Fish Oil Supplements Don’t Raise Bad Cholesterol – Brain Health Education and Research Institute

The Fatty Acid Research Institute (FARI) has published a new research paper in conjunction with The Cooper Institute on the omega-3s EPA and DHA in fish oil and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C).

Omega-3 fatty acids have a long history of being “heart healthy,” and are well-known for lowering blood levels of triglycerides (but typically not cholesterol). Recent questions have been raised, however, about one of the two “fish oil” omega-3 fatty acids — DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) — and the possibility that it might actually raise levels of LDL-C, the “bad” cholesterol. Dr. William Harris, President of FARI and co-inventor of the Omega-3 Index, was the lead author on this study. In his view, “these new findings from the CCLS clearly show that people who take fish oil supplements need not worry about adversely affecting their cholesterol levels as some have proposed.”