Friday, July 10, 2015

Play A Doctor On The Internet

When I went to my doctor for a routine physical about a decade ago, my doctor noticed that I had high cholesterol. He suggested that I start taking fish pills twice a day. I have done so nearly everyday since, and my cholesterol levels have been down for years.

On Wednesday, The Washington Post published an article titled "Fish oil pills: A $1.2 billion industry built, so far, on empty promises" questioning the value of taking fish pills. The article focuses on fish pills and heart disease, though heart disease has never been a concern for me.

So this got me thinking. Should I continue taking the fish pills? It may not be helping me but I don't think they are hurting me. Is cutting back to just taking one per day an option?

Any thoughts or suggestions?

1 comment:

Eric Freed said...

I take fish oil pills, too, on my doctor's recommendation, and believe there is a benefit based on the results of my blood work, which I get done about once every year. I read a similar article about a year ago about whether there is a benefit, and I asked my doctor. He believes there is a benefit, but said it's up to me whether I want to continue taking them. The only negative, he said, is the cost, and he said he would rather keep taking them than not. My father takes fish oil, too. So, there you go. Just one doctor's opinion. Though my old boss thinks my doc is a quack, so there's that.