Fish oil can reduce coronary disease

A recent AFP health report (April 1) quotes a German study claiming that fish oil (omega-3) supplementation is of no additional benefit to pharmaceutical drugs in heart attack prevention. Two Japanese studies (published in the journals Lancet in 2007 and Atherosclerosis in 2008) contradict this and show that the addition of EPA (a special fish oil extract) to statin drugs reduces further major coronary events.

They also showed that EPA suppressed the risk of coronary artery disease by 53 per cent in the metabolic syndrome, a common condition in the obese and in diabetics.

The AFP report does not state the exact content of the purified fish oil extract of the German study. Fish oil contains two fatty acids, EPA and DHA, and British studies claim that EPA is the beneficial fatty acid, not DHA, and that DHA hinders the action of EPA. The Japanese studies used a pure EPA, without DHA. Pure EPA is already approved by Japan's Ministry of Health and Welfare as a treatment for cholesterol problems and peripheral artery disease. Furthermore, Japan (not Germany) maintains the highest longevity figures in the world.

Even more remarkable are the research claims of Dean Ornish, professor of medicine in California, stating that fundamental changes in diet and lifestyle can not only stop but reverse serious heart disease. The published MRI image of a very narrowed coronary artery shows how it opened up within a few months of his diet and lifestyle programme - if you wish to learn more about this read his latest book: The Spectrum, ISBN 978-0-345-49630-0.