One of the “claims to fame” for the statin drugs is the fact that clinical trials have shown that they reduce the risk of having a heart attack. As I mentioned in a previous “Health Nugget,” researchers are not sure whether this is the result of lowering the cholesterol or because of the natural anti-inflammatory properties. In 2005, a clinical trial reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine compared people who took statin drugs with those who just took fish oil capsules. Both these groups were compared to a control group that took a placebo. One of the amazing characteristics of fish oil is that it contains large amounts of essential fats. These fats are the healthy, good fats that not only lower cholesterol and raise the HDL or good cholesterol, but they also significantly decrease inflammation in our bodies including our arteries.
The statin group decreased mortality by 10% over the placebo group; however, the fish oil group decreased mortality by 20% over the placebo group. In other words, the participants who took the fish oil capsules had twice the benefit of those who took the statin drugs. Reducing inflammation is the key to reducing your risk of having a heart attack, which is one of the main causes of death today. Since fish oil capsules pose absolutely no risk to the participant, it is certainly a great idea to supplement a healthy diet with purified, pharmaceutical-grade fish oil capsules.
Source: Dr. Strand Health Nuggets (newsletter@Bionutrition.org)
