New advice from National Heart Foundation

The Complementary Medicine industry welcome the new advice from the National Heart Foundation

Emerging scientific evidence has strongly supported the view that daily consumption of fish oils provides therapeutic benefits for people with heart disease, as well as preventive benefits for general population. In the latest release of its position statement, National Heart Foundation of Australia for the first time made recommendations with respect to fish, fish oils and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) to improve the cardiovascular health of all Australians.

It recommends that, to lower their risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), all Australians without existing heart conditions should consume about 500 mg per day of combined DHA and EPA through the combination of oily fish, fish oil capsules or liquid, and food and drinks enriched with marine Omega-3 PUFA.

For adult Australians with documented CHD, National Heart Foundation recommends that they consume about 1000 mg per day of combined DHA and EPA through a combination ) of oily fish, fish oil capsules or liquid, and food and drinks enriched with marine Omega-3 PUFA.

The position statement by Notational heart Foundation also provides cautions on the consumption of fish with high and medium methylmercury content, and advise people to follow government guidelines regarding safety issues. Many people are unable to consume the recommended dosage requirements through fish alone and for this reason, fish oil supplements therefore provide consumers with a cost effective way of ensuring their omega 3 intake is adequate. For further information, please visit National Heart Foundation's website at: http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/document/NHF/HW_FS_FishOils_PS_FINAL.pdf