|  s a physician I
have seen thousands of younger or middle-aged persons who have suddenly and unexpectedly
suffered from a heart attack and died rapidly. This is a traumatic experience.
Of course one thinks about possibilities of preventing these deaths.
In 1980 I read and was fascinated by the observation by the Danish physicians Bang and
Dyerberg that Greenland Eskimos very seldom suffered from heart attacks, which was
believed to be due to their diet, which is rich in fish fatty acids.
Together with some research colleagues I discovered that Swedes who were victims of
sudden cardiac death had a deficiency of fish fatty acids in their heart vessels. From
there it was not a long step to try to prevent cardiac disease and death by increasing the
amount of fish fatty acids in the diet.
Many years ago I had the opportunity of doing some experiments with fish oil containing
fish fatty acids during a research visit to the USA. ln these experiments the
participants, including myseif, had to consume 18 large capsules of fish oil daily. We did
not enjoy this and therefore tried to use fluid natural fish oil instead; of this we only
needed a large tablespoon each day.
A problem we faced in the beginning was that the fish oil easily became rancid due to
loss of cell protective substances (antioxidants) during purification of the fish oil from
environmental poisons. The original natural antioxidants of the fish oil therefore had to
be restored. After several years of research this problem was solved and a natural stable
fish oil became available. It was soon found that the stable fish oil did not only have a
better taste, but also had much more beneficial effects. These results have been published
in medical journals but are certainly known to only a small group of researchers.
I have therefore been asked to try to describe these results and the health effects of
fish oil in a popular science form - no easy task! I hope, however, that I can bring to
the reader some of the enthusiasm l feel myseif about the possibilities of preventing our
most common deaths by simple means and in a natural way.
I would like to thank all friends who in different ways have helped me to realize the
completion of this book.
Tom Saldeen
|
