Mahi Mahi in a Pill!
Not long ago, I said taking fish oils gave you a walletectomy if you haven’t had a heart attack. That is still true. A lot of fish get turned into fish oil capsules and it’s a big waste.
But if you’ve had a heart attack, there’s good news if you like Mahi Mahi in a pill.
Once you’ve had a heart attack, there is a pretty big chance you could have another one even if you take statin medications to lower your cholesterol. We’ve known for a while that people with higher than normal triglyceride levels are more likely to have a heart attack. In the past, these folks have been given niacin and fibrate pills to lower triglycerides. Unfortunately, neither of these pills stopped heart attacks.
Finally, we’ve studied a special type of purified fish oil called Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) that nicely lowers triglycerides. I challenge you to say Eicosapentaenoic Acid really fast three times . . . heck, just say it once!
Over 8,000 people with high triglycerides after a heart attack were given EPA or a fake pill (placebo). After 5 years they observed that for every 23 people that got the medicine, one heart attack, stroke, or heart related death was prevented. I understand that 1 in 23 may not sound impressive, but it’s great for the person who is the one!
Maybe it’s due to fish oils slightly thinning the blood. Maybe it’s due to fish oils reducing inflammation. Maybe it’s due to the bad breath from the pills. Who knows, but in the end the study is pretty convincing.
The takeaway is if you have higher than normal triglycerides after a heart attack, take prescription EPA.
In parting, do you know what a fish says when he hits a wall?
Dam.
