Dr. Squat - Dr. Fred Hatfield

I was reading a book the other day titled "Nutrition and the Strength Athlete:edited by Catherine G. Ratzin Jackson" and I came across this section,
Lately I was chronically overtrained, I was using fish oil and on a low carb diet (both turned out to be suppressive to the immune system)
It was ok for the summer and fall but as the weather got colder I became very susceptible to cold and flu and had them 3-4 times in 2 months and had to take antibiotics, strangely none of the articles I read mentioning fish oil supplementation said anything about this side effect, so here it goes

Fatty acid supplementation has also grown in popularity. Fish oils are often
used as a polyunsaturated fatty acid supplement for the protective effect they
may provide for some aspects of cardiovascular disease. What is the impact
of polyunsaturated fatty acid intake on immune function? Unfortunately, it
appears that what is beneficial to the heart may be detrimental to immunity.
Individuals consuming a normal or low-fat diet who supplement with polyunsaturated
fatty acids experience a wide distribution of immunosuppression.
Lymphocyte cytokine production and proliferation are reduced
(41,42)
as is
the DTH response.
(37)
Additionally, there is an increased percentage of T
suppressor
cells, the downregulating cells of the immune system.
(41)
The phages are also
compromised as monocyte/macrophage eicosanoid (inflammatory agents)
and cytokine production are reduced, as is neutrophil phagocytosis.
(37,41-43)
The
macrophage interaction with specific immunity is also inhibited as their antigen-
presenting capability declines.
(44)
This all adds up to a reduced defense
against invading pathogens. However, there is an up side to this downregulation
of the immune system with polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation;
it lessens the severity of autoimmune diseases, inflammation, and
transplant rejection while improving transplant function.
(41,45)

Here are the references

37. Beisel, W. R., Edelman, R., Nauss, K., and Suskind, R. M., Single-nutrient effects
on immunologic functions, JAMA, 245, 53, 1981.
41. Meydani, S. N., Lichtenstein, A. H., Cornwall, S., Meydani, M., Goldin, B. R.,
Rasmussen, H., Dinarello, C., and Schaefer, E. J., Immunologic effects of national
cholesterol education panel step-2 diets with and without fish-derived
n-3 fatty acid enrichment, J. Clin. Invest., 92, 105, 1993.
42. Meydani, S. N., Endres, S., Woods, M. M., Goldin, B. R., Soo, C., Morrill-
Labrode, A., Dinarello, C. A., and Gorbach, S. L., Oral (n-3) fatty acid supplementation
suppresses cytokine production and lymphocyte proliferation: comparison
between young and older women, J. Nutr., 121, 547, 1991.
43. Calder, P. C., Effects of fatty acids and dietary lipids on cells of the immune
system, Proc. Nutr. Soc., 55, 127, 1996.
44. Hughes, D. A., Pinder, A. C., Piper, Z., Johnson, I. T., and Lund, E. K., Fish oil
supplementation inhibits the expression of major histocompatibility complex
class II molecules and adhesion molecules on human monocytes, Am. J. Clin.
Nutr., 63, 267, 1996.
45. Calder, P. C., Dietary fatty acids and the immune system, Nutr. Rev., 56,
S70, 1998.