Opinion: The Case Against Fish Oil and EFAs     (19)
18 February 2010 | 07:21 pm

I admit it, I’m a health nut. Have been for most of my life, as I’ve eaten (mostly) organic food since I was 14. Of course, I’ve gone through phases when I’d eat “normally” and I certainly don’t make a fuss when traveling or eating in restaurants, but I do enjoy food that is grown sustainably with consideration given to the health of the Earth and the consumer. As a result, for the past few years, I’ve been following the advice of the media by mixing EFAs (Essential Fatty Acids) into my morning shake. I did it just this morning, in fact, mixing a tablespoon of a vegetable-derived Omega 3-6-9 product in with the protein/fruit/acai blend that usually starts my day. And then my brother sent me this article. Read it. Read it carefully. Seems the data supporting human consumption of fish oils don’t say what the marketers of fish oil would want us to believe. This part, in particular, caught my eye:

“In declaring EPA and DHA to be safe, the FDA neglected to evaluate their antithyroid, immunosuppressive, lipid peroxidative (Song et al., 2000), light sensitizing, and antimitochondrial effects, their depression of glucose oxidation (Delarue et al., 2003), and their contribution to metastatic cancer (Klieveri, et al., 2000), lipofuscinosis and liver damage, among other problems.”

Whoa. I don’t want anything messing with my mitochondria (or those other things), thankyouverymuch. Nor do I want all the other negative health effects described by Mr. Peat. So, as of this minute, my EFA bottles are going in the recycling bin.

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Categories: Health & Fitness • Opinion