Omega-3 (aka ω-3 or n-3 fatty acid) should be something we all know about because of its health benefits. Before talking about specific classifications and supplementation of this fatty acid, we are going to introduce the reason why Omega-3 is important to our health and fitness.
Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid, which means our bodies are not able to produce it in abundance, and thus needs to be supplied from dietary intake.
Overall Health
Omega-3 has a very important role from the time we were still fetuses. Omega-3 is vital for us to develop proper brain and eye function. Moms without sufficient Omega-3 intake during their pregnancy risk their infants developing nerve and vision problems. It is also very important to have sufficient Omega-3 intake throughout childhood to sustain this proper development.
Researches have shown Omega-3 to be beneficial for our cardiovascular health as well as reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis. The anti-inflammatory property of Omega-3 also has a carryover effect to our health, and can prevent or relieve us from developing joint problems such as arthritis.
Fitness Benefits
When we are taking our post workout shake, we are trying to trigger muscle protein synthesis so we can build more muscles and burn more fat. To trigger muscle protein synthesis, we have to overcome something called “leucine resistance”. Leucine is the signalers of the muscle building process and “leucine resistance” sets the amount of leucine we need to kick start the process. Sufficient dietary intake of Omega-3 has shown in researches to reduce our “leucine resistance”, which means our muscle building mechanism can be triggered easier when we have sufficient Omega-3 intake in our diets.
In the next article we will talk about specific types of Omega-3 fatty acid, sources, and supplementation of Omega-3 fatty acid!
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