Fighters Only

Issue 038

June 2008

Omega 3 isn’t the name of some wonder supplement or piece of training equipment. It isn’t the name of a cutting-edge new drill or technique. Omega 3s and 6s are fats, commonly known as essential fatty acids.

Omega 3s and 6s are found in polyunsaturated fats, and are required by the body for numerous different, and important, bodily functions. Omega 6 fatty acids are used for many bodily processes – most notably they are involved in the processes of blood clotting and inflammation – while Omega 3s have the opposite effect, thinning blood and reducing inflammation.

Clearly we need some Omega 6, as if our blood did not clot we would bleed to death after receiving a cut, and a certain amount of inflammation is a necessary part of the healing process after a strain or sprain. Too much Omega 6, coupled with a lack of Omega 3, can lead to unwanted and excessive blood clotting and inflammation, which at its most serious could contribute to deep vein thrombosis or chronic inflammation.

MMA fighters will particularly benefit from upping their Omega 3 as:

1) The physical demands of MMA often result in soft tissue damage (such as strains and sprains) which will benefit from the anti-inflammatory effects of Omega 3

2) Increasing dietary intake of Omega 3 fish oils has been proven to help prevent the breakdown of lean muscle mass – This is particularly useful if you are looking to cut weight and want to ensure that you lose as little muscle as possible.

3) Supplementing with Omega 3 fish oils has been shown to significantly increase fat loss in dieters.

So are you currently getting enough Omega 3 to reap the benefits in the ring? The answer is probably not!

Our early ancestors used to get loads of Omega 3s in their diets, as they would crack open the skulls of animals and eat their brains – The brain is where the highest concentrations of Omega 3s are found in animals.

Unfortunately, not only have we stopped eating brains, but our diets have become saturated with Omega 6s due to the use of vegetable oils (typically soya or sunflower oil) in processed foods. Check the food labels of packaged foods and you will invariably find it contains vegetable oil (or worse, hydrogenated vegetable oil, but that’s another story).

In addition to this, intensively farmed livestock are now fed a diet high in soy protein and other foodstuffs high in Omega 6. This in turn makes the animals themselves higher in Omega 6 than they would be if they ate their natural diet of grass. To make matters worse, many of us don’t eat enough foods with Omega 3s (such as oily fish) and even when we do, farmed varieties again tend to be lower in Omega 3s due to their unnatural diets!

So what is the remedy? Start eating brains? Fortunately, I have some more palatable suggestions!

Minimise your Omega 6

Avoid processed and packed foods packed with vegetable oil (and many other undesirable ingredients).

Eat food freshly prepared from whole ingredients.

Avoid intensively farmed eggs, dairy, meat and poultry

Avoid using sunflower or soy based oil.

Maximise your Omega 3

Eat a portion of oily fish every day. Wild salmon, sardines, mackerel, trout and sild are all good choices high in long chain Omega 3 oils.

Eat free range, grass-fed meat and poultry, organic where possible.

Walnuts, pumpkin seeds and flaxseeds are very high in short chain Omega 3 Oils, add them to cereals, salads or main meals.

Make salad dressings with rapeseed oil, high in Omega 3s with a nice flavour (Never cook with rapeseed oil though, as it will hydrogenate at high temperatures).

Try mixing rapeseed oil with apple cider vinegar and French grain mustard for a delicious healthy dressing.

Take an Omega 3 fish oil supplement. Look for one that is high in EPA and DHA fatty acids.