To Your Health
October, 2019 (Vol. 13, Issue 10) |
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Fish Oil Can Save Your Life
By Editorial Staff
Let's go straight to the heart (no pun intended) of the matter and talk about the thing people worry most about when it comes to their heart: a heart attack. Now let's learn why something as simple as fish oil could reduce that worry (by reducing the risk).
According to a recent analysis of studies, conducted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital and published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, people who take daily omega-3 fish oil supplements are significantly less likely to experience a heart attack or develop cardiovascular disease compared to people who don't. Higher doses of omega-3s appeared to provide greater protection than lower doses. In fact, supplementation appears to reduce the risk of most of the major cardiovascular-related health complications (heart attack, death from coronary heart disease, death from cardiovascular disease), with the exception of stroke.
Overall, the total study population examined in the studies, which included three of the most recent large-scale studies on fish oil supplementation and heart health, included more than 120,000 adults enrolled in 13 randomized trials worldwide. In the studies, subjects received either an actual omega-3 supplement or an inactive placebo (a pill they thought was a fish oil supplement) and researchers tracked them over time to see how many developed cardiovascular issues, including a heart attack.
To learn more about how omega-3 fatty acids can benefit several aspects of your health (not just your heart), talk to your doctor.
