Why fish oil supplements are basically worthless: study

[Kamaji]

Why fish oil supplements are basically worthless:  study

By Marc Lallanilla
Published Oct. 2, 2023

There’s something fishy about fish oil.

The wildly popular supplement — which is on track to reach an estimated $2.4 billion in worldwide sales by 2030 — might not provide any health benefit, according to scientists.

But that hasn’t stopped manufacturers from making outrageous claims on the packaging for fish oil supplements.

A recent study from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, found the labels on fish oil supplements make health claims that are completely unsubstantiated by any research.

“Based on what I’ve seen personally in the grocery store and pharmacy, I was not surprised to find such high rates of health claims on fish oil supplements,” study co-author Joanna Assadourian told Medscape Cardiology.

“What was surprising, though, was just how broad the types of claims being made were ― from heart and brain health to joint health, eye health and immune function,” Assadourian added.

There are two types of health claims made on supplement packages: A qualified health claim mentions a supplement’s potential to treat or prevent disease, and must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

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“The labels can be very misleading to the general public,” said Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

“People are confronted with a dizzying array of dietary supplements, many of which include structure/function claims that require minimal, if any, evidence of efficacy,” she added.

“The enthusiasm for these supplements outpaces the evidence from rigorous randomized clinical trials.”

Roughly 20% of people over the age of 60 take fish oil supplements.

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In a 2018 study of more than 15,000 people with diabetes, the risk of a serious cardiovascular event was no different between people taking an omega-3 supplement and people who were not.

A 2019 study with more than 25,000 participants found that fish oil supplements did nothing to reduce the risk of a major cardiovascular event (such as a heart attack or stroke) or getting cancer.

Instead of relying on supplements, most nutritionists recommend that people get their omega-3 and other fatty acids from dietary sources.

Sources of healthy fatty acids, according to the National Institutes of Health, include:

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/10/02/why-fish-oil-supplements-are-basically-worthless-study/

[jmyrlefuller]

Before, it was the snake oil salesman; today, the fish oil salesman.

(But seriously... if you're talking controlled studies, if the omega-3 fatty acids in isolation aren't providing a benefit, and you are seeing some form of benefit from dietary sources, then chances are it's not the omega-3s providing the benefit. It's something else co-occuring with the omega-3s.)

[roamer_1]

I"ll believe Mamma. Nuff said.

[Smokin Joe]

It may well be that the fish oils rely on some other constituent of the fish to be biologically useful.  For the same reason 30 years ago a friend undergoing chemo for non-Hodgkins lymphoma found street pot to be a more effective appetite enhancer than processed prescription THC pills.  There may be more to it than just one single component.

[The_Reader_David]

They gave too small of doses. 

There was a large clinical trial out of the UK a few years back in which 3000 mg (yes, 3 grams) per day were found to significantly reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol and increase HDL (good) cholesterol.  Also, these studies also used olive oil as a placebo, when the monounsaturated fats in olive oil also produce a similar (but less pronounced) shift of the same sort. 

[Hoodat]

I grind up 1-2 tbs of flax seeds and cook it up in my 6-grain cereal each morning.  Not sure how much omega-3 that is.

[Smokin Joe]

I grind up 1-2 tbs of flax seeds and cook it up in my 6-grain cereal each morning.  Not sure how much omega-3 that is.

From: https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/benefits-of-flaxseed

Although flaxseed contains all sorts of healthy components, it owes its primary healthy reputation to three of them:

    Omega-3 essential fatty acids, "good" fats that have been shown to have heart-healthy effects. Each tablespoon of ground flaxseed contains about 1.8 grams of plant omega-3s.
    Lignans, which have both plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities. Flaxseed contains 75 to 800 times more lignans than other plant foods.
    Fiber. Flaxseed contains both the soluble and insoluble types.