One of my favorite games to play on a road trip is the one where you have to choose the ‘one thing’ you can’t do without if you were stranded on a desert island.
From food to books and everything in between, you can learn a lot about your family, friends and even yourself by their answers.
It’s why just the other day, I asked myself that same question when it came to supplements. I take several, so if I could only choose one, the answer, for me, is really quite simple…
If I were stuck on a desert island, the supplement I could not do without would be an omega-3. Preferably krill oil (fish oil gives me fish burps), but I digress…
If you’re down to just one choice, you want the nutrient science has consistently demonstrated can fight all inflammatory and metabolic disorders.
Starting with…
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#1 – Inflammation
Doctors now consider inflammation to be “the root of disease.” The good news is that we already have omega-3s to yank out that root and preserve our health.
That’s because studies have shown that the unsaturated fatty acids in these omegas act to directly resolve inflammation. In addition to this direct action, they provide the additional bonus of competing with omega-6s (the kind found in vegetable and seed oils) in your diet. This action inhibits the synthesis of pro-inflammatory prostaglandins and shifts balance toward a more anti-inflammatory state.
#2 – Obesity
Obesity, while usually seen through the lens of weight alone, is actually an inflammatory condition that kicks off a multitude of other dangerous diseases. But omega-3s can once again come to the rescue with their potent anti- inflammatory and adipogenic effects that occur right inside the fat tissue itself.
It’s no wonder, then, that studies have found that even mice fed an obesogenic (obesity-inducing diet benefit from reduced fat mass accumulation when taking omega-3s. To top it off, researchers also discovered that a higher proportion of omega-3s in red blood cell (RBC) membranes has been associated with a lowered fat mass index.
#3 – Heart Health
As with their effects on obesity, larger amounts of omega-3s in RBC membranes support heart health by reducing inflammatory markers and lowering triglycerides.
Numerous prospective and meta-analytic studies have concluded that supplementing with omega-3s in your daily diet substantially reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by 15 to 25%.
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#4 – Blood Sugar
In addition to their anti-inflammatory properties, omega-3’s also have potent abilities in the fight against metabolic dysfunction, including blood sugar issues. In fact, research has revealed that these fatty acids improve insulin sensitivity by increasing adiponectin secretion, enhance glucose uptake through an increase in GLUT-4 content, and support pancreatic β-cell function, enhancing their insulin secretion capacities.
#5 – Liver Health
Fatty liver disease may also be no match for omega-3s. These fatty acids work to guard liver health by:
- Inhibiting the NF-κB pathway, leading to decreased transcription of pro-inflammatory cytokines and reduced liver inflammation
- Reducing neutrophil infiltration and enhancing the clearance of apoptotic cells to resolve liver inflammation
- Blocking NLRP3 inflammasome activation and the inflammation that comes with it and preventing the progression from simple steatosis (fat buildup) to steatohepatitis (with associated inflammation and liver damage)
- Inducing mitophagy of damaged liver mitochondria and reducing oxidative stress
A comprehensive cohort study even found that taking omega-3s regularly resulted in a 28% reduced risk of liver inflammatory disease, including alcoholic or non-alcoholic liver disease and liver failure.
#6 – Kidney Health
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is another downstream effect of obesity-mediated inflammation. Luckily, supplementation with omega-3s has been shown to increase the production of pro-resolving mediators, like RvE1 and RvD5, that result in an improvement in inflammatory markers and renal function.
Omega-3s also help improve renal hemodynamics and significantly reduce proteinuria in patients with CKD.
#7 – Autoimmunity
- Inflammatory bowel diseases – Omega-3s have been shown to reduce colitis-associated disease severity, colonic mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines and macrophage infiltration of the tissue.
- Psoriasis – In psoriatic skin, omega-3s work to reduce inflammatory cell infiltration and skin thickening, with improvements in redness, scaling and itching.
- Rheumatic diseases – Omega-3s also provide powerful joint support by inhibiting IL-1β, one of the most active cytokines that leads to cartilage destruction and loss of collagen.
- Multiple sclerosis – Because omega-3s can cross the blood–brain barrier, they have been shown to directly impair neuroinflammatory processes. Research also shows they may decrease the activity and production of matrix metalloproteinase-9, which is implicated in blood–brain barrier breakdown in MS, while upregulating the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to enhance neuronal survival and synaptic plasticity.
Research has even shown that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids alone can reduce autoimmune disease rate by 15%.
Putting omega-3s to work for your health
Clearly, whether you end up marooned on a desert island or just want to stay healthy and keep inflammatory and metabolic disease at bay, omega-3s are a must-have in your diet.
So, what’s the best way to ensure you’re getting enough?
One solution is to adopt the Mediterranean diet. Not only is this diet packed with polyphenol-rich fruits, vegetables, and olive oil, but it is also rich in seafood, providing you with those essential omega-3s.
However, if you’re not able to reach the recommended two to three servings of fatty fish weekly, go easy on yourself and reach for a safe, sustainably sourced omega-3 supplement.
Sources:
Beneficial Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Obesity and Related Metabolic and Chronic Inflammatory Diseases — MDPI
How do Omega-3 and Vitamin D Play a Role in Autoimmune Disease? — Omegaquant
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