OTTAWA — Canadians have been inundated with must-have Omega-3 foods to fight heart disease but a popular radio broadcaster considers it modern-day snake oil.

Omega-3 eggs are a popular new health food but Ottawa’s CFRA broadcaster Lowell Green isn’t impressed.

"A super egg at a super price is super stupid," the loved and loathed Green told his audience September 15. "It’s a scam… Show me the research."

Green’s morning show is the most listened to talk radio program in the Ottawa area and he challenged listeners to prove him wrong.

Farmers Forum checked out the research and concludes there’s a reason Green has control of the mike. The truth of the matter is that no one really knows whether Omega-3 fatty acids are up to the job they’re being advertised for.

The hope is that Omega-3, a fatty acid, prevents inflammation that causes heart disease. To get the Omega-3 fatty acid content in the egg, 10 per cent of chicken feed is comprised of flaxseed.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded that a direct coronary heart disease risk reduction from consuming Omega-3 fatty acids has not been established. The FDA, in September 2004, has allowed the following claim to appear on dietary supplements: "Supportive but not conclusive research shows that consumption of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease."

According to Canada’s own Heart and Stroke Foundation there is "growing evidence" to support the conclusion that Omega-3 will lower the risk of stroke and heart disease and lists a body of studies. But again they offer no conclusive evidence. A communications officer did e-mail Farmers Forum a document that supposedly gleaned all the research, including studies that showed no link between eating omega-3 fatty acids and a lower risk of heart disease.

A good scientist, however, never discounts a plausible theory. So far, the Omega-3 benefits are plausible. What is preposterous are the wild claims of marketers before all the evidence is in.