How Fish Oil & Omega-3s Can Help Reduce Headaches | Dr. Andrew Huberman

The pain relieving effect , analgesic means pain relieving effect of omega three fatty acids in what had been a , a randomized control trial . And in that previous paper , what they found was that diets high in omega threes and low in omega sixes . Ok .

How Fish Oil & Omega-3s Can Help Reduce Headaches | Dr. Andrew Huberman

So high three , low six . And as compared to diets that were just reduced , Omega sixes , they found a greater analgesic effect of increasing Omega threes while also reducing Omega six fatty acids . So , in the context of the seed oil discussion , although keeping in mind that Omega sixes can come from other sources as well .

How Fish Oil & Omega-3s Can Help Reduce Headaches | Dr. Andrew Huberman

However , it does seem to be the case that many people are consuming far too many seed oils and in doing so , are consuming far too many calories and perhaps are consuming too much of the omega six fatty acids relative to the omega three fatty acids . Now , with that said , I think there is general agreement among nutritionists and health professionals that we could all stand to get more Omega three fatty acids perhaps for cardiovascular health . Although that's a little bit debated , but certainly for immune system function , for mood and for functioning of the brain and for the potent anti inflammatory effects of omega three .

How Fish Oil & Omega-3s Can Help Reduce Headaches | Dr. Andrew Huberman

The basic takeaway that they're relying on marching into the study is that increasing omega threes and reducing omega sixes seems to be beneficial for reducing pain . And indeed , in this study , they find something quite similar , which is that when you hold caloric intake constant and when you look at omega sixes , whether or not you decrease omega six fatty acids or not , you find is that increasing Omega three fatty acids in the diet . So , either consumed through food sources or by supplementation was associated with a lower prevalence of severe headache or migraine .

How Fish Oil & Omega-3s Can Help Reduce Headaches | Dr. Andrew Huberman

They certainly looked at uh race and ethnicity , they looked at uh educational background , they looked at body mass , total energy intake , which is really important . If you think about it , people are going to be eating and within the things that they eat , they're going to be consuming some Omega threes , hopefully , as well as some Omega Sixes . And if they're eating far more , then they're going to get far more of likely going to get far more of both of those things than they would ordinarily if they were eating smaller amounts .