Our current fascination with Omega-3 oils including flax oil, fish oil supplements and fish intake, assumed to promote good health, is really a reflection of our observations over the years of how Inuits, Eskimos and other northern clime cultures live. Living in a land frozen most of the year, traveling over icy tundra and ice floes on dog sleds, hunting in mukluks and skins, rubbing noses, and existing only on fish, whale blubber and seal meat for months on end, has us spinning in our imagination chairs. How do they survive healthy long lives not eating salads, veggies and fruits regularly?
Living more in the southern climes, driving SUV’s and hunting for foods at Safeway, Whole Foods and Albertsons in our Birkenstocks, we’ve opted instead to live the way we do and pop either flax seed oil or fish oil capsules daily. What we’re silently hoping daily Omega-3 supplements will deliver is a little piece of the Inuit experience—that Omega-3 fats will impart a healthy high-fish glow and keep our hearts healthy like Inuit and Eskimo hearts.
In a typical review of fatty fish consumption, fish oil supplements and other sources of Omega-3 fatty acids, the benefits always seem to outweigh the controversies. In most cases, the scientific evidence is shrouded by health and science writers reciting the popular beliefs and feeding into the supplement spin machine.
One of the most blatant abuses of that review process is an ignorance of the endpoints of investigations leading many to believe fatty fish, fish oil supplements and other Omega-3 supplements are, in general terms, “Good for your heart,” or another favorite, “Heart Healthy.” While there is speculation about the connection between specific Omega-3’s and the health of ones heart, there is by no means an overwhelming consensus of data leading to that velvet conclusion.
As I’ll show with an objective review of the scientific literature, fatty fish and fish oil supplements are certainly acting as anti-arrhythmics; that is, if you have a heart attack, the omega 3 fatty acids found in fish and fish oil supplements appear to impart a benefit in preventing dangerous rhythm disturbances of the heart. All of which may save lives and allow those having a heart attack to live long enough to receive treatment. Everyone would agree the benefit of saving lives after a heart attack is pretty darn significant, and probably worth the investment in fish oil supplements.
But do they prevent a heart attack from occurring? By that I mean, if I currently have no history of heart disease at the ripe young age of fifty years, and I start taking fish oil supplements, will they keep me from having a heart attack? The quick answer is probably not. Supplementing fish oils and other Omega-3’s for saturated fats is without question a measure that will prevent the development of cardiovascular disease in most individuals. However, does one conclude that fatty fish and fish oil supplements are good for the heart? Heart Healthy? Or are they only good for those having a heart attack? I’ll explore the differences between those concepts in a future blog. In short here is what fish oil will and wont do:
1. Fish intake and Fish Oil Supplements (EPA and DHA) appear to prevent sudden cardiac death following a heart attack.
2. Fish intake and Fish Oil Supplements will not prevent a heart attack.
Living more in the southern climes, driving SUV’s and hunting for foods at Safeway, Whole Foods and Albertsons in our Birkenstocks, we’ve opted instead to live the way we do and pop either flax seed oil or fish oil capsules daily. What we’re silently hoping daily Omega-3 supplements will deliver is a little piece of the Inuit experience—that Omega-3 fats will impart a healthy high-fish glow and keep our hearts healthy like Inuit and Eskimo hearts.
In a typical review of fatty fish consumption, fish oil supplements and other sources of Omega-3 fatty acids, the benefits always seem to outweigh the controversies. In most cases, the scientific evidence is shrouded by health and science writers reciting the popular beliefs and feeding into the supplement spin machine.
One of the most blatant abuses of that review process is an ignorance of the endpoints of investigations leading many to believe fatty fish, fish oil supplements and other Omega-3 supplements are, in general terms, “Good for your heart,” or another favorite, “Heart Healthy.” While there is speculation about the connection between specific Omega-3’s and the health of ones heart, there is by no means an overwhelming consensus of data leading to that velvet conclusion.
As I’ll show with an objective review of the scientific literature, fatty fish and fish oil supplements are certainly acting as anti-arrhythmics; that is, if you have a heart attack, the omega 3 fatty acids found in fish and fish oil supplements appear to impart a benefit in preventing dangerous rhythm disturbances of the heart. All of which may save lives and allow those having a heart attack to live long enough to receive treatment. Everyone would agree the benefit of saving lives after a heart attack is pretty darn significant, and probably worth the investment in fish oil supplements.
But do they prevent a heart attack from occurring? By that I mean, if I currently have no history of heart disease at the ripe young age of fifty years, and I start taking fish oil supplements, will they keep me from having a heart attack? The quick answer is probably not. Supplementing fish oils and other Omega-3’s for saturated fats is without question a measure that will prevent the development of cardiovascular disease in most individuals. However, does one conclude that fatty fish and fish oil supplements are good for the heart? Heart Healthy? Or are they only good for those having a heart attack? I’ll explore the differences between those concepts in a future blog. In short here is what fish oil will and wont do:
1. Fish intake and Fish Oil Supplements (EPA and DHA) appear to prevent sudden cardiac death following a heart attack.
2. Fish intake and Fish Oil Supplements will not prevent a heart attack.
2 comments:
Good posts, WG. As a person allergic to fish and sea-food, I often feel deprived of Omega this and that, by the constant barrage of pro-Omega this and that materials around me.
My question is this:
does NOT taking any supplements or NOT getting enough of Omega this and that increase my risk of a cardiac event?
Shefaly: No, there's currently no evidence that not taking Omega-3's will lead to cardiovascular disease. However, there is a certain amount of debate as to the requirement for linolenic acid (an Omega-3).
As for the fish allergy. Almost all allergic reactions to fish have to do with a particular protein or protein adduct within the fish flesh. Omega-3 supplements, which are essentially oils (EPA and DHA upcoming blog) should not induce an allergic response. EPA and DHA are fatty acids taken as supplements. However, as will be covered in my upcoming blog, the reason(s) to either take or not take any supplement need to be based upon good science. All too frequently the use of Omega-3's are simply thrown into the header "Heart Healthy" without any more detailed analysis. And as you can probably guess by now, I'm not one to accept "Heart Healthy" without the science.
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