Research summary · Nutrition and hydration
Gaelic football survey separates reported omega-3 intake from measured status
Seventy-six players from nine intercounty teams completed a dietary questionnaire; twenty also supplied dried blood spots for an omega-3 index measurement. The study examined intake, supplement use and practical barriers to fish consumption.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Cross-sectional dietary and biomarker study
- Journal
- Nutrients
- Population / context
- Men's Gaelic football · Intercounty competition
What the publication reports
Supplement users were more likely to meet the intake benchmark used by the researchers. The blood-tested subgroup had a mean omega-3 index of 6.06%, but reported intake was not significantly correlated with that index. Taste preferences, cooking skills and limited knowledge were common reported barriers to fish consumption.
Limits and interpretation
Self-reported diet, cross-sectional sampling and only twenty biomarker observations limit interpretation. The study cannot show that supplements improve performance or recovery. A cardiovascular-derived index threshold should not be treated as a validated athletic-performance target or an individual diagnosis.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
Dietary Omega-3 Intake, Supplement Use and Omega-3 Status in Elite (Tier 3) Male Gaelic Football Players: A Cross-Sectional Study
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 42884712DOI: 10.3390/nu18193261Full text at the sourceReader discussion
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