Loss of muscle mass: counteract it with Omega-3s
Sarcopenia: help from omega 3 fish oil
The natural aging of muscles can be countered by stimulating their metabolism with the intake of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA (eicohexapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). This was demonstrated in a study that appeared in the pages of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, in which researchers from the School of Medicine at Washington University (Saint Louis, U.S.) and the University of Nottingham (U.K.) studied the effectiveness of daily intake of omega-3 fatty acids on muscle degeneration.
Sarcopenia, a problem of passing years
As muscles age, they lose their ability to increase protein synthesis in response to amino acid intake and insulin action, becoming less sensitive to nutritional stimuli and decreasing in mass. This phenomenon, referred to as sarcopenia, is associated with loss of muscle strength and is particularly evident in older people. However, those forced into long periods of physical inactivity can also suffer from it. The fact is that the muscle mass of a 70-year-old is not the same as that available to a 20-year-old to perform daily activities. On the contrary, while in their twenties muscles account for up to 60 percent of lean mass, by seventy their share drops below 40 percent. However, current knowledge shows that thedepletion of muscle mass is not an entirely uncontrollable phenomenon. On the contrary, just a few grams per day of Omega-3 are sufficient to reactivate muscle protein synthesis associated with increased amino acid and insulin intake.
Omega-3 against muscle aging
According to a report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, supplementing the diet with 1.86 grams of EPA and 1.5 grams of DHA--corresponding to the doses of Omega-3 approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration--for eight weeks induces an increase in protein production in muscles normally induced by elevated blood concentrations of amino acids and insulin. The research authors' interpretation that Omega-3 would attenuate the resistance of muscle cells to use amino acids and insulin is supported by molecular data indicating increased activity of factors involved in the so-called mTOR-p70s6k pathway, a cellular mechanism that regulates muscle cell growth. The researchers point out that the exact mechanisms by which omega-3 fatty acids stimulate muscle protein synthesis upon increasing insulin concentrations and in the presence of high amino acid concentrations have yet to be unraveled. Nevertheless, this study demonstrates the existence of an interaction between Omega-3 fatty acids and protein metabolism in human muscles. Anddietary supplementation with Omega-3s, the scientists add, is a safe, simple and inexpensive strategy to counteract sarcopenia.
Source
1. Smith GI, Atherton P, Reeds DN, Mohammed BS, Rankin D, Rennie MJ, Mittendorfer B, "Dietary omega-3 fatty acid supplementation increases the rate of muscle protein synthesis in older adults: a randomized controlled trial," Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Feb;93(2):402-12
