Friend,
My brother emailed me a question that I get often. He wanted to know if "fish oil" was a good supplement.
First and foremost, it’s impossible to answer whether or not something is good for someone without knowing what that person's health goal might be.
Fact is, most people don’t even have a goal. When it comes to swallowing pills, it's usually done simply in reaction to a trend.
That’s stupid.
Regarding my brother, I think he may have been bored at work and using "Google University" to hunt down health facts...He broke TPC Life Rule #1, which states, "You're a moron if you use the Internet for vitamin research."
Exceptions exist, but they don’t define the rule!
The Internet is saturated with ADVERTISING, not facts. And when it comes to health, you're destined to come across an ad touting the benefits of fish oils.
But let’s think about it...Do you really think man, or even his prehistoric ancestors, was meant to suck down highly processed, extracted fish oils?
Rather than answer him directly, I figured I'd do so publicly so everyone could benefit from the free advice. In addition, I added three more ridiculous vitamins that you should avoid.
4 of The Worst Vitamins
What "they" say: Get omega-3 fish oils to be saved from the inner fires of inflammation, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and hell, UFO Abduction."
What science says: You don't need pills to get omega fats. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in generous amounts in servings of grass-fed meat, whole eggs, wild-caught fish and pemmican. And better than their "pill counterparts," food source omega-3 fats are accompanied with a host of micronutrients and other healthy fats required to increase functional lifespan.
What "they" say: Your entire family is vitamin D deficient - even the family dog - and pills will correct it. The deficiency explains all your ill health...and even your bad haircut.
What science says: Vitamin D pills are hormones made by Big Pharma and disguised as "vitamins." The University of Colorado, recently showed how synthetic vitamin D was traditonally used as a "rodenticide" due to its "cumulative poisonous nature." Once mass production was developed by Hoffman La- Roche and BASF pharmaceuticals, it was turned into a "vitamin" courtesy of slick advertising and industry funded studies falsley touting its benefits (checkbook science).
Vitamin D pills can "plug up" the body, causing the synthetic vitamin to hide and tuck away into your fat layers (for up to 60 days!) where it disrupts "hormonal intelligence," causing excess calcification and dwindling health. In contrast, naturally occurring vitamin D from cod liver oil or sun exposure only lasts for up to 20 minutes, and quickly exerts its benefits before it is quickly broken down and removed from the body.
What "they" say: Resveratrol is the fountain of youth, except it comes in a pill, usually made by big Pharma, is the next best thing since bacon. Honestly!
What science says: Not a single human clinical trial substantiates longevity claims. In fact, some studies are showing it to be risky.
"Resveratrol, a polyphenol derived from red grapes, berries, and peanuts, has been shown to mediate death of a wide variety of cells. The mechanisms by which resveratrol mediates cell death include necrosis, apoptosis, autophagy, and others. While most studies suggest that resveratrol kills tumor cells selectively, evidence is emerging that certain normal cells such as endothelial cells, lymphocytes, and chondrocytes are vulnerable to resveratrol."
- Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, 2009
What "they" say: Choke down folic acid daily and forever escape fear, depression, heart disease, cancer or heck, high interest rates and predatory loans as "as long as we get our 400 micrograms daily." (Cheesy smile here by huckster follows.)
What science says: Folic acid pills are yet another drug disguised as a vitamin. The Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening trial has linked high folic acid intake with a 32% increased risk of breast cancer.
Now, about fish oil...Most people take it to stop INFLAMMATION, thinking it will protect the heart.
It won't.
Published in Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers published the results of a large meta-analysis that pooled and then analyzed data from various clinical trials involving thousands of Omega-3 users. They found that taking omega-3 fatty acids did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems, whatsoever,
Their conclusion: We found “insufficient evidence” of a protective effect against future cardiovascular events in heart patients taking omega-3 fats.
If you want an anti-inflammatory that you can bet your life on, start taking TURMERIC!
Studies have shown it can even replace over 200 different medications, such as NSAIDS, BP meds and anti-cancer drugs.
To harness the unique longevity benefits of turmeric, I designed a mult-vitamin loaded with the active ingredients, curcuminoids.
Dare to Live Young,
The People’s Chemist
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