Fish Oil + Aging: Do Little Softgels Affect Big Things Like Lifespan?

Photo: Harris Vo, Unsplash

The Fish-Oil Wars! Snake Oil Skepticism to Scientific Breakthrough?:

Sometimes, the “sure(st) thing” is that firm answers can be hard to come-by.

And nowhere is that more true than in the Wild-West space of supplements!

Whether it’s dangerous Vitamin E, magical metabolic Acai drinks, or major retailers putting house-plants into their echinacea,

It’s always had a Spectre of Woo-Woo BS or “Bro-Science”.

Even Fish Oil gets saddled with the BS nameplate from time-to-time.

But what if things are turning around yet again for the evidence?

The surprising findings from a U. Zurich team aren’t even just the regular, “Good for circulation. Smells.” -results.

They might hint at something WAY more fundamental, like one of the primary reasons you come to a nerdbot site like this in the first place…

The Short Answer:

The supplement world can be a confusing mess.
This even goes for something as simple as Fish Oil.
There’s a lot of ersatz-thinking in supplements when it comes to potency, effectiveness, & even safety!
But a Zurich team tested almost 800 subjects over 70 years old, for 3 years.
This is one of the first sizeable trials to show anti-aging effects from a supplement.
These subjects were given pharmacy grade omega-3s from algae.
They were also tested in 8 different combinations of omega-3, vitamin D, and exercise vs. none at all.
To test results, they looked at the potential effects on aging using tests that measure DNA-clocks.
Those tests revealed a reduction in aging of between about 3-4 months.
Omega-3s appear to work through multiple pathways that connect to aging.
That turns out to be 1.33 months/year in reduced cellular-aging.
These results held true despite several demographic factors and also BMI.
They’re also weirdly-mirrored by a Stanford study on increased-lifespan of Vegans vs. Omnivores.
Calorie-restriction can also extend lifespan, but it’s extremely-hard to get right.
If you’re going to try fish oil, ask your doctor first and get a good one.
There are a lot of surprisingly-bad fish oils out there.
Overall, the study results are pretty amazing for such reasonable changes.

Read on to find out the details…

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The DO-HEALTH Study. A Cloud Of Skepticism Meets Real Science:

The idea is at least a little bit radical. That the World War II idea of “ersatz” (hey, if it looks like chocolate, and kinda smells like it? -Close enough!) might not be true for a supplement.

-Especially when the Pills Vs. Diet debate usually reduces supplements to “expensive pee precursors” sold by hucksters.

After the Fish-Oil=Snake-Oil unfairness got a few breaks in the brain-function study and the depression study,

It now looks like U. Zurich’s DO-HEALTH project is about to add another point of light here.

And it’s got 3 years of evidence, almost 800 adults over 70, and 8 different variations to back it up.

Time-Machine. New Tech Reads Tiny Clocks Inside Your Cells:

So not only did they test vitamin D, omega-3s, a strength training routine called SHEP, and all their (8) combinations vs. controls,

Researchers reached for something way more magical.

Instead of just the old “Look! An outcome!”-stuff any study-monkey can target, they went deeper; right down into the cells of subjects,

To measure FO’s effects on Aging itself. -BOOM!

To do accomplish that tiny miracle, they used tiny specialized tests called “epigenetic clocks” to show aging at that cellular level.

The Results. Reeling In The Years With Fish Oil Magic:

When the researchers checked the data, they found remarkable results.

Taking just 1 gram of omega-3/day slowed biological aging by up to four months across all tests.

This effect held true regardless of a person’s gender, age, or BMI.

Not impressive enough? Combining omega-3s with vitamin D and regular strength training worked together to show even stronger anti-aging effects in one of the four tests.

“This result extends our previous findings from the DO-HEALTH study, in which these three factors combined had the greatest impact … over a three-year period, to slowing down the [ed: FRICKIN’ ACTUAL~!] biological aging process,” said Professor Bischoff-Ferrari.

(She also knows something about the most amazing and expensive high-speed caramelized biscuit cookies in the world. I am also positive she’s never heard that joke before.)

Rhyme-Machine. Vegan Lifespan Study Shows Freaky Connection:

The omega-3 results are pretty impressive, but they get more interesting when compared to a different piece on nutrition.

Researchers from Stanford did a small study using 22 pairs of twins to test how different diets affect aging.

By having one twin follow a vegan diet and the other an omnivore diet for eight weeks, they had a near-perfect A/B test.

The results? The vegan twins had slower cellular aging across three DNA-clocks, just like the Zurich study ones.

Coincidentally, the vegans got less saturated fat in their diet and results that bear a spooky-resemblance to the omega-3 subjects; almost as if they have something in-common.

A Few Of The Finer-Points On Nutrition’s Impact On Lifespan:

There are also a few additional insights from Zurich’s discussion that flesh it out even more.

1) Participants who started with lower omega-3 levels showed larger benefits.

And that means a personalized approach might work best for everyone.

2) Even small changes in biological aging, if sustained over time, can have significant effects on overall health.

The effects might seem modest at about 3-4 months of aging reduction,

Those benefits showed up in only 3 years (1.33 months younger/year) and could potentially compound over longer periods.

3) This study adds to other research, including the CALERIE trial which found calorie-restriction also slowed biological aging.

Calorie restriction can work, but it’s extremely challenging to maintain without nutritional deficiencies.

4) Finally, the researchers found that a multi-faceted approach probably works best.

Even This Amazing Study Has A Few Limits:

No study is perfect, and neither was this one. So:

First, pharmacy-grade, algae-derived omega-3s, at a specific dose were used.

Second, four different DNA-clocks were used because there’s “no generally accepted gold standard for measuring biological age.”

Third, the subjects were all Swiss and over age 70, so the results might not be the same for everyone.

Slow Your Roll There Bassmaster, Not All Fish Oil Is Created Equal!:

Now before you rush out to buy some, you should know that the quality of fish oil varies dramatically.

According to Labdoor.com, and ConsumerLab, even popular brands like Nature Made and Nature’s Bounty show surprising differences.

Some products contain significantly less active ingredient than their labels claim, while others may be oxidized or contaminated.

Another option is organic flaxseed oil, which can provide all the omega-3s you need, in about 1 teaspoon or less/day.

If you do opt for fish oil, look for products that:
1) Are third-party tested
2) Specify the amounts of EPA and DHA (not just “fish oil”)
3) Use molecular distillation/other purification
4) Include something to prevent rancidity

Just Like The HT Motto! Long View, Small Changes, Big Impact:

What makes these findings particularly exciting besides the miraculous anti-aging is how achievable they are.

A gram of omega-3s daily, with basic strength exercise and vitamin D, isn’t a radical or expensive intervention.

It’s the kind of small, sustainable change that anyone can introduce to their daily routine simply.

The findings give solid evidence to skeptics that FO deserves another look.

They also validate past efforts of fans as yielding hidden-benefits beyond what was known.

As with any other significant health & wellness change, always consult your healthcare provider before starting supplements.

It is somehow just amazing that something as normal as fish oil can reduce aging and slow down the little clocks that are ticking away in every cell of your body. Wow!