Something’s fishy…

Too often, conventional wisdom is ludicrously wrong. Like recommending artificial sweeteners to diabetics. Or telling dieters to eat less fat.

But sometimes, popular advice is just plain good advice. And the universal acknowledgment of the health benefits of omega-3s definitely falls under that dishearteningly tiny umbrella.

That’s why the conclusion of a recently published meta-analysis has me seeing red. In it, a team of Greek researchers claims that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation isn’t associated with lower risk of major cardiovascular disease events like heart attacks and stroke.

Let me give you a moment to recover from the shock. Then I’ll explain why this assertion is utterly outrageous.

First of all, the authors of this analysis failed to account for the use of other medications–like, say, statin drugs–in any of the studies they used. It doesn’t take a medical genius to see how such an obviously confounding factor could impact results here.

Furthermore, the mean omega-3 dosage used in these studies was 1.51 grams of EPA and DHA. That’s half of the dosage I recommend to my patients. And believe me, I’m not the only one pointing out this major misstep.

It’s simply preposterous that any researcher would draw such a bold conclusion about the benefits of omega-3s while completely disregarding therapeutic dosage requirements. That’s just plain bad science. And in this case, it’s dangerous, too.

DHA and EPA from marine omega-3s deliver some of the most powerful heart protection you’ll find anywhere–in nature or otherwise. And there are volumes of published clinical research to prove it.

Don’t let one flawed study distract you from the facts. Fish oil has earned its status as the gold standard of safe and effective cardiovascular care. And this recent exercise in scientific irresponsibility changes nothing.

Sources:
American Medical Association (AMA). “Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation not associated with lower risk of major cardiovascular disease events.” ScienceDaily, 11 Sep. 2012. Web. 8 Oct. 2012.