There are numerous health and performance benefits to supplementing with fish oil. Proper application of fish oil can benefit cognitive and cardiovascular health, aid in recovery and fat loss, insulin sensitivity, and results in the gym. More importantly fish oil can help you avoid chronic diseases associated with inflammation.

How Does Fish Oil Work?

Here’s how it works, the active ingredients in fish oil are EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) and DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid)-Omega 3 fatty acids. These Omega 3’s have and anti inflammatory effect on the body. Omega-6 fatty acids, commonly ingested in grains, seeds, and oil are inflammatory to the body. Ideally you should eat a ratio of about 2:1 of Omega 6’s to Omega 3’s. For most people the ratio is closer to 20:1, therefore supplementing with EPA and DHA found in fish oil can be quite helpful in restoring balance.

Starting with a baseline Rx’d of about 3g of EPA and DHA/day is a good jumping off point. Consider that some people might go up to 10g/day depending on how they can handle the oil from a digestive standpoint. Your ideal dose will be determined based on how you feel and the amount of Omega 6’s in your diet. Be aware that it is very hard to out fish oil a bad diet, so to truly get the benefits of Omega 3’s, you should be reducing the amount of Omega 6’s as well.

How to Maximize the Effects of Fish Oil

Here are some rough guidelines to feel the effects:

• Avoid processed packaged foods that have grains
• Avoid fried food and items cooked in sunflower, corn, soy or cottonseed oil.
• Eat more greens
• Select grass fed meats

Identifying Good Fish Oil

There are many different types and brands of fish oil out there. They come in oil and pill form. Usually the higher quality and more expensive fish oil has a higher density of EPA and DHA. To test the quality and purity of your fish oil you can pour it in a shot glass, freeze it in the ice-box, and see if it comes back cloudy. The less clear, the more impurities are in it. Remember that in order to truly get the benefit of fish oil, it is as much about reducing omega 6’s in the diet as it is introducing more omega 3’s to restore the 2:1 ratio. Fish Oil has been called a natural miracle drug, and it just very well might be, when applied with an active lifestyle correctly.