Not all dietary supplements have been shown to be effective. Some are even pinned by doctors because of their potentially deleterious impact, such as those packed with beta-carotene that elevate the risk of lung cancer in smokers.

But others seem to be serious allies. Fish oil capsules belong to this very exclusive club of food supplements whose benefits are now clearly demonstrated. In addition to their protective effects on the heart and brain, they are useful for countering the damage of junk food.

A shield against diabetes

Brazilian researchers, from the University of Sao Paulo, imposed for 4 weeks on mice a high calorie diet, ultra rich in bad fats, including saturated fatty acids. Half of the rodents also received fish oil supplementation. The others have been deprived of it.

As a result of their experience, published in the Journal of Physiology : the animals of the first group did not gain weight or develop signs of pre-diabetes (insulin resistance), unlike their second group. Their cholesterol level also remained stable, while that of unsupplemented mice skyrocketed.

A weight loss of 15 to 25%

How to explain this phenomenon ? Fish-specific fatty acids activate receptors in the gut. These then trigger chain reactions that reshape adipose tissue. As Japanese biologists showed last December, storage cells (white fat) are transformed into combustion cells (brown fat).

Instead of continuing to store fat, they empty their reserves to help maintain our internal temperature around 37 ° C. As a result, they no longer induce unsightly bulges. According to Teruo Kawada, author of the study, our scale could thus display 15% to 25% less weight!