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.

by Dr. Joseph Mercola

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