A combination of antioxidants and essential fatty acids may be an effective treatment for the inflammation in injuries commonly like ‘tennis elbow’ and ‘golf elbow’. A physiotherapist with Denmark’s Olympic Committee recently conducted a study in order to document the anti-inflammatory properties of this new treatment, which was tested for the first time in 1996 on a group of rowers from Denmark’s National Rowing Team.

Antioxidants neutralize the free radicals. This limits their destructive impact, which is why athletes must make sure to get adequate amounts of antioxidants to protect themselves against stress injuries. Essential fatty acids are important since they support the body’s production of beneficial type 1 and type 3 prostaglandins, those which counteract pain and inflammation.

If you suffer from an inflammatory disease like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the type of fat in the diet can alter the immune system’s inflammatory response. According to research done by Dr Richard Sperling of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, fish oil may reduce inflammatory substances produced by white blood cells.

The intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs—like fish oil) in many industrialized countries is relatively low and its increased consumption has protective and modifying effects on such diverse conditions as atherosclerosis, ventricular arrhythmias, multiple sclerosis, major depression and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. In addition, n-3 PUFAs have been shown to alleviate pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and in a number of other painful conditions.