18th May 2026

Newsletter Monday

Hello Reader,

A few people messaged me this week asking for my thoughts on the “new fish oil research.”

I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

Which probably tells you something about modern health news.

If you take your eyes off it for 72 hours, apparently omega fish oil capsules go from “essential for longevity” to “possibly causing atrial fibrillation.”

Normal service resumed.

The paper people were referring to looked at regular fish oil supplement use and cardiovascular outcomes. One of the findings was an association between fish oil supplements and an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) in some groups of people.

AF is an irregular heart rhythm.

It’s extremely common.

We see it all the time in general practice, particularly as people get older.

It matters because it can increase the risk of stroke.

Now before everyone throws their omega-3 capsules into the sea, a few important points.

The details matter.

Firstly, this was an observational study.

That means it can identify associations, but it cannot prove that fish oil supplements directly caused the problem.

Secondly, eating oily fish and taking fish oil capsules are not automatically the same thing. Human nutrition is messier than that.

A Mediterranean-style diet containing fish, olive oil, fibre, exercise, decent sleep and social connection is not remotely equivalent to taking capsules while living on beige buffet food and chronic stress.

And thirdly, prescription omega-3 products used in very specific high-risk cardiovascular patients are a completely different conversation from the giant tubs of “triple strength ultra pure Arctic omega miracle oil” sold online beside discount collagen gummies and mushroom coffee.

But honestly, fish oil itself isn’t really the interesting part of this story.

Looking for salvation

What interests me is how desperate we are for isolated health products to save us from the consequences of modern life.

Supplements inherit what I think of as a “healthy halo.” 😇

Once something gets labelled heart healthy, anti-inflammatory or longevity boosting, it quietly graduates from “might help in some situations” to “must be good for everyone forever.”

That’s how we end up with people paying for elaborate omega-3 blood testing panels from companies that also just happen to sell very expensive fish oil supplements.

I recently sat through a Zoom call where I was essentially told there was a hidden epidemic of omega-3 deficiency that mainstream medicine was overlooking.

Conveniently, the solution was their patented supplement.

Of course it was.

I am still fuming at that lost hour of my life.

The logic always follows the same pattern:

1. Convince people they may have an invisible problem.
2. Suggest ordinary healthcare has missed it.
3. Sell testing.
4. Sell the fix.

It’s an incredibly effective business model because modern health anxiety is fertile ground for certainty.

But cardiovascular risk has never really worked like that.

The things that move the needle most remain frustratingly unglamorous:

Not because doctors are boring killjoys who hate innovation, but because those things consistently matter far more than most capsules do.

And this is the bit people often dislike hearing:

You cannot supplement your way out of an unhealthy lifestyle.

Not with fish oil.
Not with greens powders.
Not with collagen.
Not with NAD infusions served in a room lit purple like a nightclub toilet.

(That last one may be unfair. Perhaps the purple lighting is cardioprotective.)

Now to be balanced here, fish oil is not “bad.”

Some people may benefit from it in specific circumstances. If your specialist has advised it, that’s different.

If you enjoy oily fish a couple of times a week, also great.

I do.

But the evidence for the average person taking fish oil supplements “just in case” has always been far less impressive than the marketing.

And this latest paper is really just another reminder of something medicine keeps rediscovering:

Health is rarely transformed by isolated products.

It is mostly shaped by ordinary things, repeated consistently, for years.

Annoying, I know.

Lynette