The Anti-Inflammatory Effects of
Fish Oil Supplements
by Elizabeth McQuern
(special feature published October 2007 in the Indianapolis Star)
A recent study from Indiana University Bloomington indicates that a few handfuls of fish oil supplements per day can produce anti-inflammatory effects that significantly decrease the symptoms of exercise-induced asthma and the everyday joint pain caused by conditions like arthritis. This and related studies reinforce the idea that, in some cases, the modification of diet can result in the modification of a disease state as profoundly as the use of medications.
Exercise physiology assistant professor Timothy D. Mickleborough and his research team in Indiana University's Department of Kinesiology have produced a study that indicate that daily high doses of fish oil supplement can reduce the symptoms of exercise-induced asthma so much that patients may no longer fit the criteria for the diagnosis of the disease.
According to Mickleborough, the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil "dampen down the inflammation in the airways, which means you have wider airways for better breathing. With a diet that includes the fish oils, you'll hopefully see things like reduced reliance on medications, like fewer puffs on an inhaler, and reduced symptoms overall."
Rick Hall, a nutritionist and lecturer at Arizona State University, explained that the anti-inflammatory effects of fish oil can also reduce chronic joint pain. "The overall health benefits of fish oils, according to years of thorough research, include improved blood circulation, which can potentially ease symptoms of arthritis, asthma, and things of that nature, because they have anti-inflammatory as well as anti-coagulant effects -- in a sense thinning the blood, so it improves circulation, and helps with things like chronic joint pain related to arthritis."
But as Hall points out, "Unfortunately most Americans don't eat enough omega-3 fatty acids, which are also found in walnuts and flaxseed. The American Heart Association recommends that the average person eat fish at least twice a week, but most people don't. " The AHA also recommends eating "tofu and other forms of soybeans, canola, walnut and flaxseed, and their oils." These foods contain alpha-linolenic acid, which can become omega-3 fatty acids once they are digested.
Exactly how many fish oil capsules would one need to take on a daily basis for an improvement in inflammation-related conditions? Mickleborough's study had subjects take 18 capsules per day, taken with food and spread out throughout the day to reduce the side effects of "fishy burps" and some mild GI distress, including a bloated feeling. The IU team next hopes to tackle a dose response study, which would help determine the minimal effective dosage of fish oil. (It should be noted, however, that the fish oil used in the study was pharmaceutical grade, purified in a way that commercially available fish oil products are not.)
Besides the addition of fish oil capsules to one's diet, the avoidance or management of several common environmental factors can support attempts to minimize the symptoms of exercise-induced asthma. Triggers vary from patient to patient but generally include pollution (especially concentrated in urban areas), fluctuating season pollen counts of certain allergens, and the presence of cold, dry air.
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