Senior muscles increased somewhat with Omega-3 – RCT

Created January 2016

Fish oil-derived n-3 PUFA therapy increases muscle mass and function in healthy older adults.

Am J Clin Nutr. 2015 Jul;102(1):115-22. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.114.105833. Epub 2015 May 20.

Smith GI1, Julliand S1, Reeds DN1, Sinacore DR2, Klein S1, Mittendorfer B3.

1 Center for Human Nutrition and.

2 Program in Physical Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.

3 Center for Human Nutrition and mittendb@wustl.edu.

Men and women who were 60-85 ears old Omega-3 daily for 6 months – amount was not stated in abstract Publisher charges $40 for the PDF – – – – – – – – – – – – Fact: Increasing Omega-3 increases vitamin D getting to cells Fact: Increasing Vitamin D increases muscle strength Wonder if this trial was just noticing: Omega-3 ==> more Vitamin D ==> more muscle See also VitaminDWiki * Vitamin D and Omega-3 category * Overview: Omega-3 many benefits include helping vitamin D * Omega-3 weekly is more bio-available than daily (rat study) – July 2015 * wonder if weekly Omega-3 is better for humans as well * Supplements survey: Fish oil 1st, Vitamin D 4th, Magnesium 6th, Calcium 7th - March 2015 1. # Items in both categories Omega-3 and Sports are listed here: {category}

BACKGROUND:

Age-associated declines in muscle mass and function are major risk factors for an impaired ability to carry out activities of daily living, falls, prolonged recovery time after hospitalization, and mortality in older adults. New strategies that can slow the age-related loss of muscle mass and function are needed to help older adults maintain adequate performance status to reduce these risks and maintain independence.

OBJECTIVE:

We evaluated the efficacy of fish oil-derived n-3 (ω-3) PUFA therapy to slow the age-associated loss of muscle mass and function.

DESIGN:

Sixty healthy 60-85-y-old men and women were randomly assigned to receive n-3 PUFA (n = 40) or corn oil (n = 20) therapy for 6 mo. Thigh muscle volume, handgrip strength, one-repetition maximum (1-RM) lower- and upper-body strength, and average power during isokinetic leg exercises were evaluated before and after treatment.

RESULTS:

Forty-four subjects completed the study [29 subjects (73%) in the n-3 PUFA group; 15 subjects (75%) in the control group].

Compared with the control group, 6 mo of n-3 PUFA therapy increased

  • thigh muscle volume (3.6%; 95% CI: 0.2%, 7.0%),

  • handgrip strength (2.3 kg; 95% CI: 0.8, 3.7 kg), and

  • 1-RM muscle strength (4.0%; 95% CI: 0.8%, 7.3%) (all P < 0.05)

and tended to increase average isokinetic power (5.6%; 95% CI: -0.6%, 11.7%; P = 0.075).

CONCLUSION:

Fish oil-derived n-3 PUFA therapy slows the normal decline in muscle mass and function in older adults and should be considered a therapeutic approach for preventing sarcopenia and maintaining physical independence in older adults. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01308957.

© 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

PMID: 25994567

Tags: Omega-3 Seniors Sports