Does fish oil help you recover faster after a tough workout?
Long-Chain Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage: EPA or DHA?
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
EPA+DHA didn't outperform either alone — and may have reduced their individual benefits.
Most supplements combine EPA and DHA assuming synergy — but this study suggests they might interfere with each other’s effects on performance.
Practical Takeaways
If you're an athlete focused on power and strength recovery, take 4g of EPA daily for 7 weeks before intense training.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
EPA+DHA didn't outperform either alone — and may have reduced their individual benefits.
Most supplements combine EPA and DHA assuming synergy — but this study suggests they might interfere with each other’s effects on performance.
Practical Takeaways
If you're an athlete focused on power and strength recovery, take 4g of EPA daily for 7 weeks before intense training.
Publication
Journal
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
Year
2023
Authors
J. Heileson, Dillon R. Harris, Sara Tomek, P. Ritz, Michelle S Rockwell, Nicholas Barringer, Jeffrey S. Forsse, L. Funderburk
Related Content
Claims (6)
Taking 4 grams daily of EPA or DHA omega-3 supplements for 52 days may help healthy young men with low omega-3 levels recover faster after intense exercise, reducing muscle soreness and maintaining leg strength, with EPA potentially offering better improvements in explosive power than DHA or a placebo.
In healthy young men, taking 4 grams of EPA daily for 52 days may help maintain explosive leg power after intense exercise that causes muscle damage, compared to taking DHA or a placebo.
Taking fish oil supplements containing EPA and DHA may lead to very small or negligible gains in muscle size and strength for most people, and these changes are not large enough to be meaningful in a clinical or practical sense.
Taking 4 grams per day of a combination of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids for 52 days in healthy young men does not clearly improve muscle recovery after exercise better than taking EPA or DHA alone, and might reduce the performance improvements seen with either fatty acid by itself.
Taking 4 grams of DHA daily for 52 days may reduce muscle soreness after intense exercise as much as EPA, but it does not improve muscle strength or power recovery as effectively as EPA.