Skip to comments. Posted on 3/6/2025, 4:20:41 AM by ConservativeMind
A study suggests that fish oil can weaken insulin resistance and reduce glucose intolerance by modulating the body's inflammatory response.
The findings were based on experiments with rats, which were not obese but exhibited a condition similar to type 2 diabetes, a disease characterized by elevated blood sugar due to reduced action of the hormone insulin.
As the authors explain, supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids such as those present in fish oil has been prescribed for individuals with cardiovascular problems and type 2 diabetes, but the effects of these nutrients on insulin resistance without obesity are poorly understood.
In this study, the researchers observed that administration of 2 grams of fish oil per kilogram of body weight (equivalent to 540 mg/g of eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, and 100 mg/g of docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA) three times per week for eight weeks reduced insulin resistance in non-obese rats, which also displayed improved levels of blood sugar, inflammatory markers and lipid features, including total cholesterol, LDL ("bad cholesterol") and triglycerides.
The researchers reported an early breakdown of anti-inflammatory mechanisms in non-obese GK rats with insulin resistance. Lymph nodes (part of the immune system) in newly weaned 21-day-old GK pups already exhibited a reduction in markers of regulatory T-cells (Tregs, cells with anti-inflammatory characteristics). Other early inflammatory alterations were also observed in the rats.
"Fish oil supplementation reversed this pro-inflammatory profile, displaying a significant anti-inflammatory effect and reducing polarization of Th1 and Th17 cells [lymphocyte subtypes that perform crucial functions in inflammation], followed by a rise in the percentage of Tregs, which can inhibit the activation of pro-inflammatory lymphocytes. Thus the action of omega-3 fatty acids on lymphocytes, modulating them from a pro-inflammatory state to an anti-inflammatory state, may have triggered the reduction in insulin resistance in these animals," Lobato said.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Medical Xpress / FAPESP / Nutrients / FEBS Letters ^ | Feb. 26, 2025 | Maria Fernanda Ziegler / Tiago Bertola Lobato et al