Why Omega-3s Belong in a Training Plan
Omega-3 fatty acids aren’t just for heart, brain, and eye health—they can also support an active lifestyle. Research in runners and team-sport athletes suggests that higher intakes of EPA and DHA may help fuel hard sessions and smooth the path to recovery afterward. Because individual needs vary with diet, genetics, sex, age, and training load, the most reliable way to know if you’re getting enough is to measure your Omega-3 Index.
The Omega-3 Index, Explained
Your Omega-3 Index reflects the percentage of EPA and DHA in red blood cell membranes. It’s a personalized marker of status rather than a rough guess from diet alone. Training frequently—or at high intensity—can push this number down, even in health-conscious people, which is one reason athletes often land below the optimal range.
What We’re Seeing in Collegiate Athletes
A multi-site study of more than four hundred NCAA Division I football players found every participant below the low-risk zone for the Omega-3 Index. About one third were in the high-risk range and the remainder sat in the intermediate band. The authors argued that routine status testing is practical and may be worthwhile in this population, given the combination of cardiovascular demands and exposure to repetitive head impacts. Their conclusion was straightforward: raising tissue EPA and DHA—through oily fish, supplements, or both—carries little downside and potentially meaningful upside.
Distance Running and Fatty-Acid Status
Observational work in non-elite runners who were not using fatty-acid supplements showed a clear pattern: as weekly mileage climbed, the Omega-3 Index tended to fall and the AA/EPA ratio tended to rise. The shift appeared dose-responsive, beginning at modest distances and becoming more pronounced as volume increased. Similar deficiencies have been documented in elite endurance athletes. Because endurance training carries unique cardiovascular stresses, a persistently low Omega-3 Index could represent an avoidable risk marker. Future studies will need to test whether regularly eating omega-3-rich seafood can counteract the mileage effect, but the current signal is hard to ignore.
How EPA and DHA May Help You Train and Recover
Intense exercise generates oxidative stress and inflammation that can amplify soreness and slow rebound between sessions. EPA and DHA participate in pathways that temper these responses, which may translate to less delayed-onset muscle soreness and a quicker return to quality work. They also support vascular function, helping blood move nutrients and oxygen where they’re needed—from working muscles to the brain. Beyond those effects, higher tissue omega-3s appear to “prime” muscle for protein synthesis: in a controlled trial, eight weeks of fish oil increased the muscle-building response to insulin and amino acids, the very signals that spike around workouts.
Go Straight to the Source
Plant foods like flax, chia, walnuts, and avocados supply ALA, a short-chain omega-3 that the body converts to EPA and DHA only sparingly. If your goal is to lift your Omega-3 Index, it’s more reliable to eat preformed EPA and DHA from salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel, or tuna, or to use a quality omega-3 supplement. Keep the plant foods for their own merits, but don’t count on them to move your EPA/DHA needle.
Make Testing Part of the Routine
If you train hard or often, assume your turnover of omega-3s is higher than average. A simple finger-stick Omega-3 Index test lets you see where you stand and whether your current diet or supplement plan is working. Retesting every four to six months fits the biology of red blood cell turnover and aligns well with training cycles.
Bottom line: active people—and especially endurance athletes—frequently run low on EPA and DHA. Checking your Omega-3 Index, then using oily fish and/or supplementation to reach an optimal range, is a low-risk, high-return adjustment that supports performance today and health over the long haul.
