Cod liver oil could increase the risk of heart disease.
Cod liver oil could increase the risk of heart disease
Millions take the fishy supplement which is thought to improve joint, eye and brain health but new data suggests that it could actually have an adverse impact.
Researchers at China's Sun Yat-Sen University studied 416,000 people in Britain aged in their 40s, 50s and 60s and the data suggested that healthy individuals who take cod liver oil on a daily basis have a stroke risk five per cent higher than average and a 14 per cent increased chance of an irregular heartbeat.
However, the supplement is beneficial for patients who already suffer from heart disease as it lowered their risk of a heart attack or an early death.
Study author Dr. Hualiang Lin wrote in the journal BMJ Medicine: "Regular use of fish oil supplements might have different roles in the progression of heart disease.
"In people with no known cardiovascular disease, regular use of supplements was associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation and stroke.
"In people with known cardiovascular disease, beneficial effects were seen."