Omega-3 sports: fish oil improves lung activity during and after physical exertion

A study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport by a group of researchers from the Universities of Urmia (Iran) and Tübingen (Germany) suggested the benefits of marine-derived Omega 3 supplements for athletes' lungs. Several years later, Japanese research published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine Research showed their anti-inflammatory effects in the airways even when taken for shorter periods than the previous study suggested. Let's find out the benefits of fish oil for the function and, more generally, for the pulmonary health of those who participate in sports. 

The intake of Omega 3 EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) during a period of intensive training can improve lung function in athletes.

The benefits of these fatty acids, suggested by research published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, would be beneficial both during and after exercise.

This is also why marine-derived Omega-3s (EPA and DHA) find a place in the sports nutrition and supplement market. 

The research, published by the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport in 2010, was conducted by a group of researchers from the University of Urmia (Iran) and the University of Tübingen (Germany).

A few years earlier, in 2003, a study published in theAmerican Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine by a group of researchers led by Timothy D. Mickleborough of Indiana University in Bloomington (United States) had associated the intake of high doses of EPA (3.2 g per day) and DHA (2.2 g per day) with the reduction of so-called exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in athletes suffering from it and, therefore, with the improvement of their lung function after exercise.

Years later, in 2022, a study on the effects of Omega 3 intake on airway inflammation in young athletes published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine Research showed that in the presence of airway inflammation, taking just 600 mg of EPA and 260 mg of DHA each day for 2 weeks was sufficient to significantly counteract the inflammatory state.

Exercise, Lungs and Omega 3

Athletes who are subjected to heavy training or engaged in prolonged, strenuous exercise run an increased risk of upper respiratory tract infections both during the training period and in the weeks immediately following.

This phenomenon may be associated with impaired lung function; in particular, in the case of wrestling, intense training programs have been associated precisely with exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.

In addition, the large amount of air that rapidly enters and leaves the lungs during physical activity damages the cells of the epithelium lining the airways, both because it exerts mechanical stress and because it dehydrates their surface.

Chronic mechanical stress can lead toasthma or an over-response by the bronchi; also, if the epithelial cells are not given enough time to recover after a session of intense physical activity (as is often the case with athletes) the airways are at risk of becoming inflamed.

For their part, Omega 3s could be useful because of their apparent protective effect on the lungs and their known anti-inflammatory properties.

Suggesting their potential is the low prevalence of lung disease in Eskimo populations characterized by a diet rich in these fats.

In addition, studies prior to the one published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport had already shown the ability of fish oil supplements, an excellent source of the Omega 3 EPA and DHA, to improve some parameters of lung function.

Therefore, its authors decided to evaluate the effects of Omega 3 supplementation on lung function in young athletes undergoing a period of intense training.

Omega-3 and exercise, a winning combination for the lungs

The study involved 40 nonprofessional, nonsmoking male athletes with an average age of 18.6 years, all practicing wrestling. Participants were randomly assigned to one of 4 possible groups:

• The 10 athletes in the experimental group were assigned to train 3 sessions per week for a total of 12 weeks and, during the same period, to take 1 gram per day of a fish oil-based Omega 3 supplement, for a total of 180 mg of EPA and 120 mg of DHA per day;
• The 10 athletes in the placebo group were given the same training program but combined with taking capsules that did not contain Omega 3;
• The 10 active control athletes were assigned only the training program;
• The 10 athletes in the inactive control were assigned neither a training program nor capsule intake.

The researchers assessed each participant's lung capacity at the beginning of the trial and at the end of the 12 weeks of training; parameters measured included forced vital capacity (FVC), which is the volume of air forcibly exhaled after inhaling the largest possible amount of air, and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), which is the volume of air exhaled in the first second of a forced exhalation. These 2 parameters made it possible to:

• To determine the volume of the lungs and the airflow within them;
• demonstrate that the combination of intensive exercise and Omega-3 improves both of these factors.

"The results of [this] study revealed that what is affected by training is vital lung capacity rather than other factors," the authors explained. "We hypothesize that changes in the lung capacity and volume of young wrestlers may lead to adaptation in wrestling training, improvements in the pulmonary circulatory system, increase in the percentage of hemoglobin saturation, improvement in alveolar ventilation, improvements in partial pressure of oxygen, and, finally, maintenance of the wrestler's concentration."

Omega 3 allies against airway inflammation

In contrast, the study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine Research involved American football players, all male, engaged in 6-day-a-week workouts.

Participants were divided into two groups according to their baseline airway inflammation status. Fifteen (10 inflamed and 5 non-inflamed) were instructed to take a fish oil-containing drink every day, totaling 860 mg per day of Omega 3 (260 mg DHA and 600 mg EPA), while another 8, all non-inflamed, were assigned to the control group that did not take Omega 3.

To assess airway inflammation, nitric oxide in exhaled air (FeNO, Fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide) was measured; equal values above 25 ppb are considered precisely a marker of airway inflammation.

In addition, the study included measurement of the amount of exhaled carbon dioxide(eCO) as an indicator of respiratory diseases such as asthma.

After 3 weeks, lung function had not changed significantly. However, in participants with baseline FeNO of 25 ppb or more, inflammation was significantly reduced after 2 and 3 weeks of Omega 3 intake.

In contrast, eCO values were significantly reduced after 2 and 3 weeks in all participants who took Omega 3, but not in the control group.

The benefits for sportsmen and women

The results of the study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport represent evidence of the benefits of Omega-3s for the function of athletes' lungs during training programs.

While acknowledging the need for further research to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these benefits, its authors emphasized the implications of these findings for the work of coaches, personal trainers and physiologists who develop training programs for both professional wrestlers and those who play the sport at the amateur level. 

Instead, the authors of the research published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine Research pointed out how the factors involved in inflammation of athletes' airways are complex and how, as a result, it is difficult to identify specific causes.

However, they also commented that "intake of Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids can inhibit inflammation in general" and that, "therefore, it could be an effective strategy to prevent the development of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, asthma and airway inflammation in athletes."

Learn about other research findings on the benefits of Omega 3 for athletes by continuing to read the Omegor Blog! 

Bibliographic references:

Mickleborough TD, Murray RL, Ionescu AA, Lindley MR. Fish oil supplementation reduces severity of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in elite athletes. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2003 Nov 15;168(10):1181-9. doi: 10.1164/rccm.200303-373OC

Imai T, Takada Y, Watanabe K. Effect of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Intake on Eosinophil Airway Inflammation in University Athletes. J Clin Med Res. 2022 Nov;14(11):466-473. doi: 10.14740/jocmr4825

Tartibian B, Maleki BH, Abbasi A. The effects of omega-3 supplementation on pulmonary function of young wrestlers during intensive training. J Sci Med Sport. 2010 Mar;13(2):281-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2008.12.634