Vitamin Supplements Associated With Increased Risk for Death

Monique

Quote by bohm2

This lack of benefit with omega-3 supplementation kind of surprised me:

Association Between Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and Risk of Major Cardiovascular Disease Events: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article....icleid=1357266
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/250142.php

Keep in mind that it's a meta-analysis, there could be heterogeneity that dilutes out the effect. You could check what publications they used and what the criteria for inclusion were. I would be more impressed if they showed the contribution of Omega-3 fatty acid supplements to health in animals where environmental and genetic factors are strictly controlled. In this case I think that lack of proof of an effect is not proof that there is no effect.

Evo

I found a few recent large studies that confirmed that the supplements alone did nothing. One was a large study on cardiac patients that had no benefit from use of Omega 3 supplements prior to cardiac surgery, so I think that's a bit too specific. The other I haven't read yet. So here is this one.

Conclusions
Daily supplementation with 1 g of n–3 fatty acids did not reduce the rate of cardiovascular events in patients at high risk for cardiovascular events. (Funded by Sanofi; ORIGIN ClinicalTrials.gov number,

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1203859

Evo

This is an interesting article on Omega 3 in foods and the ratio to Omega 6. I think some people might find it helpful.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/well...in-omega-3.htm

bohm2

Quote by Evo

This is an interesting article on Omega 3 in foods and the ratio to Omega 6. I think some people mind find it helpful.
http://health.howstuffworks.com/well...in-omega-3.htm

Thanks. That's what is so unexpected about the lack of benefit with omega-3 supplementation. There seems to be so much theoretical arguments of why supplementation should provide benefits but many of the most comprehensive reviews (including Cochrane) suggest few benefits. I'm sure some will argue that the ratio is still too high but I'm not sure how convincing this argument is? Simopoulos has published many journal articles on the topic and written a few books. An interesting article discussing this view:

Anthropological and epidemiological studies and studies at the molecular level indicate that human beings evolved on a diet with a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFA) of ~1 whereas in Western diets the ratio is 15/1 to 16.7/1. A high omega-6/omega-3 ratio, as is found in today’s Western diets, promotes the pathogenesis of many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, whereas increased levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (a lower omega-6/omega-3 ratio), exert suppressive effects....A lower ratio of omega-6/omega-3 fatty acids is needed for the prevention and management of chronic diseases.

Evolutionary aspects of diet, the omega-6/omega-3 ratio and genetic variation: nutritional implications for chronic diseases
http://www.direct-ms.org/pdf/Nutriti...ratio%2006.pdf

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Evo Mentor Blog Entries: 4	This is an interesting article on Omega 3 in foods and the ratio to Omega 6. I think some people might find it helpful. http://health.howstuffworks.com/well...in-omega-3.htm