An Australian study has determined that daily doses of fish oil containing omega-3 fats can, when combined with exercise, act as an aid to weight loss.
The study examined 68 overweight and obese people over a period of three months. They were divided into four groups: one that took fish oil but did no exercise, one that exercised (45-minute walks or running three days a week) but took no fish oil, one given both, and one given neither.
Those who both took fish oil and exercised lost an average of 4.5 pounds over the course of the study, even though they were given no dietary restrictions. None of the other groups lost any weight at all. The combination worked because the omega-3s increased fat-burning ability by improving the flow of blood to muscles during exercise.
The evidence contines to roll in about all the good things fish oil can do for your health. Omega-3 fats are high in two fats that are crucial to your health -- DHA and EPA. Scientific research indicates that these compounds may help prevent a variety of very serious diseases including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, depression and more.
Now it looks like a daily dose of fish oil, coupled with a moderate exercise plan, helps you lose weight too.
I suspect future studies combining fish oil and lengthier periods of exercise (currently in the planning stages) will provide even stronger evidence of benefits. The key to getting better results -- apart from taking a high-quality krill oil daily -- is learning how to use exercise as a precise tool that must be prescribed accurately to achieve the maximum benefit.
And, if don't think you have enough time to exercise, I urge you to review the suggestions of fitness expert Ryan Lee. He has some amazing products that show you how to effectively exercise in less than five-minute sections a day.
In the meantime, be sure to get enough omega-3 fats in your diet, and be especially sure to balance them with the omega-6 fats found in most vegetable oils. Your ancestors subsisted on a diet with a healthy balance, in which omega-6 and omega-3 fats were approximately equal (about a 1:1 ratio).
But the current Western diet has an omega-6:3 ratio closer to 20:1, occassionally as high as even 50:1. This spells potential health trouble with near absolute certainty.
When omega-6 fats predominate, this encourages the production of inflammation-causing chemicals in your body; omega-3s promote the production of substances that fight inflammation. Since so many diseases have now been linked to chronic inflammation, this really is one of the most important nutrition concerns to get right with your health.
In fact, many scientists believe that one major reason for today's high incidence of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, premature aging, and some forms of cancer is this profound imbalance between our intake of omega-6 and omega-3 fats.
There are a number of good fish oils on the market, but one of the best new ways to get omega-3 fats is from krill oil.