Inflammation is your body's natural response to physical injury, as well as to the presence of foreign bodies and other potential sources of infection. Under certain circumstances, this response can harm your health. Fish oil, which contains substances called omega-3 fatty acids, doesn't cause inflammation. In fact, omega-3s appear to reduce the presence of inflammation in at least two distinct ways.
Understanding Inflammation
Your body creates its inflammatory response by activating your immune system's white blood cells and certain additional immune system-related chemicals. While this process is typically beneficial for your body, it can cause problems if it activates mistakenly or keeps going for extended periods of time. Conditions associated with the mistaken activation of your inflammatory response include hay fever, rheumatoid arthritis and the artery-hardening process called atherosclerosis. Conditions with a potential link to uncontrolled or ongoing inflammation include diabetes, heart attack, cancer and Alzheimer's disease.
Omega-3s and Prostaglandins
When you consume omega-3 fatty acids and other types of fatty acids called omega-6 fatty acids, your body converts them into substances called prostaglandins, according to Stanford University. One type of prostaglandin, called PG1, has strong anti-inflammatory properties; another prostaglandin, called PG2, has a significant role in increasing inflammation. When you have a relatively low omega-3 intake and high omega-6 intake, your body increases its production of inflammation-supporting PG2. Conversely, when you have a relatively high omega-3 intake from fish oil or other sources, your body increases its production of inflammation-reducing PG1.
Immune Cell Disruption
In laboratory experiments on mice, the omega-3s in fish oil also appear to alter the activity of a protein receptor called GPR120, according to a 2010 study published in the journal "Cell." Normally, this receptor helps activate cells in your immune system that trigger the onset of inflammation. However, when they're exposed to omega-3s, GPR120 receptors shut down and interfere with almost all of the immune cells' available methods of generating an inflammatory response.
Considerations
The authors of the study published in "Cell" note that their results are preliminary and include no information on the GPR120-related effects of omega-3s in human beings. However, their findings may eventually give doctors a way to combat inflammation's role in diabetes. If you take more than 3 g a day of the omega-3s contained in fish oil, you can increase your risks for bleeding. High fish oil doses may also impair the normal function of your immune system and increase your risks for problems related to infection. Ask your doctor for more information on fish oil and the role of omega-3 fatty acids in inflammation reduction.
References
- Cleveland Clinic: Inflammation; What You Need to Know
- DaVita.com: Inflammation and Chronic Kidney Disease
- MedlinePlus: Fish Oil
- Stanford University - Huntington's Outreach Project for Education: Omega-3 Fatty Acids; E. Tan; June 15, 2002
- "Cell": GPR120 Is an Omega-3 Fatty Acid Receptor Mediating Potent Anti-Inflammatory and Insulin-Sensitizing Effects; D.Y. Oh, S. Talukdar, et al.; September 3, 2010
- "Science Now": How Fish Oil Fights Inflammation; Cassandra Willyard; September 2, 2010
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