Could the herbs and nutritional supplements you take every day to stay healthy actually make it easier for your body to fall prey to colds and flu? A June 2009 study published in The Journal of Nutrition says, "Yes." And that’s especially true if the supplement you’re taking is an anti-inflammatory supplement like fish oil.
How in the world could taking fish oil make you sick? Well, the answer lies in how fish oil works in the body. Fish oil capsules, like the fish from which they are made, are rich natural sources of a group of chemical compounds known as polyunsaturated fatty acids, or PUFAs. For some time now, scientists have recognized these fatty acids for their ability to reduce inflammation. It is this effect, of course, that makes PUFAs so effective at reducing the discomfort associated with some forms of arthritis.
This anti-inflammataory effect is also the reason some essential fatty acids–especially the omega-3 fatty acids–are thought to reduce the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s and even some types of cancer.
But inflammation is also a first-line response to acute infections like the viruses that cause colds and flu. And when researchers set out to see if the use of fish oil could reduce the body’s natural response to invading germs they found that, indeed, it did.
In this study, laboratory rats were divided into two groups and given one of two diets. One dietary plan included a standard corn-based feed. The other used the same corn-based food with added fish oil. At the end of two weeks, all the animals were exposed to a strain of the influenza known as Puerto Rico flu.
While animals in the fish oil group showed less inflammation in their lungs, they also had a 40% greater risk of dying from the infection. Additionally, they had a 70% increase in their viral load when the viral load was measured in the lungs. Finally, the fish-fed rats also had fewer "T" cells than their plain-food counterparts.
Does this mean you should avoid fish oil capsules altogether? Researchers aren’t suggesting that you go through your medicine cabinet and begin tossing potentially healthy (and expensive) anti-inflammatory supplements. But if you’re concerned about this, or believe you might be in a high-risk category for flu, this just might be worth talking over with your physician before the next cold and flu season rolls around.
