Research finds fish oil supplements may not be beneficial for healthy adults

BOSTON - If you're a healthy adult, you may want to avoid fish oil supplements.

Many people take fish oil supplements because they contain omega-3 fatty acids which have been shown to reduce inflammation and provide some heart-health benefits. But researchers found that taking these supplements regularly might actually increase the risk of stroke and heart disease in healthy adults.

They did find that these fish oil capsules reduced cardiovascular risk in people who already had it, but why do the supplements behave differently in healthy individuals? Experts say they may increase the risk of bleeding and could disrupt the healthy balance of fatty acids in healthy people.

So if you don't have heart problems, you might want to avoid fish oil supplements and instead eat a heart-healthy diet with natural omega-3 sources such as fatty fish.

In:
• Health
• Heart Disease

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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