3 ms·

Fish is also a great source of iron, and those omega-3 fats are really important in terms of our heart health Or aren't they? It is a controversial subject..

• coldtea 10y ago
  That's not what the link says. To quote: "While supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) has been shown to improve vascular function, it remains unclear if supplementation decreases serious clinical outcomes. (...) Our results showed that insufficient evidence exists to suggest a beneficial effect of omega-3 PUFA supplementation in adults with peripheral arterial disease with regard to cardiovascular events and other serious clinical outcomes." So it does improves vascular function -- it just doesn't "decrease serious clinical outcomes", which makes sense: if you have blocked arteries and eat all kinds of crap all day and don't exercize nobody expects that Omega-3 itself will decrease the chances of you getting a heart attack or worse...
  • stinos 10y ago
    ok but I'd still call that controversial. Also the other one says: "CONCLUSION: Overall, omega-3 PUFA supplementation was not associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, cardiac death, sudden death, myocardial infarction, or stroke based on relative and absolute measures of association." I mean, for years it sounded like omega-3 was the new miracle thing and even now you get people saying it is 'really important in terms of our heart health' but it doesn't seem to be quite that simple.
    • coldtea 10y ago
      Yeah, there's no silver bullet. Then again, until something goes in university textbooks on nutrition, I'm suspicious of all studies. So not sure if the study above is any better than the tens of studies claiming they found positive results (and meta-studies are not always definitive either). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16879829 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16879829 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7698053 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7698053 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14505813 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14505813 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22180524 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22180524 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19685375 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19685375 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16879829 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16879829 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2234568 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2234568 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22313793 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22313793 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18774613 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18774613 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22113870 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22113870 http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/85/5/1267.long http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/85/5/1267.long https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12433513 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12433513 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22317966 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22317966 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23184014 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23184014 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14505813 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14505813 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19685375 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19685375 It seems omega-3 can improve all kinds of measurements regarding heart health on an individual level, but it's not certain whether it can improve strokes etc alone. Which I take to mean it's more of a whole lifestyle + omega 3 issue than "just add omega-3 and you can eat/live anyway you like with perfect heart health".
  • Dylan16807 10y ago
    > So it does improves vascular function -- it just doesn't "decrease serious clinical outcomes", which makes sense: if you have blocked arteries and eat all kinds of crap all day and don't exercize nobody expects that Omega-3 itself will decrease the chances of you getting a heart attack or worse... Sure they do! If ten things contribute to your chances of heart attack, than improving any single one should improve your overall odds by a small amount. Nobody expects a single factor to make the risks go away, but that's vastly different from decreasing the risks at all. You imply that even if omega-3 by itself doesn't help, exercise+lifestyle+omega-3 should improve clinical outcomes more than just exercise+lifestyle. But think about it this way. For every lazy fat guy you find, I can find you a lazier, fatter one. Compared to him, this guy is exercising more, and living a better lifestyle. So why is omega-3 not helping? Is there a specific threshold of health you have to reach before omega-3 will kick in?