“Fish Oil Health Benefits Debunked” the MSN Headline reads…Let’s Read Between the Lines!
Well recent studies in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) over the last 2 years are being bantered around the internet and news media outlets recently saying, “Omega-3’s don’t really do much. Just another vitamin sales job…”. Yatta yatta yatta…yatta!
If you read or listen to the video blogs on this and the 3 studies they point to, those studies are not what why you would take Omega-3’s. Most credible nutritionists have been promoting Omega-3’s for their anti-inflammatory action (not as strong as drugs but very good for you over time). Cognition, arterial sclerosis reversal, kidney fistula enhanced healing…all have not positive effects attributable to taking Omega 3 supplements. Okay so what? Wow I never heard any of the PhD lecturers that I Iisten to make claims about these diseases. So can we get real and put aside the “Big Pharma-MD”, spin doctors rhetoric on putting down the supplement industry which is eating into their profit margins “bigly” and stick to the facts.
Omega 3’s were once 10-X more prevalent in American diets 100 years ago than they are today
The average American consumed approximately 11 g/day of of Omega-3’s mostly from grass fed beef. Sure the coastal fishing towns got more from fish but they were not the “average” American when you look at all 48 states back then. Heart disease, arthritis, gastrointestinal diseases, cancer, and stroke rates were approximately 25% of what they are today. Now many factors in addition to Omega-3 consumption contributed to this rise in degenerative disease. But that fact that we don’t consume that any more and our food supply is so processed is like being beat up by two opponents!. Omega-3’s are proven anti-inflammatory agents with NO side effects unlike NSAIDS(aspirin, Ibuprofen, acetaminophen, etc.). So now when we need the daily anti-inflammatory action of Omeg 3’s due to processed foods and pollution issues we are eating less!
Inflammation is the real killer these days
Arthritis, bursitis, gastritis, encephalitis, myositis, itis, itis, itis! We are slowly being killed by inflammation! Inflammation is caused by irritating chemical by-products in our modern diets. Processed and refined foods are to blame along with pollution. (Can I throw global warming in there too? Nah.) Processed foods are high in Omega-6 and man-made chemical preservatives and additives and low in Omega-3 fatty acids. We consume about 20x more Omega-6 than we need and 1/10 Omega-3’s that we should have. When the levels of Omega-6 get high inside our bodies’ this drives the inflammatory cascade(bad in this case) inside our cells and it stops being anti-inflammatory in action. Omega-3’s always drive the anti-inflammatory cascade. In addition to inflammation defense DHA and EPA, specific Omega-3 fatty acids from fish make up 70% of the brain’s fatty acid makeup! So to negate taking Omega-3 supplements in the modern processed lifestyle is silly and will lead to more aches and pains let alone heart attacks than any of us deserve.
Dr. Demetrios Kydonieus, Chiropractic Nutritionist
Let’s be healthy for real long time!
