In a recent workshop dubbed “Nutritional Armor for the Warfighter: Can Omega 3 Fatty Acids Enhance Stress Resilience, Wellness and Military Performance?” the National Institutes of Health and key members of the Department of Defense explored the science behind using EPA and DHA omega 3 fatty acid supplementation as “nutritional armor” against the high rate of depression, suicide, physical/mental stress and surgical complications affecting U.S. military personnel.

“The military is concerned with the rising healthcare costs of active duty personnel, and omega 3s have been shown to have an impact in four of the top five areas soldiers are treated for, including depression and PTSD, pregnancy, surgical complications, etc. So NIH was trying to explore what impact omega 3s could have in helping the military provide better care and preventing hospitalizations,” commented Adam Ismail, executive director of the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega 3s (GOED), which is based in Salt Lake City, UT.

The workshop was well-attended and included a former U.S. Surgeon General, the Brigadier General in charge of Soldier Fitness for the Army, the Lt. Colonel in charge of food distribution in the Marine Corps, the Chief Dietitian for the Army, the head Nutritionist for the Navy SEALs, and many of the world’s leading omega 3 scientists.

Though soldiers use supplements by the “handful” for performance and/or weight loss benefits, Mr. Ismail reported that the workshop panel’s overall opinions about dietary supplements were mixed. “The former Surgeon General is a major advocate of omega 3s and said the science behind omega 3s is the most compelling of any nutrient,” he said. “The U.S. military has a high opinion of omega 3s, but a very low opinion of the dietary supplement industry in general. There was also unanimous agreement among key figures in the military nutrition world that more EPA and DHA is needed in the military diet, though the exact amount is still unclear.”

A major roadblock for green lighting omega 3 supplementation in the military related to the need for more research. “There are still some constraints to getting action on this point though, and recommended intakes for the military are not imminent,” said Mr. Ismail. “First, while the evidence presented was compelling, Brigadier General Cornum, who oversees the fitness of the U.S. Army, said she would like to see more randomized controlled trials, particularly in areas of brain health and performance improvements.”

Also discussed was the issue of how to disseminate the supplements effectively to all of the troops. While the most logical idea would be to include the supplements in ready‐to‐eat meal packets, there is a command directive that prohibits the military from providing any pharmaceutical or supplement pill via the food supply chain. There was near unanimous agreement that this directive needed to be removed.

Regarding the reputation of supplements, there was a unanimous endorsement about the importance of EPA and DHA supplements, however, the supplement industry in general was seen as problematic for the military. “Many of the workshop participants were military physicians and dieticians that had treated soldiers who had abused performance‐enhancing supplements,” said Mr. Ismail. “GNC was frequently mentioned as being particularly harmful to the military because they are found on nearly every military base, including forward operating bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, and GNC staff are known for dispensing health advice that results in soldiers taking ‘handfuls’ of harmful supplements.

“This criticism even included calls to ban GNC from military bases,” he continued. “In suggesting that the command directive be removed, it was generally thought that the military would have more control over supplement usage.”

The cost‐benefit of increasing the military’s omega 3 intake was also fuzzy. “I presented rough data on the costs of various methods for incorporating omega 3s into the military food supply chain, but it is still unclear how much the military’s healthcare expenditures can be reduced,” commented Mr. Ismail. “General Cornum and others noted that while the science is compelling, the economic arguments are the ones that will instigate change.”

Part of a Broader Plan

The omega 3 workshop preceded a new menu labeling system implemented by the Army, called Go For Green, which was designed to encourage healthy eating by rating the healthiness of foods based on how they impact the diner’s physical performance. Green labels signify high-nutrient foods that are lower in fat and calories; yellow labels signify higher calorie foods that are lower in vitamins and minerals than green foods; and red labels signify the highest fat and calorie items that are considered to be “performance limiting food.” Go For Green is slated to be fully rolled out to Army dining facilities worldwide by next year.

In an interview with the European edition of Stars and Stripes, Lt. Col. Dianne Helinski, nutrition adviser for the Army Food Program at Fort Lee, VA, said, “We want portions to be lean. We want the fats to be more omega 3, which are the healthy fats, and we want them to be unsaturated which means steering patrons away from animal fats.”

She went on to explain that omega 3 fats have been shown to have many health benefits. “These are things that are of interest to the Army right now. Americans aren’t getting enough omega 3s. We are trying to figure out how to boost omega 3s in the Army food system,” she said.

Looking Ahead

At the close of the omega 3 workshop, Mr. Ismail said he was encouraged that key military figures recognized the importance of omega 3s but conceded that there is “still a long way to go” before dietary supplements—omega 3 in particular—becomes standard issue for members of the military.

“A panel of key players with influence over the military diet agreed unanimously that EPA/DHA intakes needed to increase in the military. While nobody was certain how much EPA/DHA was needed, multiple people said that something was better than nothing,” he said. “However, many of the dieticians and nutritionists that were in attendance at the conference are already trying to increase omega 3 intake by educating soldiers.

“I view this as a critical opportunity for the dietary supplement industry to improve its reputation with key leaders within the military,” he concluded. “It is also an opportunity for the industry to change its promotional practices toward the captive audience military personnel provide.”