Fish Oil Supplements Revisited - briefly

     I was recently reminded that in past posts, I had shown support for the use of fish oil supplements.  My opinion has changed as newer research has failed to support an association between fish oil pills and a reduction of inflammation as it relates to heart disease, stroke and/or arthritis.  In other words, I now find the body of research that I used to make my decision less convincing.  As indicated more recently, I only 'take' vitamin D and just in the winter.  The best source of D is sun (risks duly noted).
   To the best of my knowledge, studies on the effect of fish oil supplements and the treatment of heart disease, prevention of second heart attacks and control of atrial fibrillation are still being conducted.
   I AM sure about this.  There are protective effects from the consumption of oily fish, high in omega 3s.  People who consume fish, such as salmon, once or more per week appear to have better cardiovascular health - meaning less inflammation and improved oxygenated blood flow - than those who do not consume fish. 
   Be advised, not all fish contains this good fat (tilapia does not) and some fish that does is also toxic due to mercury levels.  Fish to avoid include shark, tuna, tilefish and sword.  A newcomer for Americans is barramundi - found in Australian and South Asian waters. Barramundi is a type of sea bass.  I have found conflicting reports on its mercury content, unfortunately, at least one of them considers it in the same category as swordfish. I believe that some farm raised and thus carefully fed, barramundi is not high in mercury. Either way, my sister cooked some when I last visited her and it was quite yummy and low in calories, if you care about such things.