In two recent studies published in the British Journal of Cancer and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, researchers found that there is no demonstrable value in people taking omega-3 oil supplements for the prevention or treatment of cancer.
Instead, they found that the supplements may slightly increase cancer risk, particularly for prostate cancer.
The two systematic reviews are from the University of East Anglia. One author is Dr. Lee Hooper.
Omega-3 is a type of fat. Small amounts are essential for good health and can be found in the food that we eat including nuts and seeds and fatty fish, such as salmon.
Omega-3 fats are also readily available as over-the-counter supplements and they are widely bought and used.
Increased consumption of omega-3 fats is widely promoted globally because of a common belief that it will protect against, or even reverse, diseases such as cancer, heart attacks, and stroke.
In the reviews, the team looked at 47 studies involving adults who didn’t have cancer, who were at increased risk of cancer, or had a previous cancer diagnosis, and 86 trials with evidence on cardiovascular events or deaths.
More than 100,000 participants were randomized to consume more long-chain omega-3 fats (fish oils), or maintain their usual intake, for at least a year.
The team found that omega-3 supplements may slightly reduce coronary heart disease mortality and events, but slightly increase the risk of prostate cancer.
Both beneficial and harmful effects are small.
The team previously has shown that long-chain omega-3 supplements, including fish oils, do not protect against conditions such as anxiety, depression, stroke, diabetes, or death.
They say evidence on omega 3 mostly comes from trials of fish oil supplements, so the health effects of oily fish, a rich source of long-chain omega-3, are unclear.
Oily fish is a very nutritious food as part of a balanced diet, rich in protein and energy as well as important micronutrients such as selenium, iodine, vitamin D, and calcium—it is much more than an omega-3 source.
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