Research Evaluates Whether Vitamin D, Fish Oil Can Lower Rates Of Cancer, Major Cardiovascular Events.

reports that “in recent years, many Americans have embraced vitamin D and fish oil pills, their enthusiasm fueled by a steady trickle of suggestive research studies linking higher levels of vitamin D with lower rates of cancer and other ills, and fish consumption with reduced heart disease.” According to the Times, however, “a large and rigorous government-funded randomized trial — the only such study of omega-3 fish oils ever carried out in healthy adults, and the largest trial ever done of high-dose vitamin D — has found the supplements do not lower cancer rates in healthy adults.” They also do not “reduce the rate of major cardiovascular events, a composite of heart attacks, strokes and deaths from cardiovascular disease.” The NPR (11/10, Neighmond) “Shots” blog reports that the findings “were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Session...and released online Saturday by the New England Journal of Medicine.” Although “the overall results were disappointing, there appeared to be a beneficial effect when it came to one aspect of heart disease and fish oil,” the data indicated that “taking fish oil lowered the risk of heart attack by about 28 percent, which is a ‘statistically significant’ finding, says Dr. JoAnn Manson,” who “led the research.” https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/10/well/live/vitamin-d-and-fish-oils-are-ineffective-for-preventing-cancer-and-heart-disease.html