Volleyball Nutrition – Fish Oil

Volleyball Nutrition, the best anti-inflammatory medicine

Today for my volleyball nutrition review, I’m analyzing Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega fish oil.  Hi, I’m Russ Marchewka, the health and wellness guy in the volleyball community.  I’ve played professional beach volleyball in the US for 4 years now.  I eat a “mostly vegan” diet.  Basically, I am vegan with the exception of supplementing with fish oil.  I’ve spent the last few years perfecting my nutrition and supplementation for optimal results on and off the court.

Volleyball Nutrition, why Fish Oil?

Before you consider a brand of fish oil to buy, you first need to consider why to take it.  Why would a vegan like myself who doesn’t consume any products from animals take fish oil?  Fish oil contains 2 very important nutrients, the essential fatty acids DHA and EPA.

You’ll be hearing the term “Omega 3’s” a lot from now on.  There is enough science to convince an overwhelming majority of food marketers that Omega 3’s are important.  There is a 3rd major essential fatty acid ALA.  ALA is present in a lot of plants, and the animals (including humans) that eat these plants then convert ALA at a very low rate to DHA and EPA.  Eat a relatively healthy diet and you’ll get plenty of ALA.  However, we aren’t very good at converting ALA to DHA and EPA so often we are very deficient in these two.

Why are DHA and EPA so important?  DHA makes us 60% of our brain.  Additionally, it helps line every cell in our body for greater elasticity which helps us absorb nutrients better.  EPA is very important in the anti-inflammatory response around our body.  When it comes to normal wear and tear on our body and also injuries, there is no more important nutrient for helping to heal quicker and keep inflammation to a minimum.

To answer the first question more directly, fish oil is the only reliable source to get the optimal amount of DHA and EPA fatty acids for better health and better athletic performance.  Doctors recommend 500 mg per day for the average person.  As athletes, we know that the doctor recommended amounts just don’t cut it.  As a 195 pound male professional athlete, I’ve found 3-5 grams of fish oil a day to be my optimal target.  The Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega can deliver that with about 6 capsules per day.

For someone who has never taken fish oil before, you may see results right away with less fish oil.  Of course if you’re smaller than me, you may not need as much.

Volleyball Nutrition, Why Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega?

Top 3 reasons to choose Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega

• The health benefits and performance edge
• gives you more DHA and EPA for your money
• Safest source for fish oil in the industry

Volleyball Nutrition: What are the actual benefits to you

Often you may hear that fish oil is good for you, but what actually are the benefits if you’re playing volleyball or any other sport?  You have trillions of cells in your body, tens of trillions actually.  Picture each cell as its own living, breathing organism.  They all work together to form your body and perform for you.  Well each cell uses DHA and EPA fatty acids.  However, the average diet does not contain the optimal amount of essential fatty acids.

So basically what you have are trillions of cells that are malnourished!  Think you can be at your best when you have trillions of cells that can’t give you 100%?  Yea, me neither.  In fact, you’ll notice when you start taking fish oil that your hair and nails grow faster, cuts heal faster and your skin is healthier.  This is because when you start giving your body a more consistent supply of DHA and EPA you’ll turn your cells over quicker.  Your body is literally making new, healthier cells to replace the old, underperforming ones.

Since EPA is so important for tissue repair, think of the benefits associated with volleyball.  Having more EPA means that you will have less joint soreness, your muscles will repair more efficiently and you’ll recover from injuries much quicker.  Fish oil has actually been shown to be a better anti-inflammatory than ibuprofen or the other NSAID drugs.  So you actually get better results by taking something that is not a drug and has no harmful side effects.  The DHA is so good for your brain and eyes too.  Maybe you’ll even be thinking quicker and seeing things more clearly too.

Volleyball Nutrition, how Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega can save you money

The Ultimate Omega formula is basically a fish oil concentrate.  What they do is take the fish oil and then they spin it around really fast in a controlled environment.  This separates different parts of the fish oil.  What they do is extract the DHA and EPA so that you get more of these valuable nutrients for your money.  Since DHA and EPA are the primary reason you’re taking fish oil, getting more of it is what you want.

Other fish oils may be less expensive, but since you’re getting way less DHA and EPA, are you really saving money?  Look and compare labels and you’ll fell confident and satisfied in your purchase of Nordic Naturals.  Think of it like this: You’re buying a bottle of water because you’re thirsty.  On the shelf you have a premium bottle of filtered and purified spring water, fresh from the earth selling for $2.  Right next to it, there is the same size bottle of tap water selling for $1 but it’s only 1/2 full.  Which is the better value?  The same goes for fish oil.  It’s not the price, it’s what you get for it that matters.

Volleyball Nutrition, pure fish oils can promote a better physical state

Not all fish oils are created the same.  Imagine eating a piece of fish.  Would you rather that fish be fresh caught an hour ago, or last week and left sitting out the whole time?  Yea, rancid fish is gross.  That smell comes from the fats in the fish exposed to oxygen.  Oxygen reacts with the fats and makes it smell and go bad.  The same is true of fish oil.  That’s why many people are averse to taking fish oil because they think it tastes fishy or rancid.

Nordic Naturals processes and purifies their fish oils in a nitrogen environment, so the oil doesn’t go rancid because there is no oxygen to react with.  So the same way a fresh piece of fish still tastes like fish, but in a good way, fresh fish oils still smell like they came from a fish, but in a good way.  Take it in capsule form and you probably won’t taste it at all.

Nordic Naturals also has a patented process that removes almost all detectable heavy metals like mercury and toxins like arsenic and PCBs from the fish oil.  Other brands don’t even come close to the quality standards that Nordic Naturals has achieved.  Plus they only fish species that are not endangered and have sustainable populations.

In conclusion, Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega fish oil will give you high amounts of DHA and EPA fatty acids.  These promote better overall health and better physical state which can help your volleyball performance.  At the same time you actually save money buying the concentrated form and by not needing the anti-inflammatory drugs.  All this and the piece of mind that you aren’t putting harmful metals and toxins into your body.  It’s a win/win.  It comes in bottles of 60, 120, and 180 capsules.

For more information on purchasing Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega visit Vbvolleyball.com, Online Volleyball Store or for more information on Volleyball Nutrition.