Fish oil capsules

[trapperjohn]

On rare occasions in this forum, people have mentioned that they stopped taking fish oil capsules because they heard that it is bad for the prostate. I asked my doctor about it. She said that she had never heard that warning, and asked me where I heard or read about it. In fact, she tells me to take fish oil to lower my LDL.

Ive never found any reputable source for that warning. Does anyone know who or what reputable source actually says this about fish oil (and not just that they also "heard it somewhere)?

 

[MRG]

Here's a link on webmd.


http://www.webmd.com/prostate-cance...l-might-boost-prostate-cancer-risk-study-says


From the link.

WEDNESDAY, July 10 (HealthDay News) -- Eating a lot of oily fish or taking potent*fish oil*supplements*may increase a man's risk of developing*prostate cancer, new research suggests.

Moreover, marine sources of omega-3 fatty acids may also raise the risk for aggressive*prostate cancer, according to the study by scientists at the Fred Hutchinson*Cancer*Research Center in Seattle.

 

[RonBoyd]

In fact, she tells me to take fish oil to lower my LDL.

I wonder. Why is she advising this? Here is a link that may or may not be useful:

https://universityhealthnews.com/da...oil-could-be-increasing-your-ldl-cholesterol/

However, if you are merely concerned about the Omega fatty acids (or 25 other essential vitamins & minerals) in your body you can check that at home with this device:

Home - Vitastiq

 

[Rianne]

This is an excellent NPR Frontline about supplements, including fish oil.

Supplements and Safety | FRONTLINE | PBS

 

[medved]

I have spent some time on this specific issue, and I do not think the evidence is clear. I could send you a fair amount of material on this (and would be happy to do so if you would like), but for now this may be sufficient to demonstrate the uncertainty around this issue: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4677810/ If you are interested more generally on dietary issues and prostate cancer, this is an interesting overview of some of the research, and also illustrates the uncertainty that exists: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4286914/

One of the things you have to be careful of with these sorts of issues in the extent to which the studies are retrospective and epidemiological. (Not all of them, but many of them). I am certainly not saying such studies are worthless, but in the absence of controlled trials getting at the specific issue, it is hard to reach definitive conclusions.

One further thing to consider, if your goal is to lower LDL: Statins tend to be pretty useful, and there is evidence showing a risk reduction for prostate cancer as well (though again the evidence is not perfectly clear).

* Nothing I write should be relied upon as medical advice*