Fishy Business
You. Yeah, You. You taking Fish Oil for the wonderful Omega-3 fatty acids? Well, it like so many other supplement fads seems to be worthless. http://www.badscience.net/2010/06/the-return-of-a-2bn-fishy-friend/
So… If you’re taking fish oil, there are a few reactions you can have:
- Look at the science, decide that science trumps your current beliefs, and change your belief.
- Look at the science, but be unconvinced by it (which is okay, especially for smalland/ or poorly conducted studies)
- Ignore the science, and since this bit of science contradicts your current beliefs, disbelieve all science.
Unfortunately, it seems that Option #3 seems to be the approach people take normally. Bummer.
All I can say is… Science is the best thing we’ve got to understand the world around us. It works pretty well, and most importantly, it’s self-correcting.
Try to keep an open mind. Which, of course, doen’t mean, “believe anything anybody tells you,” but something more like, “be ready to accept new evidence as it comes along and don’t let your preconceived beliefs blind you to the new evidence.”
As a comment left about the article indicated, the title should have read that fish oil is inefffective *in making children smarter*. Most people take fish oil for heart and vascular health, not for any perceived neurological benefits. I read medical journals for a living. In a trial, red yeast rice was shown to be just as effective at lowering cholesterol as prescription drugs and can be taken by patients for which statins are contraindicated. In another study, milk thistle was shown to reduce liver damage in children receiving chemotherapy. Of course, one study does not really prove anything, though.
@MangoTango
Yeah, I know about the red yeast rice research. It’s effective because it contains a statin, exactly the same drug that is in the commercial drugs. Of course, with the red yeast rice, it’s completely uncontrolled — you don’t know how much of the medication you’re getting, and therefore the red yeast rice would be exactly as dangerous as the prescription drug if you get too much (or too little) of it.
That’s cool about the milk thistle. If it turns out to be effective, they can isolate the effective compound and control the quantity taken by forumlating a reliable drug.