TABLE 3.
Summary of studies of fish oil supplementation (FS) in athletes relating to recovery and injury1
| Author | Sport | Athlete status | Sex and sample size | Mood and cognition | Cardiovascular and respiratory | Skeletal/muscle | Biomarkers | Physical performance | Dosing period, wk | Active treatment, mg/d | ω-3 biomarker response to FS | No effect for FS2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jakeman et al. (49) | Athletes | Recreational | Male participants n = 27 | >Recovery of CMJ | <1 | 7500 EPA500 DHA | Not measuredNo. Please this as the omega, as opposed to n-3, this is correct as per Professor Calder final edits | Muscle soreness, CK, IL-6 | ||||
| Lewis et al. (50) | Summer Olympic sports | Competitive | Male participants n = 31 | ↓Fatigue (% drop Wingate power), ↑VL EMG | 3 | 375 EPA510 DHAVitamin D | Plasma EPA↑ (65.8%), DHA no change | MVC, squat jump, CMJ, back squat, push-ups, endurance performance (time trial) | ||||
| Black et al. (51) | Rugby | Professional-elite | Male participants n = 20 | ↓Fatigue, ↑sleep quality | ↓Muscle soreness | ↑Mean CMJ peak force | 5 | 1102 EPA1102 DHAWhey PRO,CHO, Vitamin D | Plasma ω-3 fatty acids (240%)↑ | |||
| Philpott et al. (52) | Soccer | Competitive | Male participants n = 30 | Muscle soreness↓ | ↓CK conc. | 6 | 1102 EPA1102 DHAWhey PRO,CHO, Vitamin D | Blood ω-3 fatty acids↑ (58%) | CRP, MVC, soccer passing test, yo-yo level 2 test | |||
| Gravina et al. (53) | Soccer | Competitive | Male and female participants n = 26 | ↑Anaerobic endurance (enhanced training effect) | 4 | 4900 EPA1400 DHA | Blood ω-3 fatty acids↑ (100%) | Respiratory function (FEV1, FVC), MVC, 20-m sprints, vertical jump height, yo-yo level 1 test | ||||
| Raastad et al. (54) | Soccer | Professional-elite | Male participants n = 28 | ↓TGs | 10 | 1600 EPA1004 DHA | Plasma EPA (175%), DHA (40%) ↑ | V̇O2max, running speed at anaerobic threshold, run time to exhaustion | ||||
| Buckley et al. (55) | Aussie Rules | Professional-elite | Male participants n = 25 | ↓DBP, ↓sub-max exercise HR | ↓TGs | 5 | 360 EPA1560 DHA | RBC EPA (116%) DHA (100%), ↑total n–3 (74%) | Run time to exhaustion, V̇O2/running economy | |||
| Oliver et al. (31) | American football | Competitive | Male participants n = 81 | ↓NFL | 27 | 2000–6000 DHA | ↑Plasma DHA (98–99.9%), dose dependent | |||||
| Mavrogenis et al. (56) | All sports | Recreational | Male participants n = 31 | ↓Pain | ↑Activity | 32 d | 3000 EPA2112 DHAVitamins and minerals,GLA | Not measured |
1
CHO, carbohydrate; CK, creatine kinase; CMJ, counter movement jump; CRP, C-reactive protein; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; EMG, electromyography recording from vastus lateralis; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FS, fish oil supplementation; FVC, forced vital capacity; GLA, γ-linolenic acid; HR, heart rate; MVC, maximal voluntary contraction; NFL, neurofilament light; PRO, protein; TG, triglyceride; VL, vastus lateralis; V̇O2max, maximal oxygen uptake.
2
All nonsignificant findings for the effects of FS.