Omega-3 fatty acids are good for the heart, but not for cancer

Omega-3 fatty acids are good for the heart, but not for cancer

CHICAGO - Although omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial to the heart, they offer no protection against cancer, a new study has found. Researchers reviewed the data of 38 studies on omega-3 fatty acids and found no significant reduction of cancer.

These essential fatty acids "definitely have health benefits, but they are not a panacea. Preventing cancer is not one of the things omega-3 fatty acids do,” Dr. Catherine MacLean, the lead researcher of the current review, said.

The study published in the January 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, concedes the fact that omega-3 fatty acids definitely improve the ability to fight heart disease, but as far as cancer prevention is concerned, there is no evidence to support the benefits of the same.

"There was a plausible mechanism," Dr MacLean said. "Omega-3s are integral to some of the inflammatory pathways that are also common to cancer, so the idea was that if you had more omega-3s maybe that would dampen this inflammatory process." This analysis was supported by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the National Institutes of Health.

AHRQ director Dr. Carolyn Clancy said that researchers had very high hopes from omega-3 fatty acids, but very little evidence to support the same.

In the current study, MacLean and her team analyzed data from all studies conducted on omega-3 fatty acids over the last 40 years.

They found that even in high doses, these did not have any affect on breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer or even lung cancer. But that is not to say that people should give up eating fish altogether, "We will still recommend that people include fish in their diets. It's a source of healthy fat, it's associated with a reduced risk for heart disease, and we'd rather see people eat fish with healthier fats than eat red meat with unhealthy fats," said Colleen Doyle, who is in charge of the nutrition and physical activity segment at the at the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Dr MacLean agreed and said that omega-3 fatty acids have proven benefits in heart disease and this fact must not be ignored, " They also reduce mortality in people with cardiovascular disease," she said.