Terminal Cancer Patients Fighting Back With Omega-3 Fats
In 2000, a 78-year-old man was diagnosed with terminal lung
cancer and told by his doctor he had only a few months to live.
Tumors Down to 10 Percent
Today, the cancerous tumors in his lungs have shrunk to 10
percent of what they were in 2000, according to last year's
computed tomography scans. What caused this was not a common
medical treatment such as chemotherapy or surgical excision.
An Omega-3 Diet
How is this possible? His neighbor, Ron Pardini, a professor of
biochemistry and associate director of the Nevada Agricultural
Experiment Station, told him to drastically increase his intake
of omega-3 fatty acids, which are often found in fish oil or
golden algae oil.
He began to take a high dose of fish oil and golden algae oil
capsules daily, while at the same time reducing corn-based
foods. Corn contains omega-6 fatty acids, which have been found
to increase cancer growth.
Fights Cancer in Mice
Pardini's research showed that omega-3 fatty acids significantly
depress the growth of human mammary, ovarian, colon, prostate
and pancreatic cancer cells that were injected into mice. His
studies also demonstrated that fish oil consumption can improve
a mouse's responsiveness to chemotherapy.
Fish oil research began when it was observed that Inuit Eskimo
populations suffer from fewer breast and prostate cancer deaths.
So far, though, most studies have been limited to animal models.
Medical News Today November 11, 2005
Dr. Mercola's Comment:Increasing your intake of omega-3 fats
can do an incredible amount of good for your overall health,and
treating cancer, the number one cause of death in the United
States, is only one of them.
A diet change has allowed the Nevada patient described in the
article to actually gain some weight, and the cancerous tumors
in his lungs have shrunk by 90 percent. Nutritional
interventions really do make a great difference to your overall
health.
The trick with treating and preventing cancer by taking a
high-quality fish oil or cod liver oil daily comes down to doing
your homework, because variables like oxidation can nullifythe
many powerful benefits of omega-3 fats. That's why I urge you to
review my frequently asked questions page to determine the
safest and best kind of omega-3 fats for you.
If you are convinced that omega-3 fats are something you should
be using regularly, I would advise you to:
1. Make sure that your brand is free of mercury and PCBs. This
will not be on the label so you will need to: - Contact
the manufacturer for their analysis
- Review an independent
third party that has analyzed the product
- Hire a company to
test the product yourself
2. Confirm that there are very low oxidation products in the cod
liver oil.
Cod liver oil has long-chain unsaturated fats (primarily EPA and
DHA) and they are very susceptible to oxidation or damage. If
the oil is not processed properly damage will occur.
Many years ago nearly all the fish oils were oxidized. That is
why when you mention cod liver oil to most anyone they turn up
their nose in disgust. Typically, they only taste bad when they
are oxidized.
3. Make certain your cod liver oil has therapeutic levels of
vitamin E in it.
Because fish and cod liver oils are very susceptible to
oxidation and rancidity, nearly all manufacturers insert a small
amount of one unit of vitamin E per teaspoon. This is sufficient
to prevent oxidation of the fish oil in the bottle.
However, after you consume it this is woefully inadequate. Your
body will tend to oxidize the fish oil and much larger doses of
vitamin E are needed to prevent the fish oil from going rancid
in your body.
There are a number of high-quality fish/cod liver oils on the
market. Many of you know I recommend Carlson's. If you can't
find that in your local health food store we do carry it on our
site for your convenience.