Posted by Larry Hoover on May 25, 2003, at 16:39:03
In reply to Re: famotidine, omeprazole etc. » Larry Hoover, posted by Kari on May 25, 2003, at 13:05:42
> Thanks for the suggestion, Larry.
> There is one problem with fish oil, though. I keep hearing that taking it can cause hemorrhage of blood vessels in the brain. That really scares me :)
>
> Kari.That is poppycock.
That idea arises from a gross misinterpretation of data from the study of one population of Inuit, from Greenland. The traditional diet is thought to provide something like 20 or 30 grams/day of long-chain omega-3s. And, the incidence of hemorrhagic stroke in that population was higher than in matched populations elsewhere (occlusive strokes, the kind most people in the Western world get, are virtually unheard of). Turns out that the culprit is not fish oil, but inbreeding. There is a genetic defect unique to that population that causes arterial ruptures. Two copies of the bad gene and you get early death, often from hemorrhagic stroke.
You're ten times more likely to have an occlusive stroke than an hemorrhagic one to begin with, but fish oil cuts the risk of the occlusive sort by up to half. The risk to benefit ratio is heavily weighted towards benefits from fish oil. Of all the supplements I use, it is my belief that fish oil is the healthiest one for me (and for you, too).
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:228647
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030525/msgs/229064.html