Does fish oil help you lose weight? The answer to that question is not clear cut.
According to Fitness RX magazine, fish oil does not promote weight loss in obese or overweight middle-aged men or women. They cite a six month study out of the Cooper Institute in Dallas that found Omega-3m fatty acid or fish oil supplements had no effect on body composition or weight.
However, an article in First for Women magazine says if your belly fat is due to the stress hormone cortisol, a combination of Vitamin C and fish oil supplements may help.
They cite a Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania study that showed those given fish oil supplements every day gained lean tissue and lost 3 1/2 times more weight than those given a safflower oil placebo.
The magazine’s latest “weight loss discovery” is Dr. Oz’s suggestion people take Vitamin C to help stress-proof the body along with Fish oil to reduce cortisol.
A stress steroid, cortisol keeps blood sugar levels high. Cortisol not only increases your appetite, but can break down lean muscle, according to First for Women.
Your body uses more Vitamin C during periods of stress, which is why it’s so important. Vitamin C and fish oil is a great natural cure for belly fat.
If stress is not the reason for your weight problems, a better supplement may be gamma-linolenic acid (GLA).
An omega-6 fatty acid, GLA may help you balance female hormones and reduce inflammation, a key factor in belly fat, according to First for Women.
GLA can help you maintain your weight loss.
In a one-year study, dieters who took 5 grams a day of GLA (Gamma-linolenic acid) oil regained only a couple pounds after dieting versus a 15 pound weight gain for those who did not take GLA.
GLA oil may be derived from borage or evening primrose oil.
If your weight problem in concentrated on your midsection, fish oil supplements taken along with Vitamin C could be the miracle solution.
When you are stressed, your adrenal glands release cortisol which leads to fat deposits in the omentum, an area of fatty tissue beneath the abdominal muscles. Dr. Oz, on a recent episode of his program, held up a healthy versus a stressed omentum that had grown large.
Going on a diet itself is stressful enough to trigger increase cortisol input in some women!
In fact, obsessive diets may actually be training their bodies to release cortisol and crave high-fat foods as a comfort or stress relief.
So does fish oil help you lose weight? It may if you gain weight from stress and also supplement with Vitamin C.
Some of the other health benefits of fish oil supplements includes reducing cholesterol, reducing symptoms of depression and treating heart disease. So even if you don’t lose weight taking fish oil, you should be healthier!
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Sources: Fitness Rx magazine
First for Women magazine
