Omega-3 deficiency is a common underlying factor for cancer, and this latest study found that by simply supplementing your diet with animal-based omega-3 fats you may reduce your breast cancer risk by 32 percent.
Considering that breast cancer is now one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the world, simple interventions like this one could save countless numbers of lives.
While this is the first study to link omega-3 supplementation with a decreased risk of invasive ductal breast cancer, the most common type, it only adds to growing research highlighting the important health benefits of omega-3 fats.
A Powerful Cancer Fighter
Dietary fat intake has been one of the most widely studied dietary risk factors for breast cancer.
In 2002, for instance, two studies showed that omega-3 fats influence two genes involved in keeping breast cancer at bay. BRCA1 (breast cancer gene 1) and BRCA2 (breast cancer gene 2) are tumor suppressor genes that, when functioning normally, help repair DNA damage (a process that also prevents tumor development).
Earlier research had discovered that women who carry mutated versions of these two genes are at higher risk of developing both breast and ovarian cancer than women who do not have these genetic mutations. Currently, women with BRCA1 mutations account for about 5 percent of all breast cancer cases.
Omega-3 fats have been found to influence these two genes, while reducing cancer cell growth.
In fact, research into the cancer preventive effects of omega-3 first began because it was observed that Inuit Eskimo populations, who eat a diet naturally high in animal-based omega-3 fats, had lower rates of breast and prostate cancers.
Today we now know that this healthy fat is good for so many aspects of health, it can actually reduce your risk of death from virtually every (disease-related) cause!
Reduce Your Risk of Death from ALL Causes …
Animal-based omega-3 deficiency was recently revealed as the sixth biggest killer of americans, responsible for up to 96,000 premature deaths each year, so increasing your omega-3 intake could very well be a life-saving strategy for many, even above and beyond breast cancer.
The results of three studies published in 2008 also mirrored these results, indicating that low concentrations of EPA and DHA resulted in an increased risk of death from all causes, and accelerated cognitive decline. The benefits of omega-3 fats truly run the gamut, from mental and behavioral health at any age, to preventing premature death from any number of diseases, including
Coronary heart disease and stroke
Essential fatty acid deficiency in infancy (retinal and brain development)
Autoimmune disorders (e.g., lupus and nephropathy)
Crohn’s disease
Cancers of the breast, colon, and prostate
Mild hypertension
Rheumatoid arthritis
Fortunately, the health benefits of omega-3s are slowly permeating the mainstream, but most people still fail to consume sufficient quantities of this essential fat.
How to Easily and Effectively Increase Your Omega-3 Fat Levels
Optimizing your animal-based omega-3 fat intake is very easy, provided you choose the best source of animal-based omega-3 fats.
Ideally you would receive all the animal-based omega-3s you’d need from eating seafood. Unfortunately, industrial pollution has changed the landscape, turning most of the world’s waters, and the seafood it contains, more or less toxic.
Because of the increasing difficulty in assuring the purity of fish and other seafood, the next best thing is to take a supplement. However, fish oil also has its drawbacks, both in terms of purity and effectiveness, and evidence suggests that there may be even better sources of animal based Omega 3.