Presented at the 2019 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia on Nov. 17. -Patrick
"Should you take omega-3 pills? Or try to have two to servings of omega-3 rich fish a week, as the American Heart Association recommends? It may seem a bit murky if you follow headlines about nutrition and health.
"That’s why researchers at the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute continue to research the potential benefits and risks of this popular supplement, especially when it comes to prostate cancer risk and heart health.
"The Intermountain research team presented two new studies about omega-3s at the 2019 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia on Nov. 17, 2019.
"In one study, the Intermountain research team identified 87 patients who were part of the Intermountain INSPIRE Registry and had developed prostate cancer. These patients were also tested for plasma levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), which are two common omega-3 fatty acids.
"When compared to a matched control group of 149 men, the researchers found that higher omega-3 levels were not linked with elevated prostate cancer risk.
"Viet T. Le, MPAS, PA, researcher and physician assistant at the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute, said they undertook this study in light of findings from a 2013 paper from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that suggested a possible link between higher omega-3 plasma levels and the development of prostate cancer, one that has been debated since publication.
“If I’m recommending omega-3 for my patients to save their hearts, I want to make sure I’m not putting them at risk for prostate cancer,” said Le. “Our study found no evidence of a link between the two.”
"In the second study presented at the 2019 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, the Intermountain researchers looked at 894 patients undergoing coronary angiography (a test that shows how blood flows through the arteries in the heart).
"These patients had no prior history of heart attack or coronary artery disease, however upon their first angiogram, about 40% of those patients had severe disease and about 10% had three-vessel disease, Le said.
"Researchers also measured patients’ plasma levels of omega-3 metabolites, including DHA and EPA. Those patients were then followed to see who had subsequent heart attack, stroke, heart failure, or who died.
"Researchers found that patients who higher rates of omega-3 metabolites had lower risk of those follow up adverse effects regardless of whether they had severe disease or not on their initial angiogram.
“This study is important because we looked at how omega-3 helps patients who have already developed disease, and its effects on survival – both in getting to the first angiography to be diagnosed (vs. having a heart attack or worse before even knowing they have heart disease) and thereafter,” said Le.
“While a seeming association between higher plasma omega-3 levels and the findings of severe heart disease upon initial angiogram might raise alarms that omega-3 isn’t beneficial, they did live to see a doctor and get diagnosed,” Le added. “And we saw a link between higher levels of omega-3 and their survival rate thereafter.”
"Other members of the research team include: Kirk U. Knowlton, Raymond O. McCubrey, Stacey Knight, Mohit Jain, Jeramie Watrous, Mahan Najhawan, Khoi Dao, Tami L. Bair, Benjamin D. Horne, Joseph B. Muhlestein, Donald L. Lappe, Madisyn Taylor, John F. Carlquist, and Jeffrey L. Anderson.
"This research was sponsored by the Intermountain Research and Medical Foundation and the Dell Loy Hansen Foundation, Inc.
Intermountain Heatlhcare study found that higher omega-3 levels were not linked with elevated prostate cancer risk while protecting against heart disease-related death"
Something new today! It was time that the 2013 study was put to rest. Thank you for being on it--as usual!
We have had a debate a couple times here on HU where the flawed, 2013 Brasky study which used data from another study not about fish oil and prostate cancer incidence.
The last time I posted a link to a study in Europe about fish and omega 3 consumption. It found that fish oil and consumption was protective unless---the fish was smoked or otherwise preserved.
This I will say. If one takes fish oil supplements, only take the top shelf brands. As the techies say, "Garbage in, garbage out!". The top quality supps are from the best sources, stored properly and highly refined. The "head" space of the bottles of liquid fish oil supplements are purged with nitrogen before capping in the high quality supps to prevent oxidation before it reaches the consumer.
Consider the "bargain" fish oil supplements to be somewhat as the "smoked" fish was in the study I posted. Better off without it.
I am now a vegan. Should I become an omnivore again one of the first things on my shopping list would be a bottle of the highest quality fish oil.
I have been using chia seeds in a blended drink. Blending opens nature's package! Keep the temperature down when blending to prevent degradation of the nutrients.
Chia Seeds vs Fish Oil: Omega-3 Content - HealWithFood.org
Both chia seeds and fish oil contain a lot of omega-3 fatty acids: a teaspoon of chia seeds contains about 720 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids, compared with 800 milligrams of omega-3 in a teaspoon of cod liver oil and 470 milligrams in a teaspoon of herring oil [1, 2]. But, it's not only quantity that matters.
I also was eating grounded flaxseeds and chia, but my lipid blood work showed that somehow I could not convert it properly, that's why we added the vegan omega3 .
Thank you! The way I use chia, sesame, sunflower, raw wheat germ, pumpkin and flax seeds is to blend them in chilled spring water using a heavy glass carafe that has been in the freezer. As for flax powder I would never use it. By buying top quality, organic seeds and blending them in cold temperatures-- this retains the nutrients. Flax oil begins to degrade.
I follow a modified Ruth Heidrich type of diet. Dr. McDougall who put the diet together warned against oils. It is a vegan diet. Pressing the oil out of the seeds for consumption maybe a little like men who ate fish that was smoked or salted for preservation and taste had a higher than normal incidence of prostate cancer but those that ate fish that humans hadn't done anything to other cook it had a lower incidence of prostate cancer.
Here is a link to an article about which the author(s) used 10 studies as reference material about flax. Interesting about the oil compared to the entire seed and men who don't have prostate cancer and men who want to prevent recurrence.
For years LifeExtension has been using sesame seed lignans as a "carrier" perhaps to help with absorption of some of their supplements.
Before becoming a vegan I would take a tablespoon of high quality flax oil and eat a half cup of cottage cheese with the blended drink.
"Some studies have found that a type of fat found in flaxseeds, called alphalinolenic acid, or ALA, actually may make prostate tumors more aggressive. This seems confusing: how can the seeds provide benefit, but the fat from these seeds cause harm?
"Flaxseed oil doesn’t contain lignans, the nutrients that are thought to potentially reduce prostate tumor aggressiveness. It only contains pure fat, and it’s a type of fat that may cause more harm than good. Also, some health experts suspect that genetic differences in how men metabolize alpha linolenic acid may contribute to whether or not this fat is harmful in terms of prostate tumor growth."
Over the years, I have known many men try the Budwig flax oil + quark (or cottage cheese) protocol. Not many seem to stick with it.
I don't see the need to use flaxseed when one can get the lignans without the oil from flaxseed hulls:
I use the entire seed but in moderation, blended to open it up at low temperature. I start with a heavy, glass carafe from the freezer and cold spring water. A rounded tablespoon each of chia, golden sesame and black sesame seeds, sunflower, 2X pumpkin seeds, teaspoon of raw wheat germ, 21 raw almonds, comparable walnuts, teaspoon of raw cacao, Solgars' Brewers Yeast, Maximum and Green Vibrance, some beet powder, usually some Sun Warrior and finally 5 to 10 ounces of frozen blueberries. The ingredients are nearly all organic. The wheat germ isn't.
A Dr. of Naturopathy liked it. I was using Garden of Life, Raw Meal and have switched.
I take my supps with it.
Interesting that years ago Dr. McDougall warned against oils. Ruth Heidrich had metastases to ribs yet never had chemo or radiation. By following Dr. McDougall's diet and running the metastases disappeared in a year. That was ~40 years ago.
Oil from seeds? The concentrated nutrition may feed that which we wish to starve?
If companies such as Goldman Sachs don't dissuade their biotech clients from searching for cures because ongoing treatments are more friendly to their bottom line we might have cures. The worm medicines discussed? Harvoni was too successful according to GS.
I did a deep dive on this a couple years ago and consulted various "experts" in naturopathic oncology. The data are ambiguous at best, but seem to tilt towards staying way from the flax oil just out of caution. My conclusion... avoid the oil, but take the lignans. I use the same lignan product - a scoop on my granola in the mornings.
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