Fish oil to prevent heart disease: the evidence and the controversy

Evidence thus far still supports the contention that fish derived omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, are good for heart patients. But this controversy tells us something about the medical research, and the acquisition and application of medical knowledge. Being scientists, doctors try to perform studies as rigorously as possible with randomised, placebo-controlled trials and using tests of statistical significance. But since the studies are on humans, with all their individual differing habits and inconsistencies, different results are produced by different researchers. And so while medicine is a science, in that the trials are scientifically conducted, the interpretation of the results, and in particular its application for the individual patient, is very much an art. A good doctor, like the good artist, must spend much time, energy and effort sieving through the good from the not so good data before coming out with the correct picture. Only by keeping an unbiased, inquisitive mind can the evidence be reviewed to solve the problem at hand. Almost always, the balance of data will favour a particular stand. In this day when newspapers are full of medical articles, a family physician has to be educated, interested and inquisitive to be a source of accurate and relevant information for the patients.