Daily dose of 3 grams of krill oil makes bodybuilders gain more muscle
When bodybuilders take 3 grams of krill oil every day, gain build four times more muscle mass than bodybuilders who do not use supplements. American private researchers come to this conclusion in a human study... which has been sponsored by a producer of krill oil.
Study
The researchers had 18 male students, who had been working out for 3 years on average, follow an identical training schedule for 8 weeks. They gave half of the students 3 grams of krill oil every day, the other half received a placebo.
The researchers used a product from Avocare. Each amount of 3 grams of krill oil contained 1.3 grams of phospholipids, of which 963 milligrams consisted of omega-3 fatty acids (240 milligrams of DHA, 393 milligrams of EPA). Each 3 grams of krill oil also contained 0.54 milligram astaxanthin.
Avocare co-sponsored the research.
Results
The subjects who took krill oil built up 1.4 kg of lean body mass, the subjects in the placebo group 0.3 kg.
The krill oil users lost a bit more body fat than the placebo users, you see above. But that difference was not statistically significant.
The krill oil users also gained a bit more muscle power than the placebo users. But that difference was not statistically significant. On the first figure below you see the increase of the 1RM on the leg press. Below that you see the increase in the 1RM in bench presses.
Mechanism
When the researchers exposed muscle cells in test tubes to phosphatidylcholine from krill oilfor 20 minutes, the activity of the anabolic signal molecule mTOR increased. Phosphatidylcholine from soy had no effect.
Hmm.
Conclusion
"Krill oil activates mTOR signaling", the researchers summarize. "Krill oil supplementation in athletes is safe, and while no significant effects on [...] strength were observed, its effects on body composition in combination with resistance exercise deserves further research."
Avoca, the company that helped finance this research, has applied for a patent on the application of krill oil as an anabolic supplement. [PCT/US2016/048079]
Source:
J Nutr Metab. 2018 Apr 26;2018:7625981.
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