The benefits of eating fish …..
Fish oil and regular visits to the gym can help ageing muscles remain strong and healthy, according to new research, and reported by our friends at Age UK
We all know there are many benefits from eating fish, for everyone, and quite a few people currently supplement their diet with cod liver oil and other omega-3 varieties. Muscle degradation caused by aging could be slowed down by eating oily fish meal three times a week in tandem with regular exercise, a new study has revealed. The study by Aberdeen University’s Musculoskeletal Research Programme piloted a trial where women pensioners combined doses of fish oil with regular visits to the gym to try and combat the effects of sarcopenia, otherwise known as age-related muscle loss.
Around 20% of 50 to 70-year-old’s are seriously affected by sarcopenia in the UK, with a further 50% of the over-80s suffering from the condition, which can sap strength and make it extremely difficult to undertake everyday tasks.
The results from the pilot scheme were so promising that a larger-scale study involving both men and women is now underway, with the anti-inflammatory properties of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil though to assist ageing muscles in their recovery to exercise.
Lead scientist Dr Stuart Gray said: ‘We’re trying to make older muscle adapt like younger muscle, and that’s where we think fish oil can come in.’
Fish oil led to significant improvements:
His initial study involved fourteen women attending two weekly gym sessions where they would focus on lower limb resistance training, including leg flexing, pointing ankles and pushing.
Follow-up study planned:
The follow-up study will involve 60 older men and women who will combine the fish oil portions with an 18-week period of training in the gym.
Volunteers will be monitored on numerous levels to observe alterations in muscle mass and volume, insulin sensitivity, fat levels in muscles, inflammation, protein synthesis and molecular signalling.
Dr Gray added: ‘Volunteers in the study will also be timed carrying out physical activities such as standing up and down, walking for four metres, and balancing in three different positions, to establish if those participants taking fish oil perform these activities more efficiently.’
The muscle-boosted omega-3 fish oils can be found in oily fish, such as salmon, trout, fresh tuna, herrings, sardines and mackerel.
We will hopefully be able to report on the findings of the follow-up study when they are published. In the meantime, I am going to my local fish shop to buy some fresh salmon!
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Do you use fish oil or Omega-3 supplements, or do you eat oily fish on a regular basis?
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