Stupid Study on Fish Oils Wrong, Misleading

So I came across this article on fish oils posted on msnbc.com and got so angry that my shaved head began to emit steam (it happens, sometimes).  If there’s one thing I hate, it’s a poorly designed scientific study.  If there’s one thing I hate more, it’s when people misinterpret that study’s results, and even worse, plant a deceptive headline that’s totally incorrect and misleading.  That’s bad science AND bad journalism.

“Fish oils doesn’t benefit the brain, study shows” goes the headline.  WRONG.  First off, they contradict themselves within a few sentences, by stating that multiple studies HAVE shown a cognitive benefit to fish oils.  But really, it only gets better, when you actually read the details of the study in question.

Basically, they took a bunch of 70-somethings and gave them about 500 mg of fish oils a day for two years.  Then they tested cognition and found no difference.

Let me put this in technical terms first.  NO DUH.

Where do I begin?  Okay, let’s start with the fact that we are using 70-somethings as our test subjects.  Do you think maybe, just maybe, the fact that there was no difference in cognition MIGHT just be because we’re using an elderly population?  I know it may not be PC to say that the older brain just don’t adapt as quickly as young ones, but sorry, it’s true.  So any decline in mental function has already occurred, and could be permanent no matter what you give them.  This is like putting on your seat belt AFTER an accident and declaring that seat belts don’t do squat.  If you really want to test if fish oils will prevent cognitive decline, then you must PREVENT cognitive decline, as in, pick much younger test subjects, and give them fish oils, and see how they do.

Then there’s the issue of dosage.  500 mg?  Really?  That’s nothing!  A typical recommended dosage for a healthy, young person is 1000 mg of fish oil, just as a health maintenance sort of issue.  I take 3000 mg a day.  Why?  Because I’m Healthy Andy, that’s why!  And because fish oils are super-fantastically healthy for you!

The point is, they gave these people a miniscule dose, and were shocked when it didn’t perform miracles on a 75-year old brain.  REALLY.  This just in, folks.  In a related story, fish oils are not magic beans, that will grow into an enormous beanstalk leading you to a land of adventure and excitement.  In case you were wondering.

How about we actually design a study that makes sense?  Say, use a realistically sufficient dose of fish oils, on a population that might actually be able to PREVENT decline… you know, BEFORE it occurs?

Guess what?  If you never change the oil in your car, and let all that engine wear and tear accumulate, and then at 100,000 miles start changing the oil, don’t expect a dramatic increase in engine performance. All this study proves, is that a very low dose of fish oils doesn’t dramatically reverse the consequences of aging in the 75 year brain.  Shocking.

Of course, that finding is accurately depicted in the headline oh WAIT.  No, it isn’t.  The headline suggests that fish oils have been definitively proven to be useless for issues of cognition, which, of course, is crap.  Way to go, Journalist Guy.  Because nobody just reads a headline, skims past the article, and assumes the headline is accurate.  Yeah.  Nobody.

Okay, now I’ve vented and the steam is starting to dissipate from my head.  The real truth is, fish oils have been proven over and over again to be an essential part of a healthy lifestyle.  It’s pretty staggering, actually, how many studies have been done showing all kinds of health benefits from fish oils.  So don’t let headlines fool you, or poorly designed studies steer you astray.

Of course, that’s why I’m here- to help sift through the nonsense and bring you the real deal.  Stay healthy!

Oh, I saw the article here-

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36832338/ns/health-aging