To help keep your heart healthy, health experts recommend adding a serving of omega-3 fatty acids to your diet.
But could it do much more?
According to a new study from the journal Nutrition and Cancer, it could. Findings from the study, led by researcher James J. DiNicolantonio, Ph.D., reveal that eating a diet rich in fish containing omega-3 fatty acids could prevent the body from developing adenocarcinoma, a cancerous tumor.
“The staple oil used in cooking and as a salad dressing in Italy is olive oil, which is quite low in omega-6,” says DiNicolantonio, who serves as a scientist for the Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute. “In Italians studies, subjects who consumed fish at least twice weekly as compared to those who ate fish less than once a week, were found to be at a significantly lower risk for a number of cancers, including ovarian, endometrial, pharyngeal, esophageal, gastric, colonic, rectal, and pancreatic.”
In the review, researchers initially looked at several studies which looked at the effects of fish on a person’s cancer risk–which, according to previous findings, resulted in a lower risk. They also looked at a study which examined how omega-3 fatty acid intake impacted the risk of death from cancer. In that study, those who had the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids, commonly found in fatty fish products, were 23 percent less likely to die from cancer.
Researchers also looked at how the preparation of fish affected cancer tumors, to positive results.
“These considerations have given rise to the hypothesis that a high dietary intake of EPA/DHA, relative to omega-6 (from which arachidonate is generated), should lessen risk for a number of adenocarcinomas by impeding PGE2 production and activity—while not posing the risk to vascular health associated with COX-2-specific nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agents,” say researchers. “Analyses that focus on studies in which the upper category of fish consumption (not fried or salt-preserved) is 2 or more servings weekly, and on studies that evaluate the association of long-term fish oil supplementation with cancer risk yields a number of findings that are consistent with the hypothesis.”
In conclusion, researchers believe that increasing the amount of fatty fish you eat in your diet could reduce the risk of cancer–and more specifically, cancerous tumors from forming.
Further studies are needed to figure out how much fish or omega-3 fatty acids are needed to affect a person’s cancer risk, however.
“Further studies of this nature may help to clarify the impact of adequate regular intakes of long-chain omega-3 on cancer risk, and perhaps provide insight into the dose-dependency of this effect,” say researchers.
What You Should Do
Want to lower your risk of cancer? Then the solution couldn’t be easier. To minimize your risk, add more fish containing omega-3 fatty acids to your diet as a delicious way to keep tumors at bay.
Readers: Does your diet include fish? Why or why not?
Sources:
Marked Benefits Found For Cancer Prevention With a Higher Intake of Fatty Fish – ScienceDaily.com
A Higher Dietary Ratio of Long-Chain Omega-3 to Total Omega-6 Fatty Acids for Prevention of COX-2-Dependent Adenocarcinomas – TandFOnline.com
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