Grandma Was Right!

If you could only take one supplement to keep yourself healthy we believe it should be fish oils, without any doubt*. Not just for general health, like preventing heart disease and dementia, but for cancer prevention and even fighting cancer.

Fish oils contain omega 3, both vitamin A and vitamin D, and most contain good levels of selenium. These four have all been shown to have very active roles in beating cancer. This is part I of a two-part review of fish and fish oils.

Omega 3, long chain oils are the good guys

You may have read a lot about omega 3, omega 6 and even omega 9 fats. As if that wasn´t enough omega 3 can be found in short chain and long chain forms. So it is worth saying right up front that omega 3 long chain oils are the good guys; in fact, it is doubtful that your body can even use the short chain version, alpha linolenic acid.

Long chain omega 3 oils only come from oil-rich fish. Table A shows the relative benefits of these various cold, salt-water fish.

The origins of these long chain polyunsaturated fats are the microscopic algae and plankton that the fish feed on. Sadly, of course, fish farming methods may mean less consumption of these vital nutrients.

Volumes in gins per 100 gins of edible portion

Short chain omega 3 oils are found in rapeseed and linseed amongst others. By contrast omega 6 (linoleic acid) is found in sunflower, sesame and safflower oils; in its gamma form it is found in evening primrose oil and borage.

The brain contains high levels of omega 3

To understand the importance of omega 3 in our bodily functions it is necessary to understand the development of man. In the era of dinosaurs, early forms of homosapiens would emerge from their caves and often the main source of nourishment was the brain left behind in the carcass of a dinosaur victim. The brain, indeed your brain, contains high levels of omega 3. Our diets were originally 2:1 omega 3:omega 6. By the 1900´s that had become 1:1. Now the average New York female has a 1:25 or even 1:50 diet. Supplementing with Evening Primrose oil for menstrual problems worsens this.

If you are thinking of buying a fish oil supplement, you might like to look at the Natural Selection Product of Choice. You can do this by clicking hereOmega 3 is thought to be linked to our intelligence; children who take regular supplementation were shown in US studies to have lQs 11 per cent higher than those that didn´t. A deficiency of Omega 3 has now been clearly linked to Alzheimers. Now, recent studies have argued for its crucial role in cancer prevention and cure.

Whilst omega 3, omega 6 and indeed most fats find their way into a general "oil" of fatty acids inside the body, only omega 3 (and to a minor extent, ginger and garlic) can turn this into a positive benefit.

Nobel prizes have been won in this field starting with Sir John Vane in 1982. Substances have been found in the cell nuclear envelope, which can both affect cellular health, or bring on cellular death. These substances are hormones called eicosanoids. Like all hormones they are powerful chemicals, but unlike other hormones that are made in specific glands, these are made around every cell in your body, from the "oil pooi" of fatty acids.

Some eicosanoids are good, some are bad

Some eicosanoids are good, some are bad. One enzyme (called Cox-2) can encourage the production of the bad eicosanoids, rather than good ones. This enzyme is stimulated by substances such as steroids, insulin and even aspirin. However long chain omega 3 seems to inhibit the Cox-2 enzyme, cutting the production of bad eicosanoids and allowing the production of a greater proportion of ´good´ eicosanoids.

There are two strong implications in this:

Firstly that eicosanoids provide the last link in the chain, which communicates messages from your brain to Iocalised cells. Put simply, if your brain feels depressed or stressed, this will be communicated (via steroids for example) to the nuclear envelope in your breast cells and so your breast cells will be ´depressed or stressed´.

Secondly, eicosanoids and Cox-2, play a role in the pathways involved in malignancy.

Eicosanoids play a key role in cell signalling, primarily in oxidative pathways. Cox-2 plays a role in cell growth, and human tumour cells have high levels of Cox-2. Cox-2 also plays a key role in the synthesis of prostaglandins, which are found mainly in inflammatory and immune cells. Prostaglandins and other ´bad´ eicosanoids bring about tissue responses such as wound repair and inflammation, but in excess they are implicated totally in many modern diseases e.g. atherosclerosis, rheumatic diseases, Alzheimer´s and cancers.

Why take drugs when the fundamental answer lies in increasing your intake of omega 3?

Cox-2 levels are high in 85 per cent of colon cancers (Dubois, Vanderbilt), and also in breast cancer. Work is underway on drugs, which block Cox-2. But why take drugs when the fundamental answer lies in increasing your intake of omega 3? The International Journal of Cancer (March 2002) reports on 250 women with breast cancer and the findings that women who are cancer free have much higher omega 3 fatty acid levels in their breast tissue!

There are some points to watch for. Much coastal fish contains toxins, especially mercury. Many fish oils contain high levels of toxic dioxins, so check with the manufacturer. And an excess of fish oils, as we will see next month, can overdose your body with vitamin A and D. Normally, 1000 mgs per day of cod liver oil, or 2000 mgs of un-enriched fish oils will be perfectly safe.

Your grandmother was right - fish oils are good for you! And Omega 3 EPA  is a great source of the right, natural oils. If you are thinking of buying a fish oil supplement, you might like to look at the Natural Selection Product of Choice. You can do this by clicking here.

*There has been some recent research in the American Journal of Clinical Medicine (Nov) that fish oils may be dangerous to certain diabetics.

At all times we suggest you take proper medical advice.          At Last - the definitive, research based book on how to build a diet to help beat cancer. Click here to read about it.

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