Omega-3 pills and fish oil ‘useless’ for preventing disease

thetimes.co.uk

2 points·polskibus··5 comments

I have found thousands of studies on nih.gov (pubmed) that suggest there are many benefits to omega-3. I have also found a few studies that suggest over-use can increase risk of a stroke.

Beyond that, I don't know why these terse articles with no scientific data keep getting submitted to HN recently.

Most of those studies you mention are not great quality. I've seen them, too.

This article is about an analysis of 79 gold-standard studies.

I have a close friend in public health who studies supplements and says the same thing: fish oil isn't likely to have much value to prevent or treat any illness.

What is a gold-standard study?

Generally, it just means "best available methodology". That obviously differs between disciplines. It's harder to study living brains or national economies, for example, than to study bacteria.

There's an entertaining, important book about this topic that is meant to help people understand what makes gold-standard science and how to recognize it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Science_(book)

The linked article is behind a paywall, but you can read an excellent account of this research on the NHS website:

Minimal evidence to show omega-3 prevents heart disease:

https://www.nhs.uk/news/heart-and-lungs/minimal-evidence-sho...

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