According to a report from Harvard Health Publishing, taking fish oil capsules may not be providing the health benefit you believed they did. Read on.
Millions of Americans — including one in five people over age 60 — take fish oil supplements, often assuming the capsules help stave off heart disease. Who can blame them? After all, the product labels say things like “promotes heart health” and “supports healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels.”
“People will often say ‘I don’t like eating fish, but I know it’s good for me. So I’m taking this supplement instead,'” says Preston Mason, a faculty member in the Cardiovascular Division at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital who studies the unique fats found in fish oil, known as omega-3 fatty acids.
Here’s the catch: Studies dating back more than a half-century find that people who eat fatty fish tend to have lower rates of heart disease. But over the past two decades, multiple randomized trials pitting fish oil against placebos show no evidence of heart-related benefits from fish oil supplements. While the supplements do provide omega-3 fatty acids, there are better ways to get these essential fats from your diet (see “Three key omega-3s”).
Three key omega-3s
Omega-3 fatty acids are considered “essential,” which means people must get them from their diet or other sources. Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines, and mackerel are good sources of two omega-3s: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
Another omega-3, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), is found in many plants, including seeds, nuts, and some green vegetables. Your body can convert a small amount — about 8% — of dietary ALA to EPA and DHA.
Nutrition experts suspect that one reason fish eaters have fewer heart attacks may be that they eat correspondingly less red meat or processed meats, both of which are associated with a higher risk of heart disease.
Vegetarians (who don’t eat fish) and vegans (who avoid all animal-based foods) can meet their omega-3 requirements by eating plenty of ALA-rich foods, such as flaxseed, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and soybean or canola oil. People who follow these plant-focused diets have lower rates of heart disease than omnivores, who include animal-sourced foods in their diets.