Yet another study of the health benefits of omega-3's, this one published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. This was no small study: The Swedish Mammography Cohort analyzed data from 36,234 women over the course of 18 years, 651 of whom experienced heart failure. The researchers found that those women with the highest intake of fatty fish (fish with high amounts of omega-3s) reduced their risk of heart failure by a minimum of 25 percent.
Now compare that with the latest attempt by AstraZeneca to sell its cholesterol- lowering drug Crestor to healthy people, those with perfectly normal cholesterol, written up in the New York Times.
In the studies that the Food and Drug Administration based its approval of Crestor for this expanded use for healthy people, the rate of heart attacks experienced by people who a sugar pill (placebo) was 0.37 percent, it 68 patients out of 8,901 who took the sugar pill. Among those in the study who took Crestor, 0.17 percent, or 31 patients, had heart attacks. That 55 percent relative difference between the two groups translates to only 0.2 percentage points in absolute-- or 2 people out of 1,000.
As the New York Times article said, "Stated another way, 500 people would need to be treated with Crestor for a year to avoid one usually survivable heart attack... At $3.50 a pill, the cost of prescribing Crestor to 500 people for a year would be $680,000 to prevent one heart attack."
So which makes more sense, eating fatty fish once a week (or taking an omega-3 supplement such as fish oil or krill oil), or taking an expensive statin drug that has well-documented side effects?
Read more of the latest wellness news at WellWise.org.
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Just like the mental health business, people would rather take a pill than do the work required to make their mind-spirit healthy, they rely on medication rather than on a healthy lifestyle. Drug companies want to sell drugs and will look for any avenue to increase sales and profits. There's no fighting that except to say no (except when really needed) and figure out how to stay healthy. Education is critical so keep up the good work.
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