Experts say people are ‘wasting their time’ for ‘very expensive urine’.
Omega-3 fish oil supplements won’t protect you against heart attacks or cancer, a new study has found.
A trial of more than 26,000 healthy Americans over the age of 50, found that there was no significant difference after they took a daily dose of omega-3, vitamin D or a placebo for more than five years.
The study by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School researchers and presented by the American Heart Association is the world’s largest randomised trial of its kind.
However, Nathan Davies, lead for the Clinical Nutrition and Public Health program at University College London, told CNN that these are not ‘radical findings by any means. There could be benefits there, but they are not as clear-cut.’
He noted that it would have been beneficial if the research was longer: ‘You always want an even longer duration, especially if you are looking at cancer.’
Another health expert, Naveed Sattar, a professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, told the Independent that the marketing of supplements is ‘done very cleverly, but it’s not backed up by evidence’.
He added: ‘Most people buying supplements are giving themselves very expensive urine.
‘They’re wasting their time and getting false reassurance of protection from these supplements, when what they need is help to look at improving their lifestyles in ways which are enjoyable and sustainable.’
Meanwhile, another study, sponsored by pharmaceutical company Amarin Corporation, suggested that a prescription strength fish oil showed more promise.
In the study, which tested four grams a day of Amarin’s Vascepa, a concentrated EPA, heart problems were slashed in people at higher risk of them. But these people were already taking a statin and concerns were shared about these results as Vascepa has been compared to a mineral oil, which can interfere with statins.
Despite this, some doctors said that Vascepa’s benefits outweighed this concern.
Back in Britain, Victoria Taylor, Senior Dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, told Primathat in the UK, ‘we don’t recommend omega-3 supplements for the prevention of heart and circulatory disease, and the findings of this study support this’.
She added that although supplements have been recommended in the past for people who have had a heart attack, the guidance changed in 2014 and the same recommendation on fish now applies to everyone: ‘aim for one to two portions of fish a week, one of which is oily’.
Victoria says that this doesn’t mean we should omit fish oil from our diets and there are other benefits to consuming omega-3.
’While a supplement of omega-3 may not be helpful in preventing heart and circulatory disease, there are still benefits to eating fish,’ she says.
‘It’s a nutritious source of protein and including fish in your diet can help you to cut down on your red and processed meat intake.’