Omega con?
Do Omega 3 supplements really improve your health?
Omega 3 supplements are often touted as helping to prevent heart attacks and strokes, but there is growing evidence that they do nothing of the sort. For some time, it has been thought that Long Chain Omega 3 fats found in oily fish, certain vegetables and nuts can protect against diseases of the cardiovascular system. This original concept came out in the 1980s and 1990s, when some trials suggested positive results. But a recent team from the Cochrane Library suggested that these studies were inaccurate. The team from Cochrane analysed almost 80 randomised trials, looking at 120,000 people.
Most of these trials had looked at those patients taking Omega 3 compared to a normal diet, whilst some looked specifically at the effects of eating particularly oily fish.
Dr Lee Hooper, the main researcher at the University of East Anglia stated, “We are confident in the findings of this review which go against the popular belief that Long Chain Omega 3 supplements protect the heart”. He went on to say that eating oily fish is still sensible, predominantly because it contains so many other valuable nutrients, but those who take Omega 3 supplements would be wiser to spend their money on healthy vegetables than supplements.
