Understanding the role of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation for human performance

Abstract

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3PUFA) ingestion is associated with multiple health benefits, including improved brain and heart function. Research examining the influence of n-3PUFA supplementation on indices of athletic performance remains limited, with studies administering various dosing strategies in an attempt to improve recovery from muscle damaging exercise, revealing mixed findings. Currently, protein is the most common nutritional strategy to improve recovery from muscle damage however, studies have shown mixed results. As n-3PUFA supplementation is known to exhibit anti-inflammatory properties, combining n-3PUFA with protein in supplement form may promote recovery from muscle damaging exercise. This thesis demonstrates that coingesting n-3PUFA with protein serves to reduce muscle soreness and attenuate the rise in putative blood markers of muscle damage following an intense bout of exercise in soccer players. However, there were no improvements in soccer-skill performance observed with n-3PUFA and protein supplementation. The mechanism(s) underpinning the improvement in recovery with n-3PUFA supplementation is not currently known but may relate to the increase in n-3PUFA composition within skeletal muscle. Dietary n-3PUFA ingestion has been shown to exhibit protective effects on lean tissue during periods of skeletal muscle catabolism such as leg immobilisation and in disease states. This thesis demonstrates that during short-term (2-wk) weight loss, increased dietary n-3PUFA intake fails to attenuate the decline in lean body mass during energy restriction. However, n-3PUFA supplementation improved muscle strength despite the reduction in muscle mass. The explanation for the improvement in muscle strength with n-3PUFA supplementation may be related to a modification of neuromuscular function. This thesis also examined the biological role of the antioxidant, curcumin, to facilitate the incorporation of n-3PUFA into whole blood and the phospholipid membrane of skeletal muscle. However, we demonstrated that the addition of curcumin to an n-3PUFA-based supplement did not facilitate tissue incorporation of n-3PUFA into blood or skeletal muscle. The explanation for this null finding unclear, but may relate to the dose of curcumin and/or n-3PUFA administered in the supplementation regimen. Abstracts containing actual data are included within each experimental chapter.