I PRETTY MUCH HAVE: Is It Time to Give Up on Fish Oil?

Enthusiasm for fish oils originated with reports decades ago that Eskimos, who consume lots of cold water fish, have surprisingly low rates of heart disease despite a diet very high in animal fat.

“This idea has since been pretty discredited; we really don’t know if the Eskimos got heart disease or not,” said Malden C. Nesheim, emeritus professor of nutrition at Cornell University, who chaired an Institute of Medicine committee assessing the risks and benefits of seafood in the early 2000s.

Science.