Effects of exercise and n-3 fatty acids on postprandial lipemia.

Because n-3 fatty acid ingestion and aerobic exercise each has been associated with diminished postprandial lipemia (PPL), the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a combination of these two factors on PPL. Sedentary men underwent a standard dietary preparation, including a 12-h fast before each trial. Six subjects performed a control trial (fat meal, 100 g fat) and an n-3 fatty acid trial (fat meal after 3 wk of n-3 fatty acid supplementation at 4 g/day). In a parallel experiment, six different subjects underwent a control trial and n-3 fatty acid supplementation + 60 min of exercise before ingestion of the fat meal. Supplementation with n-3 fatty acid significantly decreased baseline triglyceride (TG) concentrations but did not significantly affect PPL. The combination of n-3 fatty acid and exercise had no effect on the postprandial TG response. The present study suggests that n-3 fatty acid supplementation lowers resting TG concentrations but inhibits the beneficial effect of aerobic exercise on the postprandial TG response.