Double your exercise pay-off

We all know that, as we age, our muscles shrink. In fact, muscle size is reduced from 0.5 to 2 percent each year.

Exercise can keep muscles strong and functioning. But as you get older, exercise alone may not be enough to increase muscle mass.

That’s when you need a little nutritional help.

And that’s where fish oil comes in.

Researchers in Britain found that adding fish oil to your supplement line-up could offer major benefits in your work to keep muscles strong. They found that after 12 weeks of resistance exercise training, the study participants taking fish oil improved their muscle strength by 20 percent. Participants who took a placebo saw an 11 percent improvement.

That’s right–fish oil just about doubled the benefits of exercise for these older folks.

The researchers are going to continue exploring the relationship between fish oil and muscle strength in an 18-week study. They’ll extend the study to look at the benefits for everyday activities including standing up and down and balancing in three different positions.

But there’s no reason to wait for the results of the next study. We already know that fish oil offers numerous benefits (in fact, I wrote about one just this week!). So if you aren’t already taking it, why not start now?

Dr. Wright usually recommends 2 to 3 tablespoons of fish oil per day. Any time he recommends fish oil, he also recommends extra vitamin E (as mixed tocopherols), to prevent the oils from oxidizing too rapidly in the body. Take 800-1,000 IU of vitamin E along with the fish oil each day. The total daily amount can be split up into two or three doses, to avoid the possibility of stomach upset.

P.S. Keep reading for natural relief for shingles.

Sources:
“Fish oil may protect against muscle deterioration in the elderly: Pilot study,” Nutraingredients USA (nutraingredients-usa.com)