Omega-3 fatty acids may reduce heart disease risk

Suddenly, they're everywhere: in your pasta, your peanut butter, your baby's formula. Omega-3 fatty acids have been known to doctors since the 1930s. But their recent bump in popularity stems from a 2004 ruling by the Food and Drug Administration that labels could say foods containing omega-3s may reduce the risk of one form of heart disease. That ruling, coupled with "heavy marketing," said Veda Woodland, a healthy eating specialist at Whole Foods, has made omega-3s the darling of the supplement world.

The FDA Web site recommends that people do not exceed three grams a day. "If you consume two servings of fish a week, you would reach a good level of omega-3," said Benjamin Caballero, a professor at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "If you don't like fish, there are many other sources," including kale, walnuts and flaxseed.

And too much of a good thing can be bad: Omega-3s thin the blood, according to Caballero, and should not be used by stroke patients.

-- Melissa Bell