BrainStuff Classics: Should You Really Take Fish Oil Pills?

Conventional wisdom has long said fish oil pills are a great nutritional boost, but recent research shows they don't have the cardiovascular benefits we once thought. Learn who should still consider taking them in this episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,
Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel Bomb here with another classic
podcast episode. This one delves into the tricksy world of
nutrition and dietary supplements, with a focus on one particular
type that's gotten both hype and flak fish oil pills,

(00:25):
Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb Here. Nutrition is complicated.
Eggs at one time were considered awful for you, cholesterol bombs,
heart killers, dietary death. Now even the American Heart Association
says that a few eggs a week, no matter they're
high flying cholesterol content, may be good for you and
your heart. The story of fish oil supplements, which are

(00:47):
pills that contain a Mega three fatty acids considered critically
to be good fats to have in your diet, is similar,
only reversed. At one time, regularly popping a fish oil
pill was considered hugely beneficial for mental health, cardiovascular health,
brain health, and to aid in the health of unborn babies,
among other benefits. But earlier this year, a British meta

(01:09):
study that covered seventy seven thousand, nine hundred and seventeen
heart patients was released, and it said that fish oil
supplements quote had no significant association with reductions in fatal
or non fatal coronary heart disease or any major vascular events.
In other words, the pills didn't do anything for these
heart patients in terms of heart attacks and strokes. Suddenly,

(01:31):
fish oil supplements weren't quite the magic pill that some
took them to be. So what's the health conscious consumer
to think. We spoke with Dr herzel Gerstein, a Canadian
endocrinologist and one of the studies authors, who said, I
think the overall message is when you look at the
best evidence in the world taken together synthesized in this way, overall,
there's really no scientific justification to go out and buy

(01:55):
omega three fatty acid supplements if you think you're going
to be preventing heart attacks and strokes, because there's no
evidence you will. That study dealt specifically with dietary supplements.
Many reputable places, including the National Institutes of Health, the
Harvard School of Public Health, and yes, the American Heart Association,
still tout the need for omega threes. Two problems exist

(02:17):
in getting enough omega three fatty acids, though your body
doesn't make them most types anyway, So you have to
get them in your diet, and many American diets don't
include the main food sources of omega threees, things like soybeans,
flax seed, and cold water fatty fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel,
and sardines. That's why many consider fish oil supplements I must.

(02:39):
According to the Council for Responsible Nutrition, some sixteen percent
of American adults take omega three fatty acids in supplement form,
with tens of millions of Americans popping fish oil pills
spending millions of dollars. The manufacturers of these supplements aren't
going to go quietly on suggestions that their products don't work.
We also spoke with Douglas Uffie mackay, the Senior Vice

(03:01):
president for Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for the Council for
Responsible Nutrition, the leading trade association for the dietary, supplement
and functional food industry. He said this study was about
high risk cardiovascular heart disease individuals and determining if omega
three fatty assets would act essentially like a drug, a
nutritional drug to help prevent future cardiac events. But the

(03:24):
bottom line for the general population is is it still
an essential nutrient that plays incredibly important roles in human nutrition,
balancing inflammation. It's part of cell membranes, it's part of
cells communicating with one another, and Americans just don't eat
a lot of cold water fatty fish that provides these
important nutrients. Thus, mackay contends, if sardines and flax seed

(03:45):
aren't on your weekly shopping list, you ought to consider
supplements even if they don't stop heart attacks in high
risk cardiovascular cases, because your body still needs them. For
his part, Gerstein, who's a professor in the Department of
Medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, agrees that omega
three's are essential and that a diet high in omega
three'es indeed may be beneficial, although the science behind that

(04:08):
is still unsettled. He said, there is some evidence from
the dietary literature that there may be a benefit to it.
This research does not in any way refute that when
you think of the dietary literature, though, if someone decides
they're going to eat a diet high in omega three
fatty acids, that means they're also reducing other things such
as maybe red meat. So if there's a benefit, maybe

(04:28):
it's because they're replacing harmful things with Omega three's. The
main question comes down to whether people are getting enough
omegathreees in their diets and what can be done about
it if not. McKay says most people don't get enough
and suggest supplements in consultation with a doctor as a
possible answer. Gersteine says most people do, though if they don't,
it's something that should be discussed with a doctor. The

(04:51):
good news is that taking a regular fish oil pill
as a supplement doesn't seem to do any harm, except
Gerstine says, all those extra fatty acids, not to mention
all the money's spent, may end up quite literally down
the drain. He said, you're making expensive urine. Today's episode

(05:12):
is based on the article the Case for and Against
taking fish oil pills on how stuff works dot com,
written by John Donovan. Brain Stuff is production of by
Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff works dot Com,
and it's produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts from
my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listening to your favorite shows.