How Much Fish Oil Should I Take To Lose Weight?
Fish oil benefits for weight loss and so much more
On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, I’m sharing the best fish oil benefits, as well as answering the often asked question: how much fish oil should I take to lose weight?
I’ll also be sharing how to use fish oil for weight loss, and what you should look for when buying a fish oil supplement.
If you ask 10 health practitioners what their top 3 most beneficial supplements are for your health, I’d bet 9 out 10 would include fish oil.
I consider fish oil, a foundation supplement, which simply means it’s a supplement that builds the foundation of your overall health.
It’s a supplement that I use all year round, and will probably use for the rest of my life.
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What is fish oil?
Fish oil is made up of the essential omega 3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA.
Essential fatty acids simply means it’s essential for the body to consume them via food, since the body can’t create these fatty acids on it’s own.
Here are 6 of the top fish oil benefits.
Fish oil benefits for weight loss and more
In addition to helping with weight loss, supplementing with fish oil can help lower stress, improve hormonal health, and increase brain health, including lowering the risk of brain related diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
#1. Fish oil may help with weight loss
Even though fish oil is a dietary fat, it won’t make you fat.
Shocker, I know.
In fact, fish oil may actually help with weight loss.
Fish oil is very beneficial to a lean and healthy body, because it is used to build the outside lipid layer of your cells, which then improves the cell’s receptors ability to bind with insulin.
This helps improve insulin sensitivity, thus increasing weight loss by helping your body burn more stored body fat for energy, rather than sugar from carbohydrates.
Also, fish oil has a high thermic effect, meaning it requires the body to burn more calories, just to digest it.
This process also helps improve your metabolism, which is great for weight loss.
#2. Fish oil can decrease inflammation in the body:
Excessive inflammation in the body not only increases the risk of disease and illness, but it also makes it hard for the body to lose weight and build muscle.
The standard American diet is very low in foods high omega 3 fatty acids, and very high in inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids from processed vegetable oils, such as corn oil and soybean oil.
Even with how healthy I eat, my latest blood test results still showed my omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acid ratio was not optimal.
So my Naturopathic Medical Doctor recommended that I increase my dosage of fish oil, to help bring my ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids closer to 2:1 or 1:1.
By improving your omega 3 to omega 6 ratio, it will help reduce chronic inflammation, as well as decreasing acute inflammation, such as joint pain and muscle soreness after a workout.
When inflammation is too high, it also increases the production of the stress hormone, cortisol.
When cortisol is excessively elevated, inflammation continues to increase, and the risk of lean muscle tissue loss is at a high.
Remember, muscle is the key driver of a healthy metabolism, which helps you lose weight faster.
#3. Fish oil may help you build muscle:
In addition to fish oil helping improve insulin sensitivity and reducing inflammation, it may also help improve protein synthesis, which is required for muscle building.
Adding more healthy forms of dietary fat also helps increase testosterone production, which is key for building muscle.
#4. Fish oil can be healthy for heart health:
Fish oil may help reduce triglycerides, which is the fat in the blood.
By reducing your triglyceride levels, it helps reduce inflammation on the arteries of your heart.
Fish oil is also good for lowering stress, which can help lower blood pressure and your heart rate, thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
#5. Fish oil is great for healthy skin, hair, and eyes:
Fish oil may help improve your complexion by reducing acne and skin blemishes.
It may also help reduce the risk of sunburns, thus decreasing the risk of skin cancer.
Fish oil may also help increase hair growth and improve overall eye health.
#6 Fish oil may help improve your endurance
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One little known fish oil benefit is how it may help improve blood flow and lung capacity during intense exercise.
As you know, during an intense cardio workout, sometimes it may seem hard to catch your breath, as your lungs are working overtime to deliver the oxygen you need to recover.
Supplementation of fish oil or krill oil may help improve blood flow as well as lung capacity, by improving the distribution of oxygen to the working muscles.
By enhancing lung capacity, you can push yourself harder while working out, which can lead to more weight loss and increased muscle building results.
What should you look for in a fish oil supplement?
It’s important that you do your research on finding a high quality fish oil.
Some unethical companies are capitalizing on the benefits of fish oil, by offering low quality fish oil supplements that are potentially rancid and contaminated.
A good way to test if your fish oil is rancid is by chewing a fish oil capsule after opening up the bottle for the first time.
Fish oil taste test:
- If it is a good quality fish oil, it’ll taste fairly mild.
- If the fish oil is rancid, it’ll give off an acidic taste.
The highest quality fish oils containing EPA and DHA usually comes from a blend of sardines and anchovies, and/or a blend of any of the following:
- sardines
- anchovies
- mackeral
- herring
- tuna
For weight loss, look for a high quality fish oil supplement that contains a 3:2 ratio of EPA to DHA.
If you’re suffering from inflammation, which a lot of people are, focus on a high quality fish oil supplement that has a higher dosage of EPA.
For people who are more concerned with brain health, look for a high quality fish oil supplement that contains a higher dosage of DHA.
How much fish oil should I take to lose weight?
This depends on many different factors.
Unhealthy individuals with high triglycerides, heart disease, or brain trauma can benefit from a much higher dosage than healthy individuals.
The American Heart Association recommends 4 grams of EPA and DHA a day for people with high triglycerides.
Also athletes who train with more intensity and frequency can also benefit from a higher dose of fish oil.
I aim for 3 grams of EPA and DHA per day.
For me to hit that 3 grams of EPA and DHA, I take 2 capsules, 3 times a day.
If you always forget to take it, simply get in the habit of taking your fish oil with every meal.
Bottom line on fish oil benefits
If you can only afford one supplement, it many cases, fish oil should be the one.
But remember, adding fish oil to a poor diet and non-active lifestyle may help, but it’s not a magic bullet.
A healthy lifestyle that includes resistance training, some cardio, rest and recovery, and of course a diet rich in whole foods.
This is the magic bullet to Living Lean, 365 days a year.
I hope this episode answered your question of how much fish oil should I take to lose weight?
If you’re looking for a step-by-step plan that can fit into your busy lifestyle, we have you covered.
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Thanks for watching and keep Living Lean.
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Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.
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