Since a 1970s study reported that the Inuit Eskimos of Greenland had a high consumption of oily fish and subsequently very low heart disease rates, fish oil (which is rich in the essential fatty acid omega 3) has been the darling of the ‘nutraceutical’ industry. (‘Nutraceutical’ comes from the words nutrition and pharmaceutical and is used in relation to food extracts that are claimed to have medicinal effects.)

Indeed, studies have claimed that omega 3 can improve everything from Alzheimer’s to ADDH and arthritis.

However, more recent research suggests that, while the benefits are numerous, the healing properties of fish oil supplements are wildly exaggerated. Some Canadian scientists have even warned that global fish stocks are being endangered by the over-production of fish oil supplements.

‘Incompetent’ research
Dr Ben Goldacre, a UK-based neuroscientist, medical journalist and author of Bad Science, is highly critical of a recent study of 3,000 children carried out by Durham County Council . Following a trial where they were all given fish oil supplements in the months coming up to their school exams, Durham County Council claims that exam results improved.

The research hit the headlines in all the national papers in the UK but Goldacre says the study was “a laughably incompetent piece of research”, largely because there was no group of children not taking the fish oil with which to compare the results.

The British NHS Knowledge Service undertook a review of various studies claiming the benefits of fish oils. It found that, while people with heart disease benefited from fish oils, “there is little evidence to promote the idea that everyone should take fish oils to prevent heart disease and prolong life”.

Straight from the fish
However, while fish oil might not be quite the cure-all some nutraceutical companies might have us believe, the benefits are still important, according to Dr Muireann Cullen, manager of the Nutrition and Health Foundation in Ireland.

“Fish oil supplements certainly have a role to play, but the best source of omega 3 comes from eating two to three servings a week of oily fish like salmon, trout, mackerel, sardines, herring and anchovies,” says Cullen. “Apart from getting your omega 3 from fish, you also get the protein, iodine and selenium, zinc and vitamins B, A and D.”

While she warns that some studies claiming the benefits of fish oil supplements must be examined with caution, she believes there is extensive reputable research to indicate that fish oil helps to strengthen bones, normalise heart function, reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer, improve cognitive function and can act as an anti-inflammatory for older people with osteoarthritis.

“However, if people decide to go down the road of taking fish oil supplements, discuss it with your GP first as it can act as a blood-thinner. If taken with other medication, like Warfarin, fish oil supplements could cause nose bleeds or other complications,” advises Dr Cullen.