Fish Oil and Fat Loss

Dr. Sears' Blog: Fish Oil and Fat Loss

I have often said, “It takes fat to burn fat”. As I describe in my book “Toxic Fat,” increased cellular inflammation in the fat cells turns them into “fat traps” (1). This means that fat cells become increasingly compromised in their ability to release stored fat for conversion into chemical energy needed to allow you to move around and survive. As a result, you get fatter, and you are constantly tired and hungry.

One of the best ways to reduce cellular inflammation in the fat cells is by increasing your intake of omega-3 fatty acids. This was demonstrated in a recent article that indicated supplementing a calorie-restricted diet with 1.5 grams of EPA and DHA per day resulted in more than two pounds of additional weight loss compared to the control group in a eight-week period (2).

How omega-3 fatty acids help to ”burn fat faster” is most likely related to their ability to reduce cellular inflammation in the fat cells (3,4) and to increase the levels of adiponectin (5). Both mechanisms will help relax a “fat trap” that has been activated by cellular inflammation.

However, there is a cautionary note. This is because omega-3 fatty acids are very prone to oxidation once they enter the body. This is especially true relative to the enhanced oxidation of the LDL particles (6-9).

This means that to get the full benefits any fish oil supplementation, you have to increase your intake of polyphenols to protect the omega-3 fatty acids from oxidation. How much? I recommend at least 8,000 additional ORAC units for every 2.5 grams of EPA and DHA that you add to your diet. That’s about 10 servings per day of fruits and vegetables, which should be no problem if you are following the Zone diet. If not, then consider taking a good polyphenol supplement.

Once you add both extra fish oil and polyphenols to a calorie-restricted diet, you will burn fat faster without any concern about increased oxidation in the body that can lead to accelerated aging.


  3. Huber J, Loffler M, Bilban M, Reimers M, Kadl A, Todoric J, Zeyda M, Geyeregger R, Schreiner M, Weichhart T, Leitinger N, Waldhausl W, and Stulnig TM. “Prevention of high-fat diet-induced adipose tissue remodeling in obese diabetic mice by n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.” Int J Obes 31: 1004-1013 (2007)
  4. Todoric J, Loffler M, Huber J, Bilban M, Reimers M, Kadl A, Zeyda M, Waldhausl W, and Stulnig TM. “Adipose tissue inflammation induced by high-fat diet in obese diabetic mice is prevented by n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.” Diabetologia 49: 2109-2119 (2006)
  5. Krebs JD, Browning LM, McLean NK, Rothwell JL, Mishra GD, Moore CS, and Jebb SA. “Additive benefits of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and weight-loss in the management of cardiovascular disease risk in overweight hyperinsulinaemic women.” Int J Obes 30: 1535-1544 (2006)
  6. Pedersen H, Petersen M, Major-Pedersen A, Jensen T, Nielsen NS, Lauridsen ST, and Marckmann P. “Influence of fish oil supplementation on in vivo and in vitro oxidation resistance of low-density lipoprotein in type 2 diabetes.” Eur J Clin Nutr 57: 713-720 (2003)
  7. Turini ME, Crozier GL, Donnet-Hughes A, and Richelle MA. “Short-term fish oil supplementation improved innate immunity, but increased ex vivo oxidation of LDL in man–a pilot study.” Eur J Nutr 40: 56-65 (2001)
  8. Stalenhoef AF, de Graaf J, Wittekoek ME, Bredie SJ, Demacker PN, and Kastelein JJ. “The effect of concentrated n-3 fatty acids versus gemfibrozil on plasma lipoproteins, low-density lipoprotein heterogeneity and oxidizability in patients with hypertriglyceridemia.” Atherosclerosis 153: 129-138 (2000)
  9. Finnegan YE. Minihane AM, Leigh-Firbank EC, Kew S, Meijer GW, Muggli R, Calder PC, and Williams CM. “Plant- and marine-derived n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids have differential effects on fasting and postprandial blood lipid concentrations and on the susceptibility of LDL to oxidative modification in moderately hyperlipidemic subjects.” Am J Clin Nutr 77: 783-795 (2003)


Tags: , , , ,

About Dr. Barry Sears



  1. Raymond

    I have several questions to ask Dr Barry Sears. Since I am not likely to check this particular page any time soon, i would appreciate it if he could send his answer to my e-mail address, which I posted above. Okay, here are my questions:

    1) Is there some kind of chart showing how much Omega 3’s and polyphenols we should take, based on our station in life? Just to give you my own example, i am a 54-year-old male who is 150 pounds overweight, am pre-diabetic with diabetes running in my family, I have heart arrythmia, and wear both a pacemaker and defibrillator in my chest. So how much omega 3’s and polyphenols should I be taking?

    2) What constitutes taking Omega 3’s? Is it the overall number mentioned on the bottle, or do I just count the EPA’s and DHA’s in it as part of my count?

    3) What about a case such as sardines, where there is a lot of omega 3’s, but also a lot of omega 6’s? Does that mean i should instead eat herring or salmon, since those two fishes have a lot of omega 3’s but not a lot of the omega 6’s?

    4) Barry Sears says to limit both one’s saturated fats, as well as omega 6’s, as well as the bad kind of carbs, which really is any carbs that are not salad vegetables and maybe a little bit fruit here and there. So basically, it is a diet of fish, salad vegetables, and nuts. But how can one then also have so much protein in their diet (30% of calories) and 40% of their calories come from carbs? To fulfill all that, an enormous amount of fish would have to be eaten, which can get quite expensive, and really an impossible amount of salad vegetables would be required, something like 10 pounds of it every single day.

  2. mike collier

    I cant find on the website if we take the o-mega fish oils , if they need to be calculated as part of our fat blocks.
    thank you.

    • Dr. Barry Sears

      3 grams of highly refined omega-3 fatty acids (like those found in OmegaRx) would be one fat block. That should contain about 1.8 grams of EPA and DHA.


Leave a Reply
