Hello and

welcome to the Nutrition Diva Podcast. I'm your host, Monica Reinagle,

and today I've got the latest news on fish oil

and the news is not super great at least not for those

who sell fish oil supplements the idea that fish oil and omega-3s are good for your heart has

been nutrition orthodoxy for decades. Now a few dissident

voices have argued that this particular emperor has no clothes, but they've largely been

drowned out by the crowd. Although fish consumption has increased a little bit,

most Americans are still falling well short of the recommended two or more servings of fish

per week. And until recently, health experts ranging from Harvard

University to the American Heart Association have recommended a fish oil

supplement for those who aren't eating enough fish as a way to bridge that gap.

Fish oil supplements are the third most commonly taken nutritional supplement these days.

There have been concerns about possible contaminants in commercial fish oil supplements,

as well as the potential negative effects of overfishing in order to produce enough fish oil to meet this demand.

But the presumed benefits have largely

overshadowed these concerns, but just how firm is the evidence to support their

use.

Epidemiological studies have found that people who eat more fish or take in more

omega-3s through their diet have lower rates of death from cardiovascular and

other diseases.

Randomized trials have also established that fish oil supplements reduce inflammation

...