Thanks, that's certainly a viable option.
However, I'd still like to find out if there are any nutritional benefits of taking a higher amount of low EPA/DHA oil to boost my fat intake e.g. instead of drinking olive oil.
It's just for the sake of filling this gap in my knowledge.
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Controlled studies have clearly established the positive influence of n-3 intake on cardiovascular health. The role of n-3 as a modulator of inflammation is also well recognized and the fact that omega-3 fats down-regulate genes involved in chronic inflammation makes it likely that n-3 intake can reduce the risk of atherosclerosis.
What about n-3 and fat loss? I have not seen a single study which shows that adding n-3 alone will generate fat loss in lean subjects, but overweight/obese subjects sometimes see a small - but clinically significant - effect of n-3 supplementation. There are some exceptions to this, i.e. some studies do show a clinically significant fat loss effect in lean subjects, but the sample size and diet design is extremely poor - such as in this widely cited study by Couet, et al.
In combination with exercise, n-3 has been shown to accelerate fat loss in a few studies, but once again the effect is limited to obese subjects.
However, I'll note that it's a profound flaw to look at the effects of n-3 and fat loss in lean subjects and conclude that there is no benefit. Why? Because the effect of n-3 on fat metabolism and adipose tissue is not acute. It takes approximately 4-6 weeks of n-3 supplementation to change the fatty acid composition of the cell membrane, and controlled interventions on n-3 supplementation and fat loss have never been longer than 12 weeks in duration. In the case of Brilla, et al., who looked at fat loss in lean subjects, it was 10 weeks.
Furthermore, research is also highly suggestive of a positive effect of n-3 on brain function and several disease processes, ranging from cancer to the metabolic syndrome. Keep in mind that it's impossible to provide hard data on these aspects of human health. You can't put people in a lab, give some of them some fish oil pills, and look at who got Alzheimer's or cancer 8 weeks later.
Instead you look at things like fish consumption in thousands of individuals, sometimes over several years, and compare the disease trends relative to fish or seafood consumption. When you do this, you often see positive associations between n-3 saturation of the phospholipid membranes and greater health.
This positive association seems independent of other factors that affect health; meaning that, in an imaginary scenario where we compare two people with the exact same stats, such as body fat percentage and lifestyle habits, with the exception of n-3 intake or fish intake, the person with a higher n-3 intake will be healthier.
Furthermore, animal studies have also hinted at an anabolic effect of n-3 enriched feedings. Based on the aforementioned studies, the researchers speculate that the mechanism by which n-3 can increase muscle growth is via activation of the mTOR-p70s6k signalling pathway in response to feeding. The exact mechanism is unknown.
The mTOR-p70s6k signalling pathway is commonly used as a marker for muscle anabolism and protein synthesis, and by measuring the phospholyration rate (activity) of p70s6k, you can get an idea of the anabolic rate in the muscle.
If you eat fatty fish on a regular basis, a stringent EPA/DHA-protocol might not be required. You can check the EPA and DHA content of fish here. Example: your average store-bought salmon yields 0.7 g EPA and 1.4 g DHA per 100 g. Do the calculations based on your average weekly intake. Keep in mind that the amounts can vary depending on the breeding of the fish, e.g. farm-raised vs wild salmon.
CL OxiMega is a very cost effective fishoil option
I got bottles for 7$ on a b1g1 free stacked with a 10% off coupon.
