Health
Fish oil supplements linked to greater first-time heart attack risk in study: ‘Not universally good or bad'
Taking fish oil supplements could raise the risk of heart attack and stroke, a new study suggests.
Among healthy people, regular use of fish oil was found to make them more susceptible to developing heart disease and stroke for the first time, the study found.
Among those who had existing heart disease, however, fish oil consumption was shown to slow the progression of cardiovascular disease and reduce the risk of mortality.
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Researchers analyzed nearly 12 years of data for more than 415,000 participants from the UK Biobank study; the participants ranged in age from 40 to 69.
“Regular use of fish oil supplements might be a risk factor for atrial fibrillation and stroke among the general population, but could be beneficial for progression of cardiovascular disease from atrial fibrillation to major adverse cardiovascular events, and from atrial fibrillation to death,” the researchers wrote in the study, which was published in The BMJ (British Medical Journal).
Taking fish oil supplements could raise the risk of heart attack and stroke among certain people, a new study suggests. (iStock)
“Further studies are needed to determine the precise mechanisms for the development and prognosis of cardiovascular disease events with regular use of fish oil supplements.”
Study highlights ‘uncertainty,’ cardiologist says
Dr. Jim Liu, a cardiologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, who was not involved in the study, pointed out that there has been conflicting data about whether or not fish oil or omega 3 fatty acids can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
“This is yet another study that reminds us there is still a lot that needs to be investigated when it comes to fish oil and heart disease.”
“This study appears to echo the same sentiment that there is still some uncertainty about their relation to heart health,” he told Fox News Digital.
“Similar to previous studies, I think this study indicates that fish oil is not necessarily universally good or bad for all.”
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Whether or not fish oil is beneficial or harmful depends on an individual’s specific underlying health conditions, he said — such as a history of heart attack or atrial fibrillation, and on other factors such as dosing and different formulations of the substance.
“Further studies are needed to determine the precise mechanisms for the development and prognosis of cardiovascular disease events with regular use of fish oil supplements,” the authors of a new study wrote. (iStock)
“Previous studies have shown that certain formulations of fish oil can help reduce cardiovascular events in people with elevated triglycerides and previous cardiovascular events,” Liu noted.
“Overall, this is yet another study that reminds us that there is still a lot that needs to be investigated when it comes to fish oil and heart disease.”
Dietitians weigh risks and benefits
Tanya Freirich, a registered dietitian nutritionist in Charlotte, North Carolina, who practices as The Lupus Dietitian, also was not involved in the study but offered insights.
“In this study, there was a slightly increased association between healthy people who took fish oil and developing atrial fibrillation and stroke, whereas for those people who took the fish oil after being diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, there was a slightly decreased association and risk of atrial fibrillation and stroke,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Overall, I would say to take these results with a grain of salt, as it was a prospective study.”
A prospective study monitors what people self-report and their eventual health outcomes over time, she noted — versus a control study, where similar people are placed in two groups and one group takes the fish oil while the other does not.
“We don’t know about the population of healthy participants and why they decided to take fish oil,” Freirich said.
A registered dietitian recommended that most people get their omega 3s from food sources such as salmon, sardines, tuna, ground flaxseed, chia seeds, walnuts and almonds. (iStock)
“Perhaps they have a family history of heart disease, or other lifestyle features that are contributing to their risk of developing atrial fibrillation and stroke outside of the fish oil supplement.”
As a registered dietitian, Freirich said she recommends most people get their omega 3s from food sources such as salmon, sardines, tuna, ground flaxseed, chia seeds, walnuts and almonds.
“Making small changes to your diet over time can have big benefits in reducing your overall cardiovascular risk.”
“Many people do not get enough omega 3 fatty acids in their diet, and this can be a great way to consume healthy fats while also benefiting from protein and sources of fiber,” she said.
When preparing meals, replacing a serving of red meat with fatty fish can promote heart health by decreasing the intake of saturated fats and increasing the intake of omega 3s, according to Freirich.
“Always discuss your supplement use with your medical care providers, as some may be unnecessary or even increase your risk for poor health outcomes,” said one expert. (iStock)
“Making small changes to your diet over time can have big benefits in reducing your overall cardiovascular risk,” she advised.
“Always discuss your supplement use with your medical care providers, as some may be unnecessary or even increase your risk for poor health outcomes.”
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Michelle Routhenstein, a New York-based preventive cardiology dietitian at EntirelyNourished.com, agreed that prior research has indicated that taking high doses of fish oil supplements could potentially elevate the risk of atrial fibrillation — while regularly consuming fatty fish four to five times a week may lower that risk.
To determine the potential benefits of fish oil and the appropriate dosage, experts recommended consulting with a registered dietitian specializing in heart disease. (iStock)
“We need to recognize that when it comes to fish oil — and many other foods and supplements — more or a concentrated dose isn’t necessarily better,” Routhenstein, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
“It is also important to note that not all fish oil supplements are created equal. Factors like dosage, quality and additional ingredients can influence cardiovascular health outcomes.”
To determine the potential benefits of fish oil and the appropriate dosage, Routhenstein recommended consulting with a registered dietitian specializing in heart disease.
Fox News Digital reached out to the study researchers for more detail, as well as several manufacturers of fish oil supplements requesting comment on the findings.
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During a recent episode of her podcast, Gwyneth Paltrow spoke with neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman about retatrutide, a new advancement in GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) therapies.
In recent years, GLP-1 receptor agonists have become a major focus in discussions around biohacking, longevity and wellness – but they’re not without a multitude of side effects.
Huberman noted that while first-generation weight-loss drugs curbed users’ appetites, they frequently plunged them into massive, rapid caloric deficits.
‘NEXT OZEMPIC’ AIMS TO DELIVER 30% WEIGHT LOSS WITH FEWER SIDE EFFECTS
Without aggressive resistance training, a high percentage of that lost weight came directly from lean muscle. “People would lose a ton of weight, but they would also lose muscle mass,” Huberman told Paltrow.
In clinical trials, retatrutide is administered as a once-weekly subcutaneous injection. (iStock)
That is where retatrutide comes in, he said. Unlike older single- or dual-action medications, retatrutide is a triple agonist.
That means it activates the body’s receptors for glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucagon – three hormones involved in regulating blood sugar, appetite and metabolism.
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“Retatrutide is a more mild agonist of GLP-1,” said Huberman. “It also increases glucagon and … GIP. So, it hits three different pathways, each a bit more subtly.”
In clinical trials, retatrutide is administered as a once-weekly subcutaneous injection.
Without aggressive resistance training, a high percentage of lost weight can come directly from lean muscle mass, said Andrew Huberman. (iStock)
Because of its balanced, multi-receptor approach, Huberman said the drug has a “lower side effect profile” while still allowing people to lose up to a third of their body weight “across a year or so.”
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Most importantly for fitness and longevity advocates, the doctor pointed out that retatrutide seems to have “some muscle sparing effect.”
Because the drug is still moving through official pipelines, a massive gray market of compounding pharmacies and online peptide suppliers has cropped up to meet the growing demand.
Retatrutide is an investigational molecule that is legally available only to participants in Lilly’s clinical trials, according to Lilly’s website, and the company is currently “evaluating its safety and efficacy” in these clinical studies. (iStock)
Huberman issued a strict warning regarding these unregulated online sources, noting that these options “can say 99% purity, but that 1% means there could be some LPS,” referring to lipopolysaccharides, a type of bacterial toxin.
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“LPS will cause inflammation,” he cautioned. “One injection isn’t gonna do it, but multiple injections over time, I could see where that could become problematic.”
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Paltrow echoed the safety concerns, comparing the current “wild-west” peptide craze to the landscape of supplements in the 90s, “where there’s really no third-party testing and it’s kind of word of mouth.”
“Multiple injections over time, I could see where that could become problematic.”
Both agreed that anyone exploring these therapies should avoid unverified online sources and prioritize working with a medical doctor.
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Retatrutide is an investigational molecule that is legally available only to participants in Lilly’s clinical trials, according to the manufacturer’s website. The company is currently “evaluating its safety and efficacy.”
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The drug has not been reviewed or approved by any regulatory agency, and no one should consider taking anything claiming to be retatrutide outside of a Lilly-sponsored clinical trial, experts advise.
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A new treatment for endometrial cancer demonstrated strong potential in a Phase 3 clinical trial.
Drugmaker Merck announced Monday that the investigational drug sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT) met its “primary endpoints” of overall survival and progression-free survival in patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer.
The TroFuse-005 trial is the first global Phase 3 trial to “demonstrate statistically significant improvement” in survival compared to chemotherapy in these patients, according to a Merck press release.
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This was also the first and only antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) to achieve such a result for endometrial cancer patients in this setting, the researchers stated.
An ADC is a targeted cancer therapy that delivers more of the drug to tumor cells while limiting damage to healthy cells.
The investigational drug, sac-TMT, is administered every two weeks via IV infusion. (iStock)
The trial involved 776 patients with endometrial cancer whose disease worsened after receiving both platinum chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
The patients were randomly assigned sac-TMT, administered every two weeks, or a treatment of the physician’s choice, including doxorubin or paclitaxel chemotherapy. The patients were aware of which treatment they were receiving.
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Those receiving sac-TMT showed “clinically meaningful improvement” in their disease state compared to the treatment of physician’s choice, the researchers found.
The study also met response rate benchmarks and exhibited similar side effects to earlier studies of the same drug, Merck reported.
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The drugmaker did not disclose any statistics on exact survival benefit, response rate, side effect rates or other details, but the researchers aim to present this Phase 3 data at an upcoming medical meeting.
The drug “may be able to address a critical unmet need for certain patients with advanced endometrial cancer,” said the lead researcher (not pictured). (iStock)
Dr. Domenica Lorusso, the study’s global lead investigator and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Humanitas University and Humanitas San Pio X in Milan, wrote in a press release that these results show sac-TMT “may be able to address a critical unmet need for certain patients with advanced endometrial cancer, one of the only cancers increasing in both incidence and mortality worldwide.”
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“Despite recent advances, patients whose disease progresses following treatment with platinum and immunotherapy are urgently in need of new options, and these findings show for the first time that a TROP2 ADC may be an effective option in this setting,” she added.
Dr. Brian Slomovitz, co-director of gynecologic oncology at Mount Sinai and an investigator on this trial, reflected on the study findings during an interview with Fox News Digital.
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“Unlike many other cancers that we are treating, the number of endometrial cancers and the number of deaths due to endometrial cancers are on the rise,” Slomovitz noted.
“In the United States, the number of deaths due to endometrial cancer has surpassed the number of deaths due to ovarian cancer, [making it] the deadliest of all gynecologic malignancies.”
Endometrial cancer has become “the deadliest of all gynecologic malignancies,” one doctor shared. (iStock)
Despite recent advancements introducing immunotherapy as the standard of care, “better treatment options” for patients with recurrent disease “remains an unmet need,” Slomovitz commented.
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“If the full data confirm this announcement, the key questions will be the magnitude of the survival benefit and the toxicity profile — those will define sac-TMT’s role,” he said.
“But an overall survival improvement in recurrent disease is a real, meaningful result for patients and their families, not just a statistical one.”
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