Fish Oil

Several years ago my heart doctor recommended that I take fish oil. This is a recent finding that links it to PCa.

http://healthyliving.msn.com/diseases/cancer/too-much-fish-oil-might-boost-prostate-cancer-risk-study-says

Don

Mel -  Please let us know what Dr. Lam says about this.  Thanks.

Interesting, I also took it. Untill now had only heard good things about it.

According to the sheet on recommended supplements that I have from Dr Lam's office, 2000mg of fish oil per day is recommended. Also recommended is calcium, Vitamin D, Lycopene and Vitamin C.

I remember when certain tocopherals of vitamin E was suppose to be very beneficial for certain diseases.

Both Ron and I believe in taking supplements, and we are probably wasting money we don't have!  However, I am a firm believer of taking glucosamine & chondroitin.  They are said to lubricate joints and promote comfort and flexibility.  I ran out once for 3 weeks and my right knee started to squeak and ache.  Got back on my pills and within one week things were normal.  The doctors all recommend Vitamin D and a multiple vitamin.  So, we'll see what will happen.

Here's another.

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2359466/Taking-omega-3-fish-oil-supplements-increase-risk-aggressive-prostate-cancer-70.html

I'm another one who has taken fish oil for the last ten years.  You try to do healthy things to improve quality of life then an article like this undermines everything.  I take the liquid fish oil because of the higher concentration of Omega 3.  That crap is going in the garbage can. 

I'm coming to the conclusion that supplements should be avoided and following a good diet with exercise is the best prescription for health.  Below is the NBC story on fish oil.  (Okay guys, let's find us a good lawyer, only kidding)

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/fish-oils-may-raise-prostate-cancer-risks-study-confirms-6C10597283

O.K., this one really bugs me as I've been taking fish oil daily for several years as part of a vitamin/supp regiment to control cholesterol, and it's been working.  (The other two components are COQ10 and Red Yeast Rice) 

The amount I take doesn't rise to the level of what was stated: “These fish oil supplements in which some men getting mega, mega doses…in our opinion that is probably a little bit dangerous,” said Theodore Brasky of Ohio State University Medical Center, who worked on the study with a team from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle."

Also it was important to note that in discussions on the study that "The study also doesn’t say anything about the effects of fish oil on men who already have cancer. “This study is not about men with prostate cancer,” Brasky said, noting that some studies have suggested fish oil might be beneficial in men who already have cancer."

 

 

Dr Myers supports eliminating Omega 6 and replacing it with Omega 3 oils. But the last time I saw him he suggested knocking off the supplements and just eating more oily fish. I still take them because I don't eat fish more than 2 times a week.

The media eat up this kind of thing. It's a very peculiar study indeed, and I wouldn't give it much credence. It was actually a retrospective analysis of the data of a prospective study designed to look at Vitamin E and Selenium (they found E was deleterious and Selenium had no effect). They looked at the serum levels of Omega-3s of the men who got cancer (many of whom were also supplementing Vitamin E) vs a random sample of those who didn't (many of whom were in the non-Vitamin E control group). They found an association with PC, but the study can offer no insight into what caused that association -- was it an artifact of the Vitamin E supplementation? Were the men who ate a lot of fish high in mercury, for example? Were they also over-supplementing Vitamin D? Were they also consuming a lot of dairy products? Was the "control" group eating diets high in polyphenols and cruciferous vegetables? etc.

I was much more saddened by the results of a randomized controlled prospective study last week that showed no preventative effect of dietary intake of soy isoflavones for 2 years. Perhaps it takes longer than 2 years? Perhaps it may slow down cancer growth? In retrospective, epidemiological studies, cohort studies, animal and lab studies it looked good. Just goes to show the importance of a good prospective randomized controlled trial.

The only thing I know of that has a proven preventive effect on PCa are the 5ARis. There are no proven dietary interventions and no proven supplements for prevention. I see more potential danger than helpfulness. I think that a balanced heart-healthy diet with plenty of highly-colored fruits and vegetables is the best we can do. I take no supplements whatever now, although I used to.

- Allen

Gizzy'n me, Aimzee, Michael T et al

I too take Krill Oil from Dr. Mercola's site rather than fish oil. I have stopped taking multi-vitamins since they may contain some + and some - with respect to PCa. I would ahve linked the Dr. Charles "Snuffy" Myers article, but someone else already tended to that.

It's probably just an expensive placebo taking supplements like Curcumin, Resveratrol, Pomegranate, etc but with just waiting every 4 months for the next Lupron shot, at least makes me think I am doing something to combat the cancer.

All this fish talk go me hungry. Just went out and got a piece of smoked bluefish. I'll bet the smoking is bad for you though.