Fish oil may have a surprising role in the fight against insulin resistance, especially in a form of type 2 diabetes that is often overlooked. A Brazilian study published in Nutrients found that omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil reduced glucose intolerance and weakened insulin resistance in rats that were not obese but showed a diabetes-like metabolic condition.
The work was funded by FAPESP and focused on Goto-Kakizaki rats, a well established animal model used to study non-obese type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is marked by high blood sugar that occurs when insulin, the hormone that helps move glucose from the blood into cells, does not work effectively.
Fish Oil and Insulin Resistance
Omega-3 supplements, including fish oil, are often used by people with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. However, scientists still know much less about how these fatty acids affect insulin resistance when obesity is not involved.
That question matters because obesity is one of the strongest risk factors for type 2 diabetes, but it is not the whole story. An estimated 10% to 20% of people with type 2 diabetes worldwide are not obese. For these patients, the biological roots of insulin resistance may differ from the better known obesity-linked pathways.
