WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Should You Really Take Fish Oil Pills?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel Bomb here with another classic

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<v Speaker 1>podcast episode. This one delves into the tricksy world of

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<v Speaker 1>nutrition and dietary supplements, with a focus on one particular

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<v Speaker 1>type that's gotten both hype and flak fish oil pills,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb Here. Nutrition is complicated.

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<v Speaker 1>Eggs at one time were considered awful for you, cholesterol bombs,

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<v Speaker 1>heart killers, dietary death. Now even the American Heart Association

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<v Speaker 1>says that a few eggs a week, no matter they're

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<v Speaker 1>high flying cholesterol content, may be good for you and

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<v Speaker 1>your heart. The story of fish oil supplements, which are

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<v Speaker 1>pills that contain a Mega three fatty acids considered critically

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<v Speaker 1>to be good fats to have in your diet, is similar,

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<v Speaker 1>only reversed. At one time, regularly popping a fish oil

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<v Speaker 1>pill was considered hugely beneficial for mental health, cardiovascular health,

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<v Speaker 1>brain health, and to aid in the health of unborn babies,

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<v Speaker 1>among other benefits. But earlier this year, a British meta

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<v Speaker 1>study that covered seventy seven thousand, nine hundred and seventeen

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<v Speaker 1>heart patients was released, and it said that fish oil

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<v Speaker 1>supplements quote had no significant association with reductions in fatal

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<v Speaker 1>or non fatal coronary heart disease or any major vascular events.

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<v Speaker 1>In other words, the pills didn't do anything for these

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<v Speaker 1>heart patients in terms of heart attacks and strokes. Suddenly,

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<v Speaker 1>fish oil supplements weren't quite the magic pill that some

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<v Speaker 1>took them to be. So what's the health conscious consumer

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<v Speaker 1>to think. We spoke with Dr herzel Gerstein, a Canadian

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<v Speaker 1>endocrinologist and one of the studies authors, who said, I

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<v Speaker 1>think the overall message is when you look at the

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<v Speaker 1>best evidence in the world taken together synthesized in this way, overall,

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<v Speaker 1>there's really no scientific justification to go out and buy

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<v Speaker 1>omega three fatty acid supplements if you think you're going

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<v Speaker 1>to be preventing heart attacks and strokes, because there's no

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<v Speaker 1>evidence you will. That study dealt specifically with dietary supplements.

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<v Speaker 1>Many reputable places, including the National Institutes of Health, the

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<v Speaker 1>Harvard School of Public Health, and yes, the American Heart Association,

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<v Speaker 1>still tout the need for omega threes. Two problems exist

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<v Speaker 1>in getting enough omega three fatty acids, though your body

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't make them most types anyway, So you have to

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<v Speaker 1>get them in your diet, and many American diets don't

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<v Speaker 1>include the main food sources of omega threees, things like soybeans,

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<v Speaker 1>flax seed, and cold water fatty fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel,

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<v Speaker 1>and sardines. That's why many consider fish oil supplements I must.

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<v Speaker 1>According to the Council for Responsible Nutrition, some sixteen percent

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<v Speaker 1>of American adults take omega three fatty acids in supplement form,

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<v Speaker 1>with tens of millions of Americans popping fish oil pills

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<v Speaker 1>spending millions of dollars. The manufacturers of these supplements aren't

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<v Speaker 1>going to go quietly on suggestions that their products don't work.

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<v Speaker 1>We also spoke with Douglas Uffie mackay, the Senior Vice

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<v Speaker 1>president for Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for the Council for

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<v Speaker 1>Responsible Nutrition, the leading trade association for the dietary, supplement

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<v Speaker 1>and functional food industry. He said this study was about

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<v Speaker 1>high risk cardiovascular heart disease individuals and determining if omega

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<v Speaker 1>three fatty assets would act essentially like a drug, a

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<v Speaker 1>nutritional drug to help prevent future cardiac events. But the

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<v Speaker 1>bottom line for the general population is is it still

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<v Speaker 1>an essential nutrient that plays incredibly important roles in human nutrition,

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<v Speaker 1>balancing inflammation. It's part of cell membranes, it's part of

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<v Speaker 1>cells communicating with one another, and Americans just don't eat

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of cold water fatty fish that provides these

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<v Speaker 1>important nutrients. Thus, mackay contends, if sardines and flax seed

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<v Speaker 1>aren't on your weekly shopping list, you ought to consider

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<v Speaker 1>supplements even if they don't stop heart attacks in high

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<v Speaker 1>risk cardiovascular cases, because your body still needs them. For

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<v Speaker 1>his part, Gerstein, who's a professor in the Department of

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<v Speaker 1>Medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, agrees that omega

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<v Speaker 1>three's are essential and that a diet high in omega

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<v Speaker 1>three'es indeed may be beneficial, although the science behind that

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<v Speaker 1>is still unsettled. He said, there is some evidence from

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<v Speaker 1>the dietary literature that there may be a benefit to it.

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<v Speaker 1>This research does not in any way refute that when

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<v Speaker 1>you think of the dietary literature, though, if someone decides

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<v Speaker 1>they're going to eat a diet high in omega three

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<v Speaker 1>fatty acids, that means they're also reducing other things such

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<v Speaker 1>as maybe red meat. So if there's a benefit, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>it's because they're replacing harmful things with Omega three's. The

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<v Speaker 1>main question comes down to whether people are getting enough

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<v Speaker 1>omegathreees in their diets and what can be done about

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<v Speaker 1>it if not. McKay says most people don't get enough

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<v Speaker 1>and suggest supplements in consultation with a doctor as a

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<v Speaker 1>possible answer. Gersteine says most people do, though if they don't,

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<v Speaker 1>it's something that should be discussed with a doctor. The

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<v Speaker 1>good news is that taking a regular fish oil pill

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<v Speaker 1>as a supplement doesn't seem to do any harm, except

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<v Speaker 1>Gerstine says, all those extra fatty acids, not to mention

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<v Speaker 1>all the money's spent, may end up quite literally down

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<v Speaker 1>the drain. He said, you're making expensive urine. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>is based on the article the Case for and Against

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<v Speaker 1>taking fish oil pills on how stuff works dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by John Donovan. Brain Stuff is production of by

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff works dot Com,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listening to your favorite shows.