# fish oil--worth anything?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 10, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018 "2015-12-10T02:09:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/1 "2015-12-10T02:09:43Z")
There are so many claims & rubbish out there : Is Fish Oil, as a nutritional supplement, actually of any medical benefit?
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/2 "2015-12-10T02:18:49Z")
I give my dog fish oil for her skin (she seems to be an itchy girl). She had a random blood test earlier this year and my vet mentioned how good my dog’s cholesterol was. So, there’s that!
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/3 "2015-12-10T02:26:02Z")
Yes, for high triglycerides and preventing heart disease. Maybe, for so many different things that I’ll just drop this link to WebMD and call it a day. [http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-993-fish%20oil.aspx?activeingredientid=993&activeingredientname=fish%20oil](http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-993-fish%20oil.aspx?activeingredientid=993&activeingredientname=fish%20oil)
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/4 "2015-12-10T02:27:12Z")
For non-canines only, please.
_(There’s one in every crowd…on the SDMB.)_
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### Author:  [@pidgeon92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pidgeon92)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2015, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/5 "2015-12-10T02:47:37Z")
Well, poop, I was going to talk about my dog as well. 😛
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### Author:  [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2015, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/6 "2015-12-10T07:20:35Z")
There is some evidence is also useful in treating depression, alone in mild cases or as an supplement with anti-depressants.
> **[Eating Fish Makes Antidepressants More Effective - Mental Health Daily](https://mentalhealthdaily.com/2014/11/04/eating-fish-makes-antidepressants-more-effective/)**
>
> New research suggests that increasing your consumption of fatty fish may boost the efficacy of your antidepressant. Most people are aware that there are
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### Author:  [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2015, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/7 "2015-12-10T07:22:00Z")
Burping or non-burping?
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### Author:  [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/8 "2015-12-10T19:48:57Z")
Fish oil must work. I never heard a fish squeak. 😃
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2015, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/9 "2015-12-10T23:41:49Z")
So, it hasn’t been discredited?
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### Author:  [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2015, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/10 "2015-12-10T23:53:28Z")
Well, they’re getting close–a recent study indicates that the benefits the Inuit get from Omega-3 fatty acids may be based off of a genetic difference (basically, they’re mutants who had adapted to a high-fish/low-everything else diet).
> **[Inuit Study Adds Twist to Omega-3 Fatty Acids’ Health Story (Published 2015)](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/science/inuit-study-adds-twist-to-omega-3-fatty-acids-health-story.html)**
>
> A new study found that ancestors of the Inuit evolved unique genetic adaptations for eating a diet rich in fish and whale meat.
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### Author:  [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2015, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/11 "2015-12-10T23:59:23Z")
From everything I just read online it seems like most of the studies didn’t show much, if any benefit from a statistical standpoint. In general from what I’ve read vitamins and supplements out of a bottle don’t really do anything, just like everything else in life it appears you can’t take shortcuts. Any supplements seem to be highly processed and this usually destroys or lessens the nutrient or mineral you were trying to obtain in the first place.
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### Author:  [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2015, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/12 "2015-12-11T08:09:14Z")
> [@pool](#):
>
> In general from what I’ve read vitamins and supplements out of a bottle don’t really do anything, just like everything else in life it appears you can’t take shortcuts. Any supplements seem to be highly processed and this usually destroys or lessens the nutrient or mineral you were trying to obtain in the first place.
Even magnesium bisglycinate and vitamin D3?
Those are the two I’m considering taking.
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### Author:  [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2015, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/13 "2015-12-11T10:55:54Z")
> [@pool](#):
>
> From everything I just read online it seems like most of the studies didn’t show much, if any benefit from a statistical standpoint. In general from what I’ve read vitamins and supplements out of a bottle don’t really do anything, just like everything else in life it appears you can’t take shortcuts. Any supplements seem to be highly processed and this usually destroys or lessens the nutrient or mineral you were trying to obtain in the first place.
You really need to contact NASA ASAP and tell them not to waste “tax-payers’ money ™” on multi-vitamins for astronauts.
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### Author:  [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2015, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/14 "2015-12-11T12:19:10Z")
Its not so much that some vitamin supplementation or specific things such as folic acid and Vitamin D doesn’t have a place, but daily multivitamins are marketed as some healthy essential and they really aren’t. Numerous studies have shown people who take daily multivitamin don’t have better health outcomes than those who don’t and may in fact be harmed. I meant to say specifically daily multivitamins in my original post, so my bad about that.
[http://www.medicaldaily.com/vitamins-and-supplements-waste-your-money-physicians-say-265176](http://www.medicaldaily.com/vitamins-and-supplements-waste-your-money-physicians-say-265176)
[https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/more-evidence-that-routine-multivitamin-use-should-be-avoided/](https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/more-evidence-that-routine-multivitamin-use-should-be-avoided/)
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/15 "2015-12-11T13:19:28Z")
> [@pool](#):
>
> Its not so much that some vitamin supplementation or specific things such as folic acid and Vitamin D doesn’t have a place, but daily multivitamins are marketed as some healthy essential and they really aren’t. Numerous studies have shown people who take daily multivitamin don’t have better health outcomes than those who don’t and may in fact be harmed. I meant to say specifically daily multivitamins in my original post, so my bad about that.
>
> [Vitamins And Supplements Waste Your Money, Physicians Say](http://www.medicaldaily.com/vitamins-and-supplements-waste-your-money-physicians-say-265176)
>
> [More evidence that routine multivitamin use should be avoided | Science-Based Medicine](https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/more-evidence-that-routine-multivitamin-use-should-be-avoided/)
Daily multivitamins aren’t the topic of the thread, though.
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### Author:  [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2015, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/16 "2015-12-11T14:06:03Z")
> [@pool](#):
>
> From everything I just read online it seems like most of the studies didn’t show much, if any benefit from a statistical standpoint. In general from what I’ve read vitamins and supplements out of a bottle don’t really do anything, just like everything else in life it appears you can’t take shortcuts. Any supplements seem to be highly processed and this usually destroys or lessens the nutrient or mineral you were trying to obtain in the first place.
I think you are mistaken. Vitamins from a bottle don’t make you Superman, but they do prevent deficiency diseases, like scurvy. And while it’s true that people who eat a healthy diet don’t need them, there are many, many people who don’t eat a healthy diet. In fact, it’s kind of ridiculous to listen to nutritionists talking about people eating five servings of vegetables a day or whatever, when they’re more likely eating potato chips and Twinkies, and drinking Coke. Or in the case of the desperately poor, not eating much of anything.
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### Author:  [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/17 "2015-12-11T18:11:34Z")
> [@Steken](#):
>
> Even magnesium bisglycinate and vitamin D3?
>
> Those are the two I’m considering taking.
Spin-off thread [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18930800#post18930800).
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### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-oil-worth-anything/740018/18 "2015-12-11T19:42:48Z")
[_Pretty much_ debunked.](http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/30/fish-oil-claims-not-supported-by-research/)
> [@](#):
>
> … The case for fish oil was bolstered by several studies from the 1990s, including an Italian study that found that heart attack survivors who were treated with a gram of fish oil daily had a drop in mortality, compared with patients taking vitamin E. These findings prompted groups like the American Heart Association to endorse fish oil about a decade ago as a way for heart patients to get more omega-3s in their diets.
>
> “But since then, there has been a spate of studies showing no benefit,” said Dr. James Stein, the director of preventive cardiology at University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. Among them was a clinical trial of 12,000 people, published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2013, that found that a gram of fish oil daily did not reduce the rate of death from heart attacks and strokes in people with evidence of atherosclerosis.
>
> “I think that the era of fish oil as medication could be considered over now,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Gianni Tognoni of the Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan. …
>
> … Dr. Stein also cautions that fish oil can be hazardous when combined with aspirin or other blood thinners. “Very frequently we find people taking aspirin or a ‘super aspirin’ and they’re taking fish oil, too, and they’re bruising very easily and having nosebleeds,” he said. “And then when we stop the fish oil, it gets better.”
>
> Like many cardiologists, Dr. Stein encourages his patients to avoid fish oil supplements and focus instead on eating fatty fish at least twice a week, in line with federal guidelines on safe fish intake, because fish contains a variety of healthful nutrients other than just EPA and DHA. …
>
> … But some experts say the case for fish oil remains open. Dr. JoAnn Manson, the chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said the large clinical trials of fish oil focused only on people who already had heart disease or were at very high risk. Fish oil has also been promoted for the prevention of a variety of other conditions, including cancer, Alzheimer’s and depression.
>
> Dr. Manson is leading a five-year clinical trial, called the Vital study, of 26,000 people who are more representative of the general population. Set to be completed next year, it will determine whether fish oil and vitamin D, separately or combined, have any effect on the long-term prevention of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and other diseases in people who do not have many strong risk factors. … “But I do think people should realize that the jury is still out,” she said, “and that they may be spending a lot of money on these supplements without getting any benefit.”
**TonySinclair** relatively few Americans are suffering from problems related to vitamin deficiencies even they do not get RDA and even if they are eating lotso crap. More so a multi won’t reverse the harms of craptastic nutrition habits. I am big on reductionism but when it comes to food the sum is in fact more than the parts. Fish oil is a poster child for that principle. Fatty fish? Solid consensus that it is A Good Thing. Just the fish oil? Apparently not.