Move Over Fatty Acids?

A systematic review or meta-analysis of the association of fatty acids and cardiovascular health was released by the Annals of Internal Medicine basically showing that current evidence does not clearly support cardiovascular guidelines that encourage high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of total saturated fats.

The findings released Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine are the latest to show that supplements and vitamins don't work as well as touted to help patients prevent diseases. While past studies showed fish oil can lower unhealthy blood fats, blood pressure and reduce the risk of a second heart attack, research in recent years contradicted those findings, suggesting it has limited heart benefits. Researchers analyzed 72 studies that looked at more than 600,000 patients from 18 countries. Of those, 40 studies involved initially healthy people, 10 studies recruited people with elevated cardiovascular risk factors and 22 studies recruited people with cardiovascular disease.

The problem with the way TIME and other media outlets present the analysis is that they sort of give a negative slant toward lack of benefit meaning causing harm camp.  That was never the result of the review.  There can be no benefit and no harm.