A review of 26 international studies led to a conclusion that women with the highest consumption of fish-sourced omega-3 are 14 percent less prone to breast cancer. Consumption of omega-3 from plants did not lower the risk for the condition.
Breast cancer statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 211,731 women had breast cancer in the United States in 2009. Mortality due to breast cancer was pegged at 40,676 that year.
The study published on the British Medical Journal on June 27 looked into the benefit of the dietary fat in women as it has been cited as part of a healthy diet that may be critical in preventing breast cancer.
"Each 0.1 g/day or 0.1% energy/day increment of intake was associated with a 5% reduction in risk," suggested the study.
The researchers looked into studies that measured intake of omega-3 through blood tests or assessment of fish intake. They noticed that fish consumption in populations in Asia lowered the risk of breast cancer in women compared to Westerns. The researchers attributed this to a possible lower intake of fish by the latter group.
Other factors considered were the different sources of omega-3 and the possible compounds in the fish that may reduce the potency of the healthy fatty acid.
The proponents took note of the inconsistent findings about the relationship between breast cancer incidence in women and the amount of intake of omega-3 fatty acid from fish. The team, led by Dr. Ju-Sheng Zeng from the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the Zhejiang University in China, took note of negative, positive or even null association of omega-3 and breast cancer.
An article on LiveScience cited a review of 48 research studies conducted in 2009 that were unclear if having an omega-3-rich diet or taking the polyunsaturated fat as supplement affect the risk of cancer or cardiac disease. These studies were also not able to prove that people should stop consuming omega-3 rich foods.
Another review study in 2002 concluded that women who consumed omega-3 and unhealthy omega-6 fatty acids had lower risk of breast cancer.
