Fish Oil for Cancer Prevention and
Nutrition
Cancer is one of the leading killers in the human population
today. The most common forms of cancer are lung cancer, which
takes the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans per year,
as well as breast cancer and colon cancer.
What are the causes of cancer, and what happens to the body
when it is afflicted with cancer?
As it is already known, the body is composed of millions of
cells. Each cell can divide and grow, to replace cells that are
old or damaged. When cancer occurs, cells divide in an
unregulated manner, causing an overgrowth called a tumor.
A tumor serves no beneficial function in the body.
In fact, tumors compete for the supply of oxygen and nutrients
that healthy cells need. Cancer can happen because of agents in
the environment, called carcinogens. Some of these are
cigarette smoke, alcohol, illegal drugs, and other forms of
pollution in the air, land, and water.
Nutrition and prevention of cancer can be possible, as all it
takes is a little change in diet and activity.
Moderate regular exercise should be done. Nutritionists and
medical professionals recommend going organic when it comes to
diet. Organic in a sense means that the vegetables and meat
products are farmed without the use of herbicides and
pesticides.
It is also recommended to eat fruits and vegetables that are
rich in antioxidants such as tomatoes, cherries, squash, bell
peppers, and blueberries. For protein sources, eating lean
meat should be an option instead of red meat. Less fat is found
on them.
Nutritionists also recommend tofu and fish as sources of
protein. Fish, especially halibut, mackerel, sardines, albacore
tuna, and salmon are rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
Omega-3 fatty acids are currently being examined by
researchers as part of nutrition and prevention of
cancer.
As an example, the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC)
advices taking 1 teaspoon of fish oil per day, as a means of
preventing inflammation and the risk of breast cancer. This
translates to about 1 to 2 capsules of fish oil supplements per
day. For the prevention of colorectal cancer, the UMMC advices
1 to 3 tablespoonfuls of fish oil per day.
According to a 2003 publication for the journal Indoor and
Built Environment, the omega-3 fatty acids such as
docosohexenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentenoic acid (EPA), which
are found in many food sources such as fish oil, can make
cancer patients more receptive to the medications of
chemotherapy.
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In 2006, a team from the University of Texas published their
work in the Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer
Research. It has been established that the omega-3 fatty acid
EPA, found in fish oil, can prevent tumor growth.
Their aim was to determine if mice with lung cancer tumors will
have positive health manifestations if fed with fish oil. Their
results showed that fish oil alters the formation of
prostaglandins, which in turn can suppress the growth of
tumors. At present, more studies are being done to establish
the link between fish oil with nutrition and prevention of
cancer.
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