Fish oil comes from fatty fish, especially the tissues of fish. The best sources of fatty fish are cold-water fish. You can get this fish oil by eating the fish or from a fish oil capsule.
Fish oil is made of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs). PUFAs are also known as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in layman’s terms. PUFAs have many double bonds in their chemical structure. PUFAs are more beneficial for human health than saturated fatty acids.
Saturated acids do not have any double bond in the chemical composition.
Below are the three types of omega 3 acids:
- EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid)
- DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)
- ALA (alpha-linolenic acid)
Our bodies can make ALA but not EPA and DHA. When it comes to these essential fats, fish oil or fatty fish are abundant in EPA-DHA.
Another name for DHA and EPA is ‘’marine omega-3s’’. The reason is that they come from fish. Wild-caught salmon, herring, whitefish, sardines, mackerel, herring, tuna, cod liver, whale blubber, seal blubber, and anchovies are some of the best fish to eat for fish oil for weight oil.
Fish Oil for Weight Loss — What Research Says
The ratio of EPA-DHA is optimum if it is 1:1. Although, according to a study published in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, this ratio is 15:1 or higher in Western diets. Western diets lack omega-3 fatty acids and have too many omega-6 fatty acids.
This imbalance results in cardiovascular diseases, inflammation, stress, depression, obesity, and cancer. By including fatty fish or taking fish oil supplements in your diet, you can quickly fix the ratio of omega-6 and omega-3. [1]
In a study conducted in 2010, the effects of fish oil on the diet of healthy men and women were tested. A decrease in fat and cortisol was seen along with an increase in body muscles.
There is much research, in which it has been concluded that fish oil improves the body in many ways. One of the ways is that it stops the genes in your body which causes weight to increase.
There has been evidence that shows taking fish oil supplementation increases the oxidation of fatty acids. Fish oil is perfect for stopping fat deposition in your body. It is also known to increase fat burning.
Eating fish oil can also help you to achieve a thinner body. In another study when people of different ages added fish oil to their food, they had significant muscle gain! Fish oil initiates protein synthesis in the human body.
Another quality of fish oil is that it improves insulin sensitivity in humans. If your body is insensitive to insulin, then losing weight can be very hard.
Sensitivity makes it very difficult to lose body fat. Fish oil can also reduce inflammation. Reduction in inflammation helps to lose weight. All of these properties, make fish oil a perfect choice for shedding extra pounds.[2]
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How Can Fish Oil Help in Weight Loss?
In case you are wondering how fish oil help to lose weight, then keep on reading!
1. Fish Oil Can Suppress Your Appetite
Having omega-3 fatty acids along with diet restrictions has been shown to make people feel sated. They feel less hungry and get full easily. Eating fish or fish oil capsules can help to suppress your hunger.
If a person feels full-stomached eating less, then it will help in losing weight. Including fish oil in your diet will prevent you from overeating and gaining weight.
2. Fish Oil Can Lower Your Fat Levels
When fat is digested in your body, the end products are Triglycerides.
Triglycerides are fat in your blood. Fat that isn’t needed by your body is always stored in your cells. They are first converted to triglycerides and then stored. The stored food is later released into your blood when you are not eating.
If you are not burning enough calories, then this could lead to severe problems like hypertriglyceridemia.
Triglycerides circulate in the blood and are used by the body as energy. The excess Triglycerides are taken up by the fat cells and stored.
If you consume a lot of unhealthy food and don’t work out, then the fat levels of your body go up. Having a high level of triglyceride will put you at risk of obesity and related diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and atherosclerosis.
But the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil help lower the triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are formed by joining the fatty acid molecules.
The presence of Omega-3 fatty acids reduces the availability and delivery of fatty acids. It also decreases the fatty acid synthesizing enzymes.
Hence it prevents the formation of triglyceride molecules and protects you from gaining weight. [3]
3. Fish Oil Can Burn the Fat in Your Body
Fat oxidation is necessary for the cells to be able to function correctly. Fat cannot be directly used as an energy source. Fat oxidation is the process where fat molecules are broken down into fatty acids and triglycerides.
Having too many fats in the blood can be harmful. Most obese and inactive people have high-fat content in their blood. But fish oil can motivate fat oxidation. Fish oil helps you to make the fat move and lose it.
4. Fish Oil Can Lower Low-density lipoproteins
There are three lipoproteins in our blood that are important to our health:
- Low-density lipoproteins (LDL)
- High-density lipoproteins (HDL)
- Triglycerides.
LDL is called bad cholesterol because it is low in proteins and high in cholesterol. If there is an increase in LDL cholesterol levels, it can lead to clogged arteries.
People who are suffering from obesity, have a higher level of LDL cholesterol and lower levels of HDL. HDL is the good cholesterol in your blood.
Intake of fish oil has shown a decrease in LDL cholesterol levels. It also increases the HDL levels. Adding fish oil to your diet will help to lose the fat under your skin and also reduce the risk of having diseases that are caused by obesity.
5. Fish Oil Can Improve Muscles
Fish oil decreases cortisol. Including fish oil in your diet increases protein synthesis. Which helps build muscle. Building muscles increase the metabolic rate.
Fish oil aided muscle anabolism and improved muscle mass. Having a fast metabolism is efficient in weight loss. [5]
6. Fish Oil Can Prevent Insulin Resistance
If your blood sugar levels are always high, then your body can become insulin resistant. If your body becomes resistant, then it doesn’t take any glucose up.
Insulin binds to glucose, and its job is to take the glucose from dietary carbs. Then store it in the muscles, so that you can use that stored food as energy later.
So when the insulin doesn’t work, no more glucose is stored in your muscles. You feel hungry all the time as your cells don’t have any glucose in them. This lack of glucose in your cell encourages you to eat more and gain more weight. [6]
7. Fish Oil Can Reduce Inflammation
A lot of people don’t know what inflammation means. Inflammation means disease, illness, delayed recovery from injury, and obesity.
Inflammation in the body is damaging to your health, but it also impacts the ability of your body to lose weight and build muscle.
Fish oil is anti-inflammatory properties which is one of the main reasons why fish oil helps weight loss plan.
If the inflammation in your body continues for an extended period, then it is not good. It makes your immune system weak. It can also cause discomfort. If the trouble continues for a very long time, then due to stress your body can gain weight.
Fish oil will speed the detoxification of waste products, improve cellular health, and building of muscle. It also decreases hormones that cause inflammation and helps you to feel better and thinner! [7]
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Some Other Benefits of Fish oil
Fish oil has a lot of other benefits. So including fish oil in your diet will not only help for weight loss but also assist in these matters.
- Fish oil can lower blood pressure.
- Fish oil improves heart health by reducing cholesterol and preventing plaque formation.
- Fish oil reduces the risk of arrhythmia.
- Fish oil helps to reduce stress and anxiety.
- Fish oil delays aging.
- Fish oil slows down macular degeneration.
- Fish oil helps to reduce swelling and pain and soothes sore muscles.
- Fish oil improves skin health.
- Fish oil reduces visceral fat.
- Fish oil improves attention span in ADHD children.
- Fish oil prevents osteoporosis.
- Fish oil reduces hair fall.
Recommended Dosage of Fish Oil for Weight Loss
Before taking a fish oil supplement, you must consult your doctor about what should be the dose.
You can take 1-2 capsules or fish oil pills with each meal. Do not take more than 3 grams per day. It can cause internal bleeding if you take more.[8]
Taking supplements is very convenient. But supplements aren’t the only way. You can eat fish which are rich in omega-3. Fish like salmon, herring, whitefish, sardines, mackerel, herring, tuna, hilsa, and cod liver is rich in omega 3. Having two servings of fish a week will provide sufficient omega-3.
If you don’t like fish and are looking for an alternative to fish oil, then you can try flaxseeds, soy foods, soy oil, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds. They also have omega-3 fats.
Bottom Line
Fish oil for weight loss is impressive. Dietary fish oil reduces body fat and stimulates the use of fatty acids for the production of energy in healthy adults. It is a great source of healthy fat. But you also have to eat healthily and work out to accelerate your weight loss.
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