Research

Micronutrients & recovery

Supplementation with both EPA and DHA (approx. 2:1 ratio) for 8 weeks inhibits muscle strength deficit and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) following eccentric exercise in untrained individuals.

If you want to use fish oil to help recover from tough workouts, you need to take it every day for at least 8 weeks before you expect results. Look for a supplement with roughly twice as much EPA as DHA (a 2:1 ratio). Taking just one type of omega-3 or waiting until you are sore to take it will likely not help.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
ingestion of EPA and DHA causes an inhibition in torque deficit (17%)... The supplementation of 0.324 g/day of EPA and 0.216 g/day of DHA daily for 30 days inhibited DOMS after 40-min bench stepping... we suggest that the ingestion of both EPA and DHA may be important in reducing DOMS and has a synergistic effect on DOMS attenuation, especially at the ratio of approximately 2:1.
Eisuke Ochi et al. · Nutrients · 2018

Why this rating

The paper is a review summarizing mixed results; while some studies show effectiveness, others show ineffectiveness, indicating moderate consistency.

Source

Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and Docosahexaneoic Acid (DHA) in Muscle Damage and Function

Eisuke Ochi et al. · Nutrients · 2018

narrative_reviewCited 90×
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