A lot of men take omega-3 supplements to help improve their health, but according to researchers, the supplements might actually raise your risk of getting prostate cancer.
If you’re not a health nut then you’re probably wondering what exactly omega-3 supplements do for you. Well, according to every hypochondriac’s best friend, WebMD, “Omega-3 fatty acids are thought to play an important role in reducing inflammation throughout the body — in the blood vessels, the joints, and elsewhere.” Basically, it’s widely believed that taking omega-3 supplements will reduce your risk of heart attacks, strokes, arthritis and various cancers…
However, a team of scientists from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle found that men who had high levels of omega-3 in their blood were 43 per cent more likely to develop prostate cancer then men with low concentrations and 71 per cent more likely to develop less common aggressive “high-grade” tumours.
Dr Alan Kristal, senior author of the paper, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, said: “We’ve shown once again that use of nutritional supplements may be harmful.”
The team compared blood samples from 834 prostate cancer patients against 1,393 healthy controls.
While it’s pretty worrying, the advice from doctors is to continue getting your omega-3 from natural sources such as fish and speak to a doctor if you’re in anyway worried about prostate cancer.
There’s no shame in getting checked out, lads. Better safe than sorry…
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