They won't protect you from cancer either
Scientists have refuted the popular belief that omega-3 fatty acids protect the body from cancer
Polina Gershberg, Naked Science
Scientists from the University of East Anglia conducted a meta-analysis of earlier studies on the effects of dietary supplements containing omega-3, and found that their benefits in terms of cardiovascular diseases are practically absent, and they do not protect against cancer at all. Moreover, these supplements even increase the risk of cancer: however, according to the work, they are as little harmful as they are beneficial. The authors published their findings in the British Journal of Cancer (Hanson et al., Omega-3, omega-6 and total dietary polyunsaturated fat on cancer incident: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials) and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
The researchers reviewed and analyzed the works that examined more than 100 thousand people who consumed additional omega-3 supplements for at least a year or did not change their usual diet. Participants in 47 studies were adults who did not have cancer, but had an increased risk of developing it, or who had previously been diagnosed with such a diagnosis. Eighty-six studies looked at the effect of fatty acids on attacks of cardiovascular diseases or the number of deaths associated with them.
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are substances that make up cell membranes and blood vessels. The body does not know how to synthesize them in sufficient volume on its own, so they are included in the list of compounds that need to be fully obtained from food. Omega-3 fatty acid supplements are popular all over the world: preparations containing these acids are sold without a prescription, and the spectrum of their potential positive effect is declared as very wide. In particular, it is often claimed about the anti-carcinogenic effect of omega-3, as well as the possibility of using such dietary supplements to prevent stroke and heart attack. At the same time, the question of how effective the additives of these and some related substances are not in the composition of their natural sources, such as fatty fish varieties, seeds and oils of some plants, has been the engine of many scientific studies in recent years.
In their work, the authors point out that, according to the analyzed body of research, such supplements can only slightly reduce mortality from cardiovascular diseases and the number of seizures, but they do not affect most types of cancer in any way, and they can slightly increase the likelihood of prostate cancer. Both beneficial and harmful effects are small. If 1,000 people started taking such supplements for about four years, there would be three fewer victims of cardiovascular diseases, six people would avoid coronary heart disease (for example, a heart attack), and prostate cancer, compared with normal indicators, would affect three more.
"The overall impact on our health is minimal," sums up the author of the work, Dr. Lee Hooper from the Norwich Medical School of the University of East Anglia. It is noted that the data obtained for supplements are not equivalent to the effects of fish on the body. "Fatty fish is a very nutritious food as part of a balanced diet rich in protein and energy, as well as important trace elements such as selenium, iodine, vitamin D and calcium – it is much more than a source of omega–3." Scientists conclude that, according to their data, it makes no sense to take supplements that do not carry any significant benefit or prevention possibilities.
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