Fishing for the facts. (updates).(fish and fish oil)

Amid a flurry of new and conflicting studies about the relative risks and benefits of fish and fish oil, the biggest heart-health news comes from the conservative American Health Association (AHA). In updated recommendations, the Dallas, Texas-based AHA has reversed its stance that supplements are not effective in preventing heart disease.

Even healthy people need omega-3 fatty acids from fish and plant sources to protect their hearts, according to the AHA report in the November 19, 2002 issue of its journal, Circulation.

"Omega-3 fatty acids are not just good fats; they affect heart health in positive ways," reports Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, lead author of the report. They make the blood less likely to form clots that cause heart attacks and protect against irregular heartbeats that cause sudden cardiac death.

The new fish oil recommendation balances numerous studies of the cardiovascular benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish with worrisome evidence that fish have become contaminated with mercury, a powerful poison.

Since 2000, the AHA's dietary guidelines have recommended that healthy adults eat at least two servings of fish per week, particularly fish such as mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and ...