Severe COVID-19 Linked to Widespread Depletion of Omega-3 Reserves Throughout the Body
This study measured the actual amount of omega-3 and omega-6 fats stored in nine different body tissues—including fat, brain, heart, lungs, liver, and muscle—comparing people who died from severe COVID-19 pneumonia to people who died suddenly from other causes (controls).
In healthy controls, fat tissue and brain tissue held the highest omega-3 concentrations, confirming these as major storage sites. In the COVID-19 group, researchers found a consistent, whole-body pattern of omega-3 depletion, driven mainly by lower EPA and DPA levels across organs. Interestingly, DHA was often preserved or even relatively higher, especially in the brain, fat tissue, and spleen, suggesting the body may prioritize protecting DHA levels during severe illness.
The imbalance was most pronounced in fat tissue, where the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 was over three times higher in the COVID-19 group, and total omega-3 content was much lower. Similar shifts toward a more inflammatory omega-6-dominant profile appeared in heart tissue, while lung tissue showed sharp EPA depletion. Overall, estimated whole-body omega-3 reserves were roughly half as large in the COVID-19 group compared to controls.
What this means for you
This research suggests that during severe systemic illness, the body’s stored omega-3 reserves—especially EPA and DPA—can become significantly depleted across multiple organs, potentially limiting the raw material needed for the body’s natural inflammation-resolving processes. It’s an observational autopsy study, not a treatment trial, so it doesn’t show that supplementing omega-3s changes outcomes, but it highlights why maintaining adequate omega-3 status may be a relevant factor to understand during major physiological stress.
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Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) · 2026-09-02 · DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2026.106777
Read the original source ↗This summary is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always talk to your healthcare provider before making changes to your supplement routine.