Kratom vs Omega-3 for pain & inflammation
Short answer: For pain & inflammation, users rate them about the same: 93% report improvement with Kratom (28 reports) and 91% with Omega-3 (82 reports).
Kratom has 18 meta-analyses and 5 randomized trials on PubMed; Omega-3 has 1,341 and 3,093.
Based on 421 reports about Kratom and 1,959 about Omega-3. Not medical advice.
| Kratom Substance | Omega-3 Supplement | |
|---|---|---|
| User score | 50 | 47 |
| Verdict | Mixed | Mostly positive |
| Positive of reports that state an outcome | 42% | 66% |
| Reports | 421 | 1,959 |
| Research | BResearch: Moderate | AResearch: Strong |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 18 / 5 | 1,341 / 3,093 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Weight loss % reporting improvement | 50% (2) | 100% (2) |
| Appetite % reporting improvement | 100% (3) | — |
| Focus % reporting improvement | 77% (31) | 82% (129) |
| Energy % reporting improvement | 78% (54) | 74% (42) |
| Sleep % reporting improvement | 71% (7) | 79% (24) |
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 86% (69) | 75% (69) |
| Mood % reporting improvement | 85% (97) | 82% (201) |
| Memory % reporting improvement | 0% (5) | 78% (50) |
| Performance % reporting improvement | 100% (3) | 88% (16) |
| Recovery % reporting improvement | — | 90% (20) |
| Pain & inflammation % reporting improvement | 93% (28) | 91% (82) |
| Digestion % reporting improvement | 33% (9) | 22% (9) |
| Libido % reporting improvement | 0% (12) | 71% (14) |
| Hormones % reporting improvement | 22% (9) | 100% (2) |
| Blood sugar % reporting improvement | — | 50% (2) |
| Heart & lipids % reporting improvement | — | 76% (58) |
| Skin & hair % reporting improvement | — | 89% (38) |
| Immunity % reporting improvement | — | 60% (10) |
| Longevity % reporting improvement | — | 86% (7) |
| Common side effects | withdrawal, dependence, addiction, tolerance | brain fog, anxiety, depression, fatigue |
| Typical dose reported | 4 g / 2x daily | sparingly |
Based on our analysis, patients using <20 g of kratom/d could be initiated on opioid agonist therapy with 4/1 mg-8/2 mg buprenorphine-naloxone/d, while patients using kratom doses >40 g/d could be initiated with 12/3 mg-16/4 mg of buprenorphine-naloxone/day.
J Addict Med, 2021 ↗“Green or white Kratom powder. My productivity and overall mood have skyrocketed. I dose 4 grams once per day and it’s worked wonders.”
For glycated hemoglobin, there was no significant effect in the meta-analysis. This systematic review with meta-analysis demonstrated that supplementation with omega-3 has protective effects on diabetes parameters.
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2022 ↗“I do supplement a lot of fish oil and vitamin A as retinyl palmitate though. It has really helped my depression, anxiety and ADHD and has enabled me to stop using more serious psychiatric drugs for those things.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate