Chris McGlory, PhD, on the Anabolic Potential of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Dr. Chris McGlory is an assistant professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Known for his work in the field of muscle physiology and aging, Dr. McGlory’s research focuses on elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying muscle protein synthesis and degradation, with a particular emphasis on the roles that omega-3 fatty acids play in maintaining muscle health in older adults. EPISODE LINKS: Show notes and transcript: Chris McGlory - Google Scholar: PODCAST INFO: Email: Apple Podcasts: Spotify: RSS: CHAPTERS: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:07:18 - Interview start 00:14:31 - Why atrophy is worse for the old than the young 00:16:50 - Can dietary protein prevent atrophy? 00:19:03 - Why reduced movement can insidiously mimic short-term immobilization 00:24:19 - The disability threshold — when atrophy may actually be deadly 00:26:26 - Does high-dose omega-3 hold the key to fighting atrophy? (5g/day) 00:29:47 - Increasing the muscle protein synthetic response with omega-3 00:30:02 - Does omega-3 improve our response to low protein? 00:32:47 - The potential role of LAT1 upregulation in atrophy resistance 00:36:58 - Who benefits most from the anti-catabolic effects of omega-3? 00:43:04 - Why omega-3 must be preloaded for 4 to 6 weeks 00:45:48 - Why omega-3 trials have conflicting results 00:49:15 - Why muscle mass and strength are imperfectly correlated 00:51:44 - Does omega-3 enhance strength? 00:54:10 - Sex differences in gaining mass and strength 00:56:14 - Improvements in gait speed and balance 00:57:17 - How to act on mixed evidence — and should we? 00:59:45 - Why omega-3 may reduce frailty in old age 01:01:16 - Does high-dose omega-3 enhance anabolic potential? 01:03:27 - Why the anabolic mechanisms are counterintuitive 01:04:56 - Are the drivers of disuse atrophy intracellular or extracellular in nature? 01:09:09 - Do omega-3s boost tired, dysfunctional mitochondria? 01:12:35 - Increasing metabolic rate by up to 27% — an effect of 3g/day omega-3 supplementation? 01:15:39 - Omega-3 dosage (optimal vs. normal dietary intake) 01:16:44 - Why we need an “omega-3 index“ for muscle 01:18:26 - Anabolic signaling pathways — Does omega-3 enhance mTOR in muscle? 01:20:20 - Why the inflammation from cancer wastes muscle 01:21:48 - Cancer cachexia 01:22:06 - Does omega-3 reduce atrophy from cancer cachexia? 01:23:38 - Ongoing clinical trials 01:27:04 - Does aerobic exercise impede “gains?“ (chronic interference effect) 01:29:07 - Why aerobic exercise may enhance hypertrophy from resistance exercise SOCIALS: Twitter: Instagram: Facebook: Premium subscribers of FoundMyFitness get access to a Google Presentation for the graphics in videos, earlier access, a two-times-per-month science news digest and commentary, and some kind of live online event usually every month. Learn more at: