sources, so if you wanted to at minimum test for yourself, you could just pick one from the list before you pursue your fish oil PhD.
You don't need a PhD, just read the amazon reviews for different brands.
"This faculty position requires a Ph D."
"I don't have that, but I read Amazon reviews for different brands."
Most people experience minor if any benefit from these things. The things which really cause benefits are healthy eating and exercise in general. If you go from eating fast food and barely walking to eating whole foods and deliberately exercising 5-7 days a week, you'll almost certainly feel a major difference. What exactly caused that difference, where you crossed the line, is unclear; but it doesn't matter, IMO people should eat well and exercise reasonably anyways.
The body is a complex system. Just because our minds prefer simplicity doesn't mean our bodies will respond simply. People that are into the minutiae of nutrition and supplementation are obviously willing to do their homework to get the benefits.
"Supposing the supplement even ever worked, it simply is not practically useful with such constraints. I'm not going to get a PHD in fish oil quality in order to achieve some single digit risk reduction of heart disease."
Nobody is asking you to do anything. We live in a society where most foods are fairly processed, most supplements are bogus, most claims are BS, etc. There's an overwhelming amount of data on the benefits of Omega-3s now, and to get the benefits you need to actually take quality Omega-3s. Rancid fish oil won't give much benefit, and most fish oil is likely shit. The supplements industry isn't regulated like medicine.
I just saw an article written somewhere today that there's a pill being created so that we don't have to exercise anymore. Just buy the pill and that's good. I'm going to do that one!
With fish based sources, there's a lot to worry about and making sure you get from a reputable source. With algae based, there's less environmental impact and less worry about what else is getting in there, etc. This brand's been good for me: https://iwilife.com/
Would be interesting if you could reliably measure certain health metrics beyond heart rate over time.
I bet that would get people to take or avoid certain things.
Id be interested to hear someone's experience with it vs a 'normal' fitness tracker.
I was gifted a WHOOP 6-month subscription in December 2020, and I used it from then until the end of that 6-month term. This was the 3.0 platform.
It was fine for the price - $0 - and provided me with HRV and a "sleep score", which is of interest to me and other athletes as one indicator of "fitness."
I did not - and will not - pay $360/year for WHOOP. I could actually buy a pretty nice state-of-the-art new real fitness tracker for less than that, and the features that were somewhat novel to WHOOP are now standard on other hardware platforms (Garmin, Polar, others). Note that with many Fitbits and clones, you get GPS built-in so you can leave your phone at home and do your thing.
It differed from other fitness trackers mostly by what it didn't have, and DC Rainmaker has exhaustive reviews up to and including the current 4.0 release.
In short, it's not a fitness tracker like a Fitbit Charge 4 or a Garmin Venu 2 Plus - I own both - because it doesn't track steps, has no GPS (you need to lug around your phone for that), and relies entirely on HR for what it tells you - all for a pretty heavy price tag. It also doesn't pair with 3rd party HR hardware (such as the usually more accurate EKG-based ones like a Garmin or TICKR chest strap) and relies on wrist optical sensors.
There are a number of metrics WHOOP reports, but they are simply rehashed versions of metrics developed by Andy Coggan and others some time ago.
TL;DR: WHOOP is overpriced and not feature-rich as a fitness/activity tracker. If you get one for free, try it out. You can easily get the same functionality and more for half the price of a yearly subscription.
Now question remains, which of those is responsible for this?
I recently started doing the stepper and noticed the improvement compared to occasional physical activity that I inconsistently do from time to time (e.g. sports outside with the kids).
Edit: typos
Note: Not knocking it. I exercise. I take vitamins. Etc. But the more I read, the more I wonder about the mind's role in physical and mental health.
Belief is a power we're not even close to understanding.
By contrast, tin packed/anythong not fresh has no effect for me.
I've seen them in various organic grocery stores.
Iron, but I typically have low iron. Takes a while to kick in.
Beta-alanine: I notice same day improvements in lung function
Vitamin D: but only after a couple weeks and only if I'm low.
- Participants assigned to fish oil + exercise, fish oil, corn oil, and control. After 12 weeks, only fish oil + exercise resulted in significant fat loss, but no exercise only control group.
- Participants assigned to fish oil + exercise, fish oil only, exercise only, and control. After 10 weeks, no body composition differences noted between any groups, but no group was very fat to begin with.
- Fat participants assigned to either fish oil + exercise, sunflower oil + exercise, fish oil alone, or sunflower oil alone. Fish oil + exercise significantly outperformed other protocols after 12 weeks.
- Fat participants assigned to either fish oil + exercise or placebo + exercise. After 24 weeks, both groups lost about 5% of their fat without any significant difference between groups.
- I have no idea what "RBC deformability" is, but two studies assessed it by having participants perform cycling time trials in a hypobaric chamber. One study gave fish oil for 6 weeks and found a significant difference. One gave fish oil for 3 weeks and found no difference.
- Well-trained cyclists assigned to either take fish oil or olive oil for 8 weeks. Fish oil group saw significantly lower heart rates during submaximal exercise, but no difference in peak oxygen consumption.
- A 60-day study of national football players assigned to either fish oil or control. The fish oil group saw better lipid profiles at the end.
- A study of elite Australian rules football players assigned to either fish oil or sunflower oil while training normally for 5 weeks. They performed treadmill speed trials at the end. The fish oil group had lower heart rates while running, but no performance difference between groups.
Take of this what you will. The reasons usually given to take fish oil are for long-run heart health. This seems to indicate you probably won't perform better or lose more fat compared to someone who exercises the same way but doesn't take fish oil, but you may see improvements in blood lipid profile, lower heart rates, and less oxygen consumption during submaximal exertion. All of those sound like good things to me.
Based on the headlines and search results I’ve skimmed, X has not been proven useful in whatever handful of demographic and contextual cross-sections have been studied. In accordance with other intuitions of my own, I extrapolate this to mean that X is useless in all demographics and contexts, that the question of value is conclusively answered in the negative, and — for some reason — it’s now important to me that you draw the same conclusion, even if you have reason to keep an open mind or conclude otherwise.
The shorthand phrasing omits all the pesky subjective, unscientific stuff as well as the weird emotional investment in other people’s thinking, so it might be helpful to just keep the long form version in mind when you hear the parrots.
But that probably means I've wasted a lot of time proving things people just told me. It's a trade I'm happy with :)
> after covid
There's also regression to the mean to consider here. You just naturally get better in time.
If I was going to use supplements for exercise, I would use protein, glucosamine (for joint health) and maybe 200mg of caffeine as a pre-workout stimulant to help me focus. Milk, especially 'protein milk' which they sell in my local supermarket can alleviate sore muscles.
Is that an assumption, or is it based on fact?
- https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17523575-800-the-happ...
"A study by JR Hibbeln showed that around the world, countries that consume the least amount of fatty fish show the highest levels of major depression (MDD) in their population. And countries where fatty fish is the main diet show the lowest incidence of MDD."
- https://www.loricalabresemd.com/blog/effect-of-fatty-acids/
e.g.,
https://draxe.com/nutrition/kelp/
If you live on the coast, there are almost certainly culinary varieties of sea weed in your area. You may need a fishing license-- in California, we can take up to 10 lbs (~4.5 kg) without a license.
Avoid areas anywhere near the outfall of a stream, storm drain, etc.
/s
Or am I missing something?
Studies on it are mixed. Interestingly, you omitted creatine. Studies on it are not mixed; it increases power output.
Sorry to be subjective, but all I have is my opinion: I feel better when I maximize Omega-3 and do some other easy diet things like avoiding packaged foods and eating plenty of berries and fresh vegetables. I used to be fussier about my diet but now I just do these simple things.
You can easily get adequate amounts by eating the right foods, namely fish and nuts. But you don't have to eat those things if you don't like them and can take krill oil pills or something.
Supplements aren't created equal. It is important to verify the ones you take are from legitimate brands with 3rd party testing. It's a huge industry and that means fraud.
It's also life today in the world where olive oil, maple syrup and honey are often fake. And guess what!? That fake olive oil made with rapeseed/"vegetable" oil isn't great for you either. There aren't many people making sure that stuff is real either.
[1] https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/finding-omega-3-fats-in-...
> At this time, research is largely inconclusive as to the potential synergistic benefits when n-3 [i.e., Omega-3 fatty acids] is supplemented in conjunction with exercise.
I’m glad you found something that worked. But you’re describing, by definition, a vitamin deficiency. (That can cause dermatitis.)
Pretty sure mine is a side effect of my allergies but interested in covering my bases.
Dermatitis/eczema (the terms are used frustratingly interchangeably) describes a set of symptoms. It covers poison ivy rashes (contact) to cradle cap (biotin deficiency). Atopic dermatitis [1], is not tied to any nutrition deficit. (My sister had atopic dermatitis growing up.)
So if you displayed dermatitis symptoms and found vitamins cured it, it may have been non-atopic. Your method worked. But it hasn't been shown to help someone with the atopic kind.
https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/multi-vitamins/s...
It takes quite a varied, deliberate diet to fill up all the nutritional progress bars. I don't do it every day and some days I can't even do it with what's left in my fridge. Some days I feel like filling up on only three things.
I figure a multivitamin can fill in some holes.