HoldsUp

Bill Harris

Samford School of Medicine at the University of South Dakota

Bill Harris is a professor in the Department of Medicine at the Samford School of Medicine at the University of South Dakota, the founder of OmegaQuant Analytics, and the president and founder of the Fatty Acid Research Institute. His work focuses on fatty acids and health, and he is the co-inventor of the Omega-3 Index. His published research includes studies on circulating very-long-chain saturated fatty acids and their associations with incident type 2 diabetes.

67 claims checked on air: 4 context 3 contradicted 1 overstated 54 supported 5 unverified

What they said on air - context

0:05:04needs contextmoderateDr. Bill Harris on the Omega-3 Index: Increasing Omega-3 to

In a metabolic ward feeding study of healthy volunteers consuming high-dose salmon oil for one month, average serum triglyceride levels decreased by 25%, from 100 mg/dL to 75 mg/dL.

"Well, they're—I mean, these were normal, healthy volunteers, so their average triglyceride level was 100. It went all the way down to 75. But statistically—I mean, it's a 25% reduction" (said at 0:05:04)

In a controlled 4-week dietary feeding study in healthy volunteers comparing a salmon oil diet to saturated fat and vegetable oil diets (Harris et al., 1983), the salmon oil diet significantly reduced plasma triglyceride levels from 77 mg/dL to 48 mg/dL (a ~38% reduction, p < 0.005), rather than from 100 mg/dL to 75 mg/dL (a 25% reduction) as stated by the speaker. The overall finding that a high-dose salmon oil diet substantially lowers triglycerides in healthy normolipidemic volunteers is accurate, though the specific baseline and post-diet values were slightly misremembered.

0:13:28needs contexthighDr. Bill Harris on the Omega-3 Index: Increasing Omega-3 to

Lovaza contains EPA and DHA in an approximate ratio of 2:1 to 3:2.

"It's about two parts EPA to one part DHA, roughly. Or three to two." (said at 0:13:28)

Lovaza (prescription omega-3-acid ethyl esters, also marketed as Omacor) contains 465 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and 375 mg of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) per 1-gram capsule. This yields an EPA-to-DHA ratio of approximately 1.24:1 (or roughly 5:4). The speaker's estimate of 'three to two' (1.5:1) is a close approximation, whereas 'two to one' (2:1) overstates the proportion of EPA relative to DHA.

1:06:10needs contexthighDr. Bill Harris on the Omega-3 Index: Increasing Omega-3 to

Lovaza received FDA approval to lower triglycerides by about 20% specifically in patients with baseline triglyceride levels exceeding 500 mg/dL.

"And that when it all began with Lovaza, they said you lower, "Well, look, we can lower triglycerides by 20%," and that was enough to get them an indication for people with triglycerides over 500, that's the limitation." (said at 1:06:10)

The claim accurately states the FDA approval threshold for prescription omega-3-acid ethyl esters (Lovaza, originally approved as Omacor): it was approved specifically as an adjunct to diet in adult patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia defined as baseline triglyceride levels of ≥500 mg/dL. However, pivotal clinical trials supporting this approval demonstrated median triglyceride reductions of approximately 45% at the approved dose of 4 g/day, rather than 20%.

1:40:53needs contextmoderateDr. Bill Harris on the Omega-3 Index: Increasing Omega-3 to

A red blood cell DHA level of 3% or lower is associated with high risk for preterm birth, whereas levels above 5% are not high risk.

"from the risk factors we can control, if you're down at 3%, that's the high-risk group for preterm birth. Over 5% is not a problem." (said at 1:40:53)

Large randomized clinical trials and biomarker analyses (such as the ORIP trial and subsequent biomarker translation studies) show that low maternal omega-3/DHA status in early pregnancy is strongly associated with an increased risk of early preterm birth (<34 weeks), and that women with low baseline levels benefit most from supplementation. However, the precise numerical thresholds described by the speaker (3% or lower defining high risk and above 5% defining replete/safe status) correspond to whole blood or serum/plasma total omega-3 percentages (such as whole blood cut-points ≤4.1% or <4.2% for low status and >4.9% for replete status, or plasma/serum cut-points of <3.7% and >4.3%), rather than red blood cell (RBC) total fatty acid levels. When translated to RBC total fatty acids, the corresponding established cut-points for low and replete status are <7.3% and >8.1%, respectively.

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