The Latest on Fish Oil

Fish Oil pillsSomething smells fishy when it comes to fish oil. It’s useless! A number of recent high quality studies have shown no benefit to fish oil.

According to the latest study from a medical school in England, there’s “good evidence that taking long-chain omega 3 (fish oil, EPA or DHA) supplements does not benefit heart health or reduce our risk of stroke or death from any cause.“

Another study, published in March 2018 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed no benefit for fish oil on heart disease, stroke or any cause of death. A 2014 research letter in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, pointed out that in numerous randomized controlled studies, fish oil results in no reductions in fatal or nonfatal heart attacks and even cancer.

And it’s not a matter of how much you take. According to a 2012 study in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, fish oil causes no reduction of “heart attacks, sudden death, angina, heart failures, strokes or death, no matter what dose of fish oil used.”

Unfortunately, many people continue to believe that fish oil will benefit them, based on the original endorsement of the American Heart Association back in 2002. All kinds of justification is given. One of the most common is that Eskimos, who eat a lot of fish, suffer from less heart disease.  The Canadian Journal of Cardiology calls that notion “wishful thinking”. It turns out that Eskimos don’t have any lower incidence of heart attacks than we do.

It’s time to leave the false premise of the benefits of fish oil at the bottom of the sea where it belongs!

See our previous articles on fish oil, the lack of benefits of fish for health, a world without fish, fish have feelings, and slavery in the fishing industry.