It was a busy week with the barrage of e-mails and phone calls concerning a recent study where Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center "claim" they have connected previous studies demonstrating a link between high blood concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in fish-oil supplements and salmon, and anincreased risk of prostate cancer.

Something certainly smelled fishy to me (and experts in the field).   Omega-3 fatty oils are such an essential part of our diet. Its supplementation with its anti inflammatory effects have benefited many of my  clients along with countless others concerning cardiovascular disease  (see study that reduced mortality risk from cardiovascular disease by 20-30%), inflammatory bowel disease, cancer (yes, cancer!), weight management and even depression and anxiety.

First, I always look to the areas in the world that have the healthiest people.  Based on this study, you would expect that the countries with the highest intake of fish would also have the  highest incidence of prostate cancer.  Conversely, you would expect the countries with the lowest fish intake would have the lowest rates of prostate cancer.  However, the opposite is closer to the truth.  Just take a look at Eskimos in Alaska or those who live on the Mediterranean or Japan, all who thrive on fish.

Looking at the actual study, there are several flaws.  Dr. Anthony D'Amico of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is one of the foremost experts on bladder and prostate cancer.  He was interviewed on this past July 12th and said the "Scientific strength of this study is weak at best."

He went on to explain that the study discovered associations but failed to prove any cause and effect between the groups of men with and without prostate cancer and their blood levels of Omega-3 fatty acids.  All studies need to make adjustments when finding associations, but this study failed by leaving out important basic questions such as family history and diabetes history, whether participants were African American (who tend to have much larger prostate cancer risk), age,  PSA levels (blood test that may indicate prostate cancer), Body Mass Index or weight. 

Furthermore, the men in the study were never even asked if their Omega-3 levels were due to supplementation or actual food.  What about the length of time fish oil supplements were taken?  There are many people who start taking supplements soon after getting cancer diagnoses which may have raised the rate of people who have prostate cancer who have high Omega-3 in their blood in the study.

Curiously, if you delve further into the study (but this somehow never made it to the media), you will notice that the researchers also found a decreased risk of cancer for those who smoke and a higher prostate cancer risk who don't smoke.  They also even discovered that the men who had the highest blood levels of trans fat had a 50% reduction in the risk of prostate cancer. Yes, folks, that's the bad fats that's in potato chips and all types of processed food. 

So, let's get this straight.  The researchers of this study are telling you that to lower your risk of prostate cancer, one should  smoke and increase your trans fats by eating processed food and at fast food restaurants but be sure to avoid salmon and fish oil.

Based on all of this, Dr. Alan Kristal, the paper's senior author and member of the Fred Hutch Public Health Sciences Division, had the nerve to say, "We've shown once again that use of nutritional supplements may be harmful."

I'm not really sure what the researchers of this flawed study actually have shown except that you can't always believe one study compared to hundreds that say the very opposite.

One final word on fish oil is that there are many to choose from and you really do get what you pay for. This is not the time to get your fish oil at bargain houses such as Costco. With environmental issues of polluted waters and from weather events including the Fukushima nuclear disaster, I only recommend high grade purified or pharmaceutical grade Fish Oil.

What do you think of this study?  Why did the media even put it out there to scare us with?  Let's have a conversation on Jill the Health Coach FB page