Research

Hormonal

Supplementation with 4g/day of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCn-3PUFA) for 8 weeks significantly augments the muscle protein anabolic response to hyperinsulinaemia-hyperaminoacidaemia in healthy young and middle-aged adults.

If you are healthy and want to maximize muscle growth, consider taking 4g of high-quality fish oil (EPA/DHA) daily for at least 8 weeks. This won't build muscle by itself, but it makes your muscles more responsive to the protein and insulin released after meals or workouts, potentially leading to better gains over time.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
the anabolic response to insulin and amino acid infusion was greater after LCn-3PUFA [i.e. the muscle protein fractional synthesis rate during insulin and amino acid infusion increased from 0.062 +− 0.004 to 0.083 +− 0.007 %/h and the phospho-mTOR (Ser2448) and phospho-p70S6K (Thr389) levels increased by ∼50 %; all P < 0.05].
Gordon I. Smith et al. · Clinical Science · 2011

Why this rating

Randomized controlled trial with stable isotope tracers and molecular analysis in a small but healthy cohort.

Source

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids augment the muscle protein anabolic response to hyperinsulinaemia–hyperaminoacidaemia in healthy young and middle-aged men and women

Gordon I. Smith et al. · Clinical Science · 2011

DOI 10.1042/cs20100597

rct · n=9Cited 362×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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