Fish oil - cancer??

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BayouBabe
BayouBabe Member Posts: 2,221
edited June 2014 in Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment

Now that a new study was released that shows fish oil may contribute to prostate cancer in men, is anyone second guessing their choice to take fish oil as a breast cancer survivor? I am not sure whether to continue taking mine or throw the whole bottle out just to be safe. Thoughts?

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  • chrissyb
    chrissyb Member Posts: 16,818
    edited July 2013

    I will continue to take mine as it helps with my arthritis and mobility.



    Love n hugs. Chrissy

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  • BayouBabe
    BayouBabe Member Posts: 2,221
    edited July 2013

    Bump

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  • Pessa
    Pessa Member Posts: 519
    edited July 2013

    I have stopped, based on that study, and will wait until new information becomes available.  Will try to increase fish for dinners to more than 2 or 3 times a week.  The study did worry me.............

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  • peggy_j
    peggy_j Member Posts: 1,700
    edited July 2013

    Has anyone read the actual study (vs. the news reporters' interpretation)? If so, could you share the link? 

    A PubMed search for "fish oil cancer" delivered more than 2000 hits. When I queried "fish oil breast cancer" there were more than 300 hits. Some BC studies suggest that fish oil may reduce the risk of mets. But another study had this line "There is a probable level of evidence that ALA per se is neither a risk factor nor a beneficial factor with regards to cancers."  Another study looked at patients with healthy vs. unhealthy diets. (fish eaters were in the healthy group), so perhaps fish is an indicator of healthier eater but does not make a difference per se.   I know that it can be difficult to get too much of anything from our diet alone, so maybe a wise move is to get our nutrients from food vs. large doses from supplements.

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  • BayouBabe
    BayouBabe Member Posts: 2,221
    edited July 2013

    I do not know how to post a link, however, there is an article and video about this study right now on nbcnews.com. Scroll down to the health section.

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  • planetbananas
    planetbananas Member Posts: 206
    edited July 2013

    Does anyone have a link to further information from that study? When I heard this I was curious as to what aspect of prostate cancer the fish oil affected. I have also stoppef taking it to pending further information.

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  • planetbananas
    planetbananas Member Posts: 206
    edited July 2013

    Guess we're all posting at the same time lol. I will check out that news story

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  • doubledelightrose
    doubledelightrose Member Posts: 2
    edited July 2013

    My Doctor recommends 3gm a day.Helpful for hair and skin and achy bones(thanks aromasin) good for cancer prevention.He has done allot of studies on this. Also vitamin D as a cancer prevention and helps push the calcium into the bones.

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  • BayouBabe
    BayouBabe Member Posts: 2,221
    edited July 2013

    My doctor recommended it too, prior to this new study. I am wondering if this will change her recommendation at all. I see her in two weeks and will ask advice then, but I think mine are going in the trash. Something that helps cancer grow in men, does not need to be in my cancer happy body. :)

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  • encyclias
    encyclias Member Posts: 302
    edited July 2013

    I had read this also several days ago in an article from the cancer research center scientists who did the study.  My understanding is that it is the second study on this issue that has been done in the US, and the results match other studies done in Europe.

    http://www.fhcrc.org/en/news/releases/2013/07/omega-three-fatty-acids-risk-prostate-cancer.html

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  • LtotheK
    LtotheK Member Posts: 2,095
    edited July 2013

    It's sort of weird to me, a few weeks ago I thought about stopping the fish oil because I'm sick of the number of vitamins I'm taking and how expensive it is.  

    Honestly, to me, this is hardly a surprise.  Just like any treatment or supplement, for every action is a reaction.  I don't buy into the idea that you can pump one thing in and not have something else go out of whack.  Just like allopathic treatments, it's a question of risk and tradeoff--I thought it was very interesting they suggested patients talk to their doctors about heart disease vs. cancer risks in assessing this supplementation. On one level, I think it's naiive to expect a mega dose of anything would be good long term--some of the studies also indicate that too much anti-oxidant based foods can have the opposite effect.

    Now, I'm just waiting to hear what the news on D will be in the future...sigh.

    Well, we are all doing the best we can with a lot of research pending.

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  • deb1973
    deb1973 Member Posts: 96
    edited July 2013

    I'd be curious to see what anyone's take is on incorporating "oily fish" like salmon in one's diet. None of the articles I can find can extrapolate (for good reason, since there's probably little to no data on the issue) what, if any inferences, can be drawn from a study about the potentially negative effects of supplements to the actual consumption of fish in your diet. Is it a case of "consume moderately?" What about all the studies showing health benefits?

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  • planetbananas
    planetbananas Member Posts: 206
    edited July 2013

    I am finding it maddening that some of these articles raise more questions than answers! I would like more detailed information, it doesn't help that an article says something like this:

    " One potentially harmful effect of omega-3 fatty acids is their conversion into compounds that can cause damage to cells and DNA, and their role in immunosuppression. Whether these effects impact cancer risk is not known."

    Argh!

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