Research
Hormonal
Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation attenuates muscle loss and accelerates recovery during periods of muscle disuse (immobilization) in young women.
If you are a young woman facing temporary immobilization (e.g., injury/surgery), taking ~3g EPA and ~2g DHA daily before and during the immobilization period may help preserve muscle volume and speed up recovery compared to not taking omega-3s.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
6-weeks of ~3 g/d EPA and ~2 g/d DHA attenuated declines in muscle volume and muscle mass during 2-weeks of unilateral leg immobilization in young women... participants in the omega-3 fatty acid group recovered the losses in muscle volume whereas those in the control group did not.
Why this rating
Based on a specific study in young women; generalizability to men or older adults is unknown.
Source
The Influence of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Skeletal Muscle Protein Turnover in Health, Disuse, and Disease
Chris McGlory et al. · Frontiers in Nutrition · 2019
DOI 10.3389/fnut.2019.00144
narrative_reviewCited 209×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation (EPA/DHA) potentiates muscle protein synthesis and increases lean mass/strength in older adults, particularly when baseline protein intake is suboptimal.Good
- Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation does not enhance muscle protein synthesis in young men who are already consuming adequate protein and performing resistance exercise.Moderate
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