Results of Various Studies on Fish Oil for Weight Loss

The newest weight loss news comes from fish oil of all things.  Oil is fat and consuming it goes against all ingrained notions of low fat, high fiber, and all of the other weight loss ideas that have been promoted recently. Fish oil for weight loss may not provide a miracle but there is certainly need for further exploration into this new idea.

Fish oil decreases insulin levels in the body. Six grams of Omega 3 fish oil a day will increase the metabolism enough to burn 75 more calories a day. The decreased insulin levels also cause the body to use stored fat for energy.

The simple act of taking this fish oil has been shown to allow subjects to lose three pounds over a few weeks time without any diet modification according to one study. Although other studies on fish oil and weight loss are less definitive and show that if you are already exercising and dieting, then fish oil won’t make much difference.

Some studies show that fish oil may increase leptin sensitivity. This may help to decrease appetite; the calories cut through this decline in appetite may contribute to the overall weight loss. It has been theorized that the fish oil may partition fats into different types and contribute to the oxidation of the fat. This oxidation process would include stored body fat.

Exercise is still needed

Other reports say that taking fish oil without combining it with moderate exercise will not result in weight loss. Only fish oil supplements combined with exercise will result in significant weight loss. This could be because exercise also helps decrease the levels of insulin in the body. This allows the body to release stored fat resulting in weight loss. Subjects in these studies, who took fish oil and exercised, also lost more weight than those who just exercised.

Still other studies show that fish oil kills fat cells when they are still prefat cells. This would decrease the number of fat cells in the body in the long run. This finding would concur with a study in mice that found a high calorie and high fat diet fed to mice resulted in less weight gain if some of the fat in the diet was fish oil.

Fish oil benefits for weight loss may seem like mumbo-jumbo medical thinking but the results say otherwise. It does not work magic though and should be incorporated into a moderate weight loss program. The optimum amount of fish oil seems to be six grams per day according to most studies. Fish oil also aids in fighting depression by keeping the nerves functioning properly.  This may also aid weight loss because a great number of obese people eat more when depressed. Happy people also tend to get out and exercise more.

Fish oil and body composition

A study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (download it here) compared the effect of giving a group of participants either 1) safflower oil or 2) fish oil.

Those taking the fish oil for six weeks were found to have less body fat and better body composition (in other words a better ratio of muscle to fat) than those who took the safflower oil.

Dr John Briffa, a British doctor and author of Waist Disposal, a weight loss guide for men, summarises the study as follows:

“The authors of this study do suggest that some ability to reduce cortisol levels might explain, at least in part, the ability of fish oil to improve body composition.

However, the authors of this study also consider other potential mechanisms. For example, they cite evidence which shows that omega-3 fats such as EPA and DHA have the ability to enhance fat ‘oxidation’ (metabolism) in the body, partly by facilitating the transfer of fat into the ‘mitochondria’ (the structures in the body’s cells responsible for turning fuel into energy). Omega-3 fats appear to stimulate fat burning too. Other work suggests that omega-3 fats can increase something called ‘thermogenesis’ (the production of heat in the body), as well as increase lean body mass (which would also tend give the metabolism a boost).”

One of the studies that shows there is little benefit was one reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2010. It noted that if you are already dieting and exercising, then fish oil won’t help you lose weight any faster. It concluded that:

Omega-3 fatty acids were not effective as an adjunct for weight loss in this otherwise healthy, overweight population.

I would like to wait to see further studies on this subject, as this one was small and a large portion of participants dropped out (only 81 of the 128 who started the study remained on the diet and exercise programme) The study also  found that there are other benefits to taking fish oil with the authors suggesting according to a Reuters report that:

“Whereas one may not enhance weight loss by taking supplements with this level of omega-3 fatty acids …the protective cardiovascular effect should still be realized because of the sheer increase in blood concentrations of the fatty acids.”

Thanks to Robert DiFalco who pointed out this latest study on fish oil for weight loss in the comments.

Who recommends fish oil?

Tim Ferris, the author of the bestselling book The Four Hour Body, takes a strange combination of butter and fermented cod liver oil. He says this provides loads of vitamins as well as vitamin K(2). He was told by professors of  Weston Price who lived between 1870 and 1948 and became known as the Charles Darwin of nutrition. This substance helps Vitamin A and D work better in the body. Both of these are vital to your immune system, metabolism and hormone system.

Dr Michael Eades, the author of Protein Power, really likes Krill Oil because he says it contains a slightly different form of EPA and DHA that makes it work better in the body. He claims that:

A number of studies have shown that krill oil is tremendously effective in reducing LDL-cholesterol, raising HDL-cholesterol (up to 44% in some cases), and lowering blood sugar.

Loren Cordain, the author of The Paleo Diet Cookbook  recommends that you consume 500 to 1,800 milligrams of EPA +DHA (the most important oils in fish oil) either by eating fish or taking fish oil supplements.

Robb Wolff, who wrote the Paleo Solution Diet, says that after Vitamin D, fish oil is his next most important supplement. He especially recommends a higher dose in people who are:

• showing signs of systemic inflammation
• are overweight
• or have been diagnosed with a condition related to insulin resistance.

That should give you plenty more to read about on the what happens if you take fish oil for weight loss. Feel free to join the conversation.

Krill Oil vs Fish Oil

www.ihealthtube.com Dr. Larry McCleary talks about the difference between the two Omega-3 rich products.