Fish Oil

I have heard that fish oil was linked to more aggressive PC. Then I heard it wasn't. To me it's like eating eggs. Sometimes they are healthy for you and other times they are not.

I used to take it but sometimes I have concern about taking healthy things in higher concentrations. Now that I have wild salmon a couple of times a week I figure that is enough.

If there is a healthy substance I think my husband should be taking I look for it in foods. He does not take any supplements but we follow an anti-cancer type of diet given to us by a doctor at MSKCC. He eats wild-caught salmon, sardines, and nuts.

Skypilot56 said...
i took fish oil and garlic probably for almost 10 yrs

Larry

A lesser man couldn't have survived that.

Brasky et al. said...
In conclusion, in this large, prospective study of plasma phospholipid fatty acids and prostate cancer risk, contrary to our expectations, we found that long-chain ω-3 PUFA overall, and DPA and DHA in particular, were associated with strong, linear increases in prostate cancer risk.

TA, that'll apply to flaxseed oil too, right?
As I understand it, the ALA in flaxseed oil is also an omega-3, and the body converts some of it to DHA and EPA. According to MSK's website, "Flaxseed has been shown to help reduce the growth and spread of prostate cancer," but flaxseed oil "does not have the same benefits as ground flaxseeds."
https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/patient-education/nutrition-and-prostate-cancer-making-healthy-diet-decisions
On another website, oncologynutrition.org, I read that the lignans in flaxseeds that have been associated with lower rates of hormone-related cancers, but are stripped out in the making of flaxseed oil.

Ken, with all the conflicting input, and the obvious sense of not eating a dinner plate of bacon at every meal, just chill and not worry about these details.

I have lost two long time friends, who were fitness and diet fanatics, to "adult leukemia" in the past two months. Killed one within a week, and the other in a few months.

Hell, we could get hit by a bus tomorrow. PCa probably will not be our demise.

Chill, friend.

I'm one of the people who is blessed (or cursed) with chronically high cholesterol that seems to be immune to diet, and I've been on statins for years. And fish oil (1200 mg/twice a day). And my current lipid readings are "good".

That being said, there is zero history of heart issues in my lineage. Zero, Zip, Nada. Part of me wants to say heck with it all, eat what I want, drop the pills, and see what happens. On the other hand, maybe not.

I'm with bluebird. Skip the fish oil. Eat the fish. Be very cautious of supplements.
Best to you,
Wilderness

Thnks everyone for the comments, and the studies.
In spite of TA's study showing no benefit to fish oil in preventing cardiac events, I hve in the pst, seen fish oil help in bringing down my triglycerides (when prescription drugs like fenofibrate, did not. Nevertheless, bringing down TG is a different endpoint.

I think I'll continue to try bringing down TG with diet.
I do eat salmon twice a week. Now if only I could learn to like SARDINES 😳🔫

Skypilot56 said...
I used organic flax seed in my oatmeal and smoothies from 2014 to 2016 when I found out that I had PCA I threw the fish oil, garlic, and flaxseed in the garbage. Maybe more out of frustration than anything but all I have stuck with now is a daily 81mg aspirin and a silver multi vitamin. Now they want me on vitamin d and calcium I bought some bought haven't really started taking it yet? I don't know I think still eating a well balanced diet is the key and trying to keep the portions small hard for me to do I love eating!! LOL

Larry

Well, despite some people studies that have shown some promise of Flax seed vs PC, I of course don't really know if there is any benefit vs harm. And I probably never will. I mean, I don't see an unbiased source ever actually pouring big $ into a large randomized, blinded study to prove that to the degree that many will actually admit as proof. Probably won't happen. And if it does, it will be done by some one with a vested interest in showing that it is useless.

However, how many years do you suppose you had PC ticking away, very slowly growing inside you, before you knew it? 5? 10? 15? I see that your PSA steadily increased over a 16 year period. So a couple of years of garlic and flaxseed did not cure you, and did not overcome whatever sum total of factors gave you PC and then caused it to advance. But I don't think any of us can guarantee it was useless. IOW, could your case have been worse if you had not been doing what you were doing? Of course. But is there any way to know if it actually helped you any? Of course not. No way to know either way.

I had a similar response to things like vitamin D when I was diagnosed. I was really disgusted that I had done numerous things of that nature reputed to be helpful, and still came down with a rapidly rising PSA leading to a G9 diagnosis. But after a few months, I changed my mind about that. After it occurred to me that though my cancer had been growing probably for 10 or 15 years, that I had only taken vitamin D ( or got more southern sun) for a couple of years, and had only got my blood level well above 30 for maybe a year if that long. And that most likely, considering 2000 a day only barely got me to 30, then most of my life I had probably had quite low blood levels, and been what many consider deficient. So could I really say with any confidence at all that I would not have been even worse at Dx if I had not done various things rumored to be good for my health during the previous few years? I can not. So I continue to do some of those supplemental and dietary things, whatever I do not find too unpleasant or expensive. Does it help my prognosis? I have no idea. But at least it probably doesn't hurt, I see little evidence that it does. And who knows, might help. I suspect any proof will be long coming. If some one could just make a few billion off of a Flax seed patent, then we might see the big RCT studies get done.

At some point there was discussion of the differences between Omega 3 and Omega 6, and their impact on PCa. My uro (surgeon) had suggested choosing a krill oil that had no Omega 6 component, which I have done.

Because I've never taken a break from it, I have no real comparison points.

Billy a guy just doesn't know hey? You are correct watched it many years and if it had kept going at that pace I certainly would have died from something else first what made it quadruple from 2014 to 2016 somebody smarter than me will have to figure that out. 2014 was probably the healthiest I ate all my life lost 15 lbs got back down to my high school weight for my 40th yr reunion even tho I had to work so couldn't make it. So who knows?

Larry