Why fish oil is the worst supplement you can take

Fish oil is the #1 top selling dietary supplement currently on the market. Americans spend 1 billion dollars a year fish oil supplements because we think it is improving our heart health, brain health, and reducing inflammation.

Today I’d like to share how we have been misled when it comes to the benefits of fish oil and how it is actually harmful for your health. I encourage you to watch this video where Dr. Brian Peskin, medical scientist from MIT, discusses exactly why fish oil supplementation is NOT the miracle supplement we’ve been led to believe. Personally, I was mortified to learn that:

• People using this supplement experienced a dramatic rise in diabetes, autoimmune system problems, and cardiovascular issues.
• Overuse of this supplement produces harmful effects that mimic long-term steroid use.
• Over 15,000 studies ALL SHOW this supplement fails to work.

This research isn’t brand new, but hasn’t gained traction until now.

Here are some reasons to reconsider taking fish oil supplementation or talk with your doctor right away if they recommended supplementation for you.

1. Shortens lifespan. Fish oil oxidizes or becomes damaged at room temperature. When we take in concentrated amounts of fish oil from supplements, versus small quantities from seafood, it introduces large quantities of damaged oil into your body. This damaged oil starts to damage your cells and decrease the ability of your cells to function properly. Your antioxidants, like Vitamin C and E and glutathione, spring into action to try to protect your cells, but they get depleted in the process. When your antioxidants get depleted, they aren’t available to protect you effectively against other kinds of cellular damage from the environment, toxins or even cancer cells.
2. Speaking of cancer, a study from Harvard that was published in the Journal of National Cancer Institute also found that taking fish oil supplements led to increases in prostate cancer.
3. Repeated studies find that “Omega-3 supplements did nothing to reduce heart attacks, strokes, or deaths from heart disease for folks with increased risk.”
4. Fish oils and Omega-3 supplements are very processed and prone to oxidative damage.

If your head is swarming right now, I know exactly how you feel. This is discouraging and disappointing news. However, it’s also a blessing in disguise and empowering to learn what actions you can take to protect yourself.

So if you’re not going to take fish oil, what could you do instead?

For starters, eat real, whole food including seafood, walnuts, flax seeds, chia seeds, eggs, and algae. Sophisticated as many supplements are, we repeatedly discover that they just aren’t as good as what nature come up with. The way that foods deliver health benefits to your body is superior than relying on supplements to do the work.

We have repeatedly found that when we try to extract the part of the food or plant that seems to contain the “cure all”, we miss the mark. Now, I’m not saying that supplements aren’t helpful, they absolutely can be, but food is powerful medicine.  Make the best food choices that you can rather than mediocre food choices and lots of supplements.

Until next time, I’m wishing you unstoppable health!

~Rebecca