The news came out yesterday that has been the buzz of the Internet in the health and fitness industry. Basically a study was done that showed that ‘Omega-3 fatty acids made from fish oil have been found to increase the risk of men developing prostate cancer.’ Sounds like the old ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ scenario after being told ad naseum that this was supposed to be good for you and help fight heart disease.
So when you find yourself in a quandry, take it to the next level and to someone more knowledgeable in this area. In our case, that would mean only one person – ‘The Boss’ himself, Steve Blechman, who spends countless hours right here at the Muscular Development/FitnessRX home office going over pages and pages of scientific research for the publications:
This is a “cohort” study and does not prove cause and effect. It remains uncertain why high concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids are associated with higher risk of prostate cancer in this study. The conclusions are anything but consistent. A randomized controlled trail of omega-3 fats (EPA & DHA) is important to see whether and how they affect the prostate.
Possible mechanisms might be immune suppression, increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), IGF-1, mTOR, heavy metals, and pesticide exposure (PCB’s.)
At this time the health benefits of fish outweigh the risk. I have been eating a predominately fish diet with supplement fish oil for over 20 years! I get a PSA test annually.
The Greenland Eskimos live on predominately fatty fish and whale blubber and do not have a higher incidence of prostate cancer. Their main cause of death is cerebral and gastric hemorrhage! They bleed to death from high levels of omega-3 (EPA & DHA.)
The majority of human studies have found fish oil to lower the risk of cancer including, colon and breast cancer.
Because fish oil contains highly unsaturated fatty acids they are prone to oxidation. Make sure you supplement with adequate antioxidants. Especially N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and selenium. They are very effective in detoxifying heavy metals, pesticides, mutagens, and carcinogens in fish. Because salmon is a fatty fish (unlike tuna) it’s low in mercury, but very high in lipophilic PCB’s, which are known to be potent carcinogens! They are stored fatty tissues and mobilized into the bloodstream when dieting.
Also, recent studies have shown that heavy metals mercury and cadmium which are found in fish effect hypothalamic – pituitary-gonadal function and lower testosterone! I will report on this in next MD/FRX.
In case you’re still interested in reading the original report that CNBC wrote, here’s the link:
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/fish-oils-may-raise-prostate-cancer-risks-study-confirms-6C10597283
