fish oil and omega 3 better than statins, lipitor?

Dear All,

As many of you may know, Tim Russert, host of Meet the Press, passed away recently from sudden cardiac death. I wanted to take this time to share with you a little information about sudden cardiac death, and a prevention strategy that may be of help to you, your family or friend -- which is that fish oil, 1 g of EPA and DHA a day can reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death greatly.

Here is more information on sudden cardiac death:

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4741

American Heart Association recommends 1 g of EPA and DHA if you have heart disease:

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4632

In the video, I refer to several different studies;

1) This is the big 1999 fish oil study
that I mentioned

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10465168

2) Here is the link to the review showing that fish oil beats out statins in reducing risk of death:

http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/165/7/725

3) Here is a review article talking about benefits vs. risks of fish

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/296/15/1885

More information on primary and secondary endpoints:

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1120143

Here is the link to my website: www.bostonmedicalstudent.wordpress.com

____________

P.S. I wanted to point out something important: that the opinions expressed in this post are not necessarily those of Harvard Medical School, its affiliated institutions, or Harvard University. Also, I'm just a medical student, so my posts are hopefully conversation starters, but only conversation starters — not medical advice. If my posts intrigue you, please read more about the topic and discuss about it with your doctor. I'd be happy to send you the information in the journal articles I talk about. Best wishes. (more)

Category:

Education

Tags:

• usmedstudent
• sudden
• cardiac
• death
• tim
• russert
• heart
• attack
• fish
• oil
• omega
• fat
• statins
• lipitor
• cholesterol
• medicine
• health

[ichbinkeinberliner]

I've heard that omega-3s also might help people with mental illness, especially schizophrenia. however, there is some conflicting information about this. is there a difference between flax and fish oil???

[usmedstudent]

there is a difference -- they are both good, but definitely there is a difference. flax seed oil is ALA, whereas fish oil is EPA and DHA. omega-3's have been shown in randomized controlled trials to help with schizophrenia and depression, the data's pretty good about that -- hope this helps!

[holler505]

I love all your videos. Its great that you and a "few" other people out there get the word out to us. Sadly, people will listen but most wont always follow what's healthy. Thanks Jeff, lookin good.

[usmedstudent]

thanks!

[tatsumakisempyukaku]

How about phytosterols being used to lower cholesterol? They're plant derived cholesterols that, when taken, bind to cholesterol receptor sites and, therefore, block animal cholesterols from being used by the body. I heard about this from s friend, but are there medical articles that support this?

[pipercolt1963]

Well have u heard of seal oil, apparently its purer than fish oil. We have a surplus of animals here, about 3 million harp seals.

[EricSchwin22]

The Japanese have the lowest rates of Alzheimer's disease, depression, heart attacks, and lower obesity rates...they eat Fish, rice, vegetables and fruit everyday in their diets.

I just hope that Americans can catch on in the future how important Omega 3 fats are and understand why it's so important.

[DCsamira]

@usmedstudent Yes. And fish source is better because the Flax form has a 2.7% conversion to active form and FISH has a 97%, so it is much more effective... but rather have Flax than any omega 6 grains

[HaligonianType1]

@serbwithblade I have been using the President's Choice - PC Omega-3 Fish Oil Blend. It's done well in clinical trials, and there is no fishy taste when you burp.

[americanmed]

If you'd like a free AED, look up American Med Supply on YouTube. We are giving one away. Plus we are giving away a bunch of other cool gifts and prizes. No purchase required or anything like that.

[TheJUNGLESURFER]

ITS  NOT HEALTHY AT ALL

[serbwithblade]

Which brand of fish oil would you recommend (there are so many out there!)?