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Got fish oil? If so, you’ve got the treatment for, according to various studies:

• Heart disease
• Heart arrhythmias
• High blood pressure
• Depression
• Back pain
• Asthma
• Arthritis
• Mild Alzheimer’s

Fish oil also might help with cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and stroke. Then there’s a whole host of other conditions—for example, leprosy and seizures—that fish oil may help but that lack scientific evidence to support the claims.

It’s an impressive list, although you may be disappointed to learn that fish oil will not prevent cancer or aid in kidney transplants.

Is fish oil really that beneficial?

I learned all this in my little research project to determine whether fish oil is worthy of the hype.

The short answer, based on my not-quick but not-exhaustive look at what’s out there, is a qualified yes. The National Institutes of Health offers a summary of the fish oil claims, the scientific basis for the claims and background information on Omega 3 oils as well as the specific fatty acids in fish oil.

I never figured this miracle “drug” was something I’d care about, because I don’t have heart disease or expect to develop it, thanks to good habits and good genes. But with fish oil recommended to improve mood and possibly help with osteoporosis and dementia (issues of personal or family interest), I decided to take a closer look.

Should you take fish oil supplements? Just eat more fish? Who knows? The trouble with research is that it is incremental; one study doesn’t make for a scientific conclusion, although the NIH’s summary (linked above) does help sort that out.

See for yourself

If you’re thinking about taking fish oil supplements, you might want to check these additional resources. Several are on the Medscape.com website, which may require registration. I like Medscape because it’s well-organized, and you can get the full scoop on issues rather than the abbreviated versions you’re likely to see on most consumer websites or news stories.

• The Medscape article, “Practical Applications of Fish Oil…” gives good background on the subject. If you’re busy, just read the summary on the first page, and click on the Tables link to see four tables, including one that lists the specific components of commercial fish oil products. The article is aimed at health professionals, but it’s not a hard read.
• The Medscape article, “Diets with High Omega 6:Omega 3 ratios…” links unbalanced essential oils (see my earlier post on Real Food and fats) to inflammation and depression, and inflammation is increasingly being blamed for heart disease and other ailments. This article is a little denser (and its findings need to be confirmed), but you can skip to the bottom to the “pearls for practice” if you don’t care about how the authors arrived at their conclusion.
• Another Medscape article, “Symposium Highlights: Omega 3 Fatty Acids…” summarizes several reports. You can click on the lefthand sidebar to go straight to the subject you’re interested in, such as heart disease or dementia, or to an item that discusses recommended dosages. It’s from 2005, so if it discusses an item of particular interest to you, it wouldn’t hurt to search Medscape for updated information.
• On that order is this article that questions the degree of benefit of fish oil, not to mention where all that fish oil is supposed to come from.
• If you think you’d rather get your Omega 3s from fish, the American Heart Association provides a list of fish along with their Omega 3 and mercury profiles, since mercury often accompanies the best fish for fish oil. (Much of the AHA info also is in the “Practical Applications” article, above.)
• And if you don’t like the sound of getting mercury along with your fish oil, a recent study indicates that fish oil capsules may be better than fish, since mercury and other organic compounds can be removed from the oil for the capsules.

Or maybe reduce Omega 6s?

If, in fact, the panoply of health problems that are helped by fish oil are due to that Omega 6/Omega 3 balance, rather than the absolute amount of Omega 3s, I wonder whether anyone has tried reducing Omega 6s (found in generous amounts in corn oil, soybean/vegetable oil and others) rather than increasing Omega 3s. No doubt, a study of that is in the pipeline.