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Natural Awakenings Northwest Florida

Omega-3s May Increase Risk of Prostate Cancer: Rethinking Fish Oil Supplements

Research published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute has confirmed that high blood levels of DHA, EPA and DPA—three omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil supplements—are linked to prostate cancer.

The study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center tested 834 men with prostate cancer and 1,393 healthy men; they found that such high concentrations were associated with a 71 percent increased risk of more serious prostate cancer and a 44 percent increase in the risk of less serious prostate cancer. The overall increased risk in all prostate cancers was 43 percent.

The findings of this study confirm similar research in 2011 and another large European study. “What’s important is that we have been able to replicate our findings from 2011,” says one of the more recent study’s authors, Theodore Brasky, Ph.D.

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