In the Irish Independent, Holford is quoted as stating that “The UK’s National Institute of Clinical Excellence [NICE] recommends that all doctors prescribe one gram of fish oil to patients who have had a heart attack. The trouble is, most of us don’t eat nearly enough omega 3 and 6 fats.” However, NICE actually recommend [PDF, p.5] that patients “Eat two to four portions of oily fish a week, such as herring, sardines,mackerel, salmon, trout and tuna.,,,If you have had a heart attack in the last 3 months and do not eat enough oily fish, your doctor may offer a medicine to supplement your diet.”
In other words: eat oily fish, it’s tasty and healthy. If eating enough fish is a problem, then your doctor may suggest supplements (and, obviously, do not stop taking a prescribed supplement due to a blog post). One more thing – most people eating a ‘Western diet’ will consume too high a ratio of omega 6 fats to omega 3 fats. However, if you do feel that you are deficient in omega 6 fats, these can easily be topped up with things like sunflower seeds and oil.
that’s classic holford – almost correct, but not quite accurate.
holfordism – “(NICE) recommends that ALL doctors prescribe one gram of fish oil to patients who have had a heart attack.”
actual report – “If you have had a heart attack in the LAST 3 MONTHS AND do not eat enough oily fish, your doctor MAY offer a medicine to supplement your diet.”
(my emphases)
It might look to some like saying that “all” people who’ve had a heart attack (even 25 years ago) should take a fish-oil pill is a way of boosting sales of pills – especially when the *real* advice applies to people not getting enough omega-3/6 who have had a recent heart attack and are recommended to take pills by a qualified expert.
You know for a Prof. of Nutriton (or whatever he might be at Teeside) he really should try and be a little more accurate with his public pronouncements. If I were VC at Teeside I’d be getting annoyed about Holford.
Heh. I’m sure Patrick will clarify his remarks. His accidental misconstrual of NICE recommendations must surely have been unintentional and I feel certain that someone of his integrity and with his undoubted devotion to factual accuracy will contact the Irish Telegraph post-haste.
Thanks – just in case, I’ve posted a comment on the Irish Independent article, too :)