I bought some and started taking it and my 1:1 bullet chess ELO jumped from 850 to ~1070 over the next couple weeks.

I play chess a bit like sushi ginger for the mind - purge working memory with a short intense task to context switch. I intentionally don't study openings or anything so I can use it as a benchmark for mental horsepower with a reasonably slow drift in the baseline from 'actually learning chess'.

My friend says this effect is way too big to actually attribute to the vitamins and it has to be placebo etc but I'm thoroughly enjoying the idea that omega-3 Nick would win 3/4 bullet matches against deficient Nick.

https://www.chess.com/member/nickparkerprint/stats/bullet?da...

Omega-3 and fish oil stories always attract a lot of impossibly positive claims, but real-world studies are rarely as good as the anecdotes.

I would also caution people that fish oil isn't entirely benign to supplement with, despite common wisdom suggesting it's risk-free. Fish oil supplements can induce depressive-like symptoms in some people and high dose fish oil is a known trigger for mania in certain people with mood disorders. You can find countless puzzled posts from people wondering why fish oil is making them feel bad: https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Areddit.com+fish+oil+m...

These outcomes are unlikely, but watch for them. It's really sad when someone is taking high dose fish oil because they're desperate for depression relief and all of the influencers say it's good for depression, then months later they run out of pills for a few days and are surprised that they feel better.

Before I get accused of exaggerating anecdotes, there are also randomized clinical trials with an order of magnitude more patients than this study that show a slight increase in depression, opposite of the expected reduction in mood disorders: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2787320

I was unable to access the OP's source, but I do want to point out there are several ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids with different nutrient characteristics. Thanks be to Chat G for banging this out, but I like many people have had this drilled in.

ALA (α-linolenic acid, 18:3 n-3) is an essential fatty acid. It's nutritional role is primarily as a precursor to the other ω-3 PUFAs, humans can elongate and desaturate ALA into longer-chain ω-3s (EPA, DPA, DHA), but the conversion efficiency is very limited (<5% to EPA, <1% to DHA for most people). ALA cannot be converted from EPA, DHA, or DPA. Sources are primarily plant oils (flaxseed, chia, walnuts, canola, soy). If this is your only source of ω-3 PUFAs, you're unhealthy.

EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid, 20:5 n-3) is (conditionally) essential. Its role is anti-inflammatory, a precursor for resolvins, cardiovascular protection, eye and brain signaling, and a precursor to DHA synthesis in limited amounts. Sources are marine foods (fatty fish: salmon, mackerel, sardines, anchovies).

DHA (docosahexaenoic acid, 22:6 n-3) is (conditionally) essential. Its role is as a major structural lipid in the retina, brain, and neural tissues, visual function, cognitive development, and neuronal membranes. Sources are marine foods (same as EPA) plus algae oils.

DPA (docosapentaenoic acid, 22:5 n-3) is an intermediate between EPA and DHA. Don't know. Sources are fish and red meat (esp. grass-fed ruminants).

In practice EPA, DHA, and DPA conversion from ALA is too inefficient, so direct dietary sources (fish, seafood, algal oil) are the meaningful way humans obtain enough EPA/DHA. That's why nutrition guidelines (WHO, FAO, NIH, EFSA) often treat EPA + DHA as conditionally essential, especially for infants (where DHA is critical for retina and brain development) and for populations with low fish intake.

Eat fish. As always, a balanced and diverse diet is a key requirement for health. For those who don't know, sardines are less fishy than tuna (hardly at all IMO), cheap, widely accessible, and pretty sure they have low mercury risk.

https://fs.blog/knowledge-project-podcast/dr-rhonda-patrick/

They find that one of the nutrient factors studied is positively correlated with improved vision at p=0.01. https://xkcd.com/882/

IPL and RF treatments eventually helped, though.

Wonder if this is related.

Vitamin D, Omega 3, and possibly Magnesium and Creatine.

So I stopped taking a daily multivitamin and I just take modest doeses of these 4 supplemements every day.

Omega-3 fats seem to protect against myopia, while saturated fats seem to increase the risk. Other nutrients didn’t show clear effects.

Foods rich in omega-3 (protective foods) • Fatty fish: salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna, herring, anchovies • Seafood: oysters, mussels • Plant sources: flaxseeds, chia seeds, walnuts, hemp seeds • Oils: flaxseed oil, canola oil, soybean oil • Fortified foods: some eggs, dairy, or juices enriched with omega-3

Foods high in saturated fats (risk foods) • Fatty meats: beef, lamb, pork, processed meats (sausages, bacon) • Dairy: butter, cheese, cream, whole milk, ice cream • Baked goods: pastries, cookies, cakes made with butter or shortening • Fast foods: fried chicken, burgers, pizza • Coconut and palm oil products (though plant-based, they’re high in saturated fats)

So the takeaway is: More fish, nuts, and seeds may help protect children’s eyes, while too many fatty meats, butter, and fried foods may raise the risk of myopia.