Welcome to the positive corner of the internet. Every weekday, we make sense of the confusing world of wellness by analyzing the headlines, simplifying the latest research, and offering quick tips designed to make you healthier in less than 5 minutes. If you were forwarded this message, you can get the free daily email here.
Today’s Health Upgrade
Why you should take the fish test
Exercise and pregnancy
More muscle with fewer calories?
Arnold’s Podcast
Want more stories from Arnold? Every day, Arnold’s Pump Club Podcast opens with a story, perspective, and wisdom from Arnold that you won’t find in the newsletter. And, you’ll hear a recap of the day’s items. You can subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Health
Why You Should Take The Fish Test
Can fish oil help protect your heart? The answer to that question might depend on how often you include fish in your diet.
A new study on more than 50,000 participants found that alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) can help reduce the likelihood of atrial fibrillation — but there’s a catch.
Consuming approximately 2.5 grams of ALA per day was associated with an 11 percent decreased risk of having A-Fib. However, two other details stood out, which will determine whether you need to supplement and how much fish oil you need.
Participants took up to 10 grams of ALA, but the researchers found no additional benefits in risk prevention above 2.8 grams per day.
Maybe more importantly, the benefits were only seen with people who didn’t appear to eat much fish.
There wasn’t any significant risk reduction for those who regularly ate fish and had higher levels of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA in their diet.
If you’re considering fish oil, answer the three questions below to determine if a supplement might help you.
How much fish do you eat?
If you eat fish two or three times per week, you likely don’t need to supplement with fish oil to support heart health. Each serving can be anywhere from 3 to 6 ounces or about the size of what fits in your palm.
If you are interested in other benefits — such as brain health — you might want to consume more.
One meta-analysis of seven studies and more than 30,000 participants found that eating about one pound of fatty fish per week (think salmon, herring, mackerel, and trout) was associated with a 24 percent lower risk of dementia.
Are you at high risk for heart disease?
A meta-analysis of 30 randomized studies and 77,990 patients shows that taking fish oil does not increase the risk of atrial fibrillation.
However, other studies show that consuming fish oil from supplements can increase the risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation compared to control if you’re at high risk for heart disease.
In other words, if you have heart disease in your family or have other risk factors, you should work with your doctor before taking any supplements (or focus on getting fish from your diet)
Are you taking an unsafe fish oil?
The elephant in the room is that many of these studies don’t control the quality of fish oil you use. In one study, the scientists pointed out that those who experience benefits use prescription or certified fish oil.
Research suggests that when you control for the quality of the product, fish oil appears to support heart health in those who don’t eat much fish, and there aren’t the same risks as over-the-counter, non-tested supplements.
And that’s because quality control with all supplements — especially fish oil — is a big problem.
In one study on fish oil, 32 supplements were analyzed, but only three contained the amount of EPA and DHA on the label. And two-thirds of the products had less than 67 percent of the claimed dose.
That’s why we only recommend purchasing NSF Certified For Sport or Informed Sport approved supplements, such as Momentous Omega-3 or working with your physician to get prescription fish oil. The certifications are expensive, so most brands don’t include them, but they are your best way to ensure quality and purity.
Fitness
Is Exercise Dangerous During Pregnancy?
Being pregnant doesn’t mean you have to lay off challenging workouts. Prioritizing resistance training might be one of the best things women can do for their bodies — and the health of the fetus.
The latest research suggests that intense weight training might improve overall health outcomes for mother and baby.
Scientists studied pregnant women who followed a heavy resistance training program. The workouts included exercises such as squats, deadlifts, and presses, performed with relatively high weights but under careful supervision. The researchers tracked various health outcomes, including maternal weight gain, blood pressure, fetal growth, delivery outcomes, and postpartum recovery.
The scientists found that those who did heavy weight training during pregnancy had:
Less postpartum depression and anxiety
Less likelihood preeclampsia
Lower rates of gestational hypertension
Lower rates of gestational diabetes
In fact, training up until pregnancy resulted in nearly 50 percent lower rates of pregnancy and delivery complications.
Women who engaged in resistance training during pregnancy also reported faster recovery times postpartum, with quicker returns to pre-pregnancy physical activity levels. They also experienced fewer complications related to postpartum weight retention and muscle weakness.
If you’re pregnant, it’s important to work closely with your physician to determine the best plan for a healthy childbirth.
On Our Radar
More Muscle Growth With Fewer Calories?
If you want to maximize muscle gain, you need to eat more calories than you burn. But, a new study might provide a new clue that could bend the rules to improve muscle building while eating less.
Researchers found that combining protein with extra essential amino acids can help increase muscle protein synthesis — even when eating fewer calories.
Normally, muscle protein synthesis decreases when calories are cut (as one might do when trying to lose fat). So, researchers set out to see if one could keep muscle protein synthesis high even with less energy.
In the study, participants drank a post-workout shake with whey protein and carbs while maintaining a caloric deficit. Then, they compared that drink to the same shake with either extra essential amino acids (EAAs) or added carbs.
The shake with added amino acids had an anabolic effect, meaning protein synthesis increased by 30 percent and muscle protein breakdown decreased (both good for muscle building).
Surprisingly, the levels were similar to what you would expect if you didn’t cut calories.
That said, it’s hard to say how much the extra EAAs affect total muscle growth. Other research has repeatedly found that the total protein you eat in a day determines muscle growth more than spiking protein synthesis after a workout. More studies are needed to compare the added EAAs while consuming different protein amounts and overall muscle growth to understand if this provides an advantage.
If you want to experiment with added EAAs to your post-workout meal, it’s relatively low-risk but will cost you extra money (EAAs are even more expensive than most protein powders). We still believe total protein matters most, but we’ll watch for any additional research.
—
Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
