If you’re anything like me one of the many vitamins you ingest each day includes fish oil. Among the many reasons for taking a fish oil supplement has been its ability to help decrease your risk for heart attacks and strokes. Well all that has changed. According to scientists, who pooled evidence from 20 studies involving almost 70,000 patients, taking omega-3 fatty acids derived from fish oil had no significant effect on rates of heart attacks, strokes and heart-related deaths.
While omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (Pufas) are known to fight inflammation, one of the key processes that contribute to narrowing of the arteries, researchers conducting the new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed no evidence of risk reduction associated with omega-3. According to Dr Evangelos Rizos and her colleagues from the University Hospital of Ioannina, Greece:
“In conclusion, omega-3 Pufas are not statistically significantly associated with major cardiovascular outcomes across various patient populations. Our findings do not justify the use of omega-3 as a structured intervention in everyday clinical practice, or guidelines supporting dietary omega-3 Pufa administration.”
It should be noted that previous research have both supported and rejected the idea that fish oil supplements may protect the heart. With such conflicting information one has to wonder how this will affect people’s choices in using fish oil as part of their daily health routine.
Does this information change your decision to take fish oil supplements?
I eat enough fish that supplements are not necessary. I have a lot of friends who do take them, however, and this has them wondering.
@Rai: I’m a big fish eater too. I’ve never even heard a good reason for taking them
@Rai:
Maybe you should read into the bad effects of eating fish, not only on the health because of the toxic stuff that cummulates in the food chain, but also the bad effect it has on the ocean life.
Like that 70% of animals caught in a net are waste and are thrown back dead…from dolphins to turtles and birds and fish that are not the goal of the fishing fleet.
There is no scientific need to eat fish, especially not nowadays with the dire consequences to ocean life.
Fish also only contain omega3 fatty acids because algaes have been eaten by the prey animals of said fish..only plants-algaes produce omega3, not the fishes themselves.
Fish oil is also not beneficial in this case because it can not bind to the converter enzymes that turn omega6 into inflammation factors.
Normal omega3 from plants is fighting with omega6 to get to the converter enzymes, the more simple omega3 you eat the less omega6 can be turned into inflammation factors, the less chance you have to get muscle problems, and the heart is a big muscle.
If you really want to do your heart something good, skip the fish and eat more nuts, flax seeds(or oil) and some algaes like nori for the iodine.
If you use kombu in broths, a single tablespoon full of soup contains enough iodine for a day.
Flax oil contains double the ammount of omega3 that fish oil has.