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October - December 2006 Newsletter
Every other minute researchers find another compelling reason to load up on omega-3 fish oil. The latest headlines say it can help ward off prostate and kidney cancer, keep your weight down, save you from sudden cardiac death better than a defibrillator and keep you from committing suicide—just for starters.
There’s even new evidence that the mercury scare in fish is unfounded—that virtually all fish are extremely safe to eat after all, despite their mercury content.
Another new emphasis: It’s not only important to get more omega-3 fish oil, but to cut back on bad omega-6 fats. Studies increasingly show that excessive omega-6s in vegetable oils, margarines, red meat and deep fried foods can cancel out the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. The critical factor is the “balance” of omega-3 and omega-6 fats. We eat 10 to 30 times more omega-6 than omega-3, when it should be no more than 4 times more omega-6 than omega-3 fats. Brushing salmon with corn oil or eating deep-fried fish sticks neutralizes the omega-3, defeating the purpose of eating fish in the first place.
It seems there’s virtually nothing fish oil can’t save you from. If you’re not eating fatty fish and/or taking fish oil supplements, you’re living dangerously.
Here’s the latest on why omega-3 fish oil may be the greatest lifesaver ever discovered, no matter what your age.
Fish Oil Prevents Suicide:
National Institutes of Health researcher Joseph Hibbeln, calls fish oil a natural antidepressant, noting that fish eaters world-wide suffer less major depression. Now, he finds that eating fish may help prevent suicide. By measuring the blood levels of DHA, a component of fish oil, in depressed patients on suicide watch, he discovered that those who attempted suicide had less DHA and a high ratio of omega-6. Thus, blood levels of omega-3 DHA and omega-6 in seriously depressed persons predicts their likelihood of attempting suicide. A previous Japanese study has found an 8 times higher risk of attempted suicide in people with the lowest blood levels of omega-3.
Fish Oil Stops Prostate Cancer Growth UCLA investigators find that eating more omega-3 and less omega-6 may reduce growth of prostate cancer and PSA levels, a marker for prostate cancer. Using a special mouse model that mirrors human prostate cancer, researchers fed one group predominately omega-6 fats and the other group equal amounts of omega-6 and omega-3 or a 1 to 1 ratio.
In animals on high omega-3, prostate cancer growth dropped 22 percent, PSA levels, 77 percent and pro-inflammatory markers, 83 percent. Researchers speculate similar diet changes in men might prevent prostate cancer or slow its progression, and are now doing a study giving fish oil supplements to prostate cancer patients.
Fish Oil Blocks Kidney Cancer
In another breakthrough study, researchers at ’s Karolinska Institutet, found that women who ate fatty fish (salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel) were much less apt to develop kidney cancer over 15 years than women who ate lean seafood, such as cod, lobster and shrimp, or no fish. Only one serving of fatty fish a week cut risk of the most common type kidney cancer 44 percent compared with no fish. Women who consistently ate fatty fish for 10 years cut risk 74 percent.
Researchers point out that fatty fish has up to 30 times more omega-3 and five times more anti-cancer vitamin D than lean fish, a probable reason for the anticancer finding. Yet, few studies distinguish between fatty and lean fish in assessing their benefits.
This is one likely reason (along with the failure to consider omega-6-omega 3 balance in diets) that some studies, including a recent meta-analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Association, concluded that fish and fish oil did not lower cancer risk. Ill-designed studies produce erroneous conclusions. Fish Oil Is A Defibrillator
Keeping heart rhythms in sync is one of fish oil’s greatest feats. It can shock your heart back to life, should it go into potentially fatal fibrillation. A recent study by cardiologist Thomas Kottke, at the Heart Center, Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota concluded that raising body levels of omega-3 fatty acids would save 8 times more lives than having access to an external defibrillator and about twice as many lives as having a defibrillator implanted.
New Australian research suggests that taking 850 mg of omega-3’s DHA and EPA daily for a month can cut risk of sudden cardiac death from arrhythmias in heart patients by 71%! Bottom Line: Since a defibrillator may not always be available, taking fish oil or eating fish so you don’t need one is a good bet for staying alive.
Fish Oil Burns Off Fat:
Taking fish oil, along with exercising moderately, can accelerate weight loss even if you don’t cut calories or change your diet in any way, says a new study. “We were surprised to see (fish oil) was so effective, especially since these people were still eating whatever they wanted,” said Australian researcher Allison Hill.
Specifically, obese people given daily fish oil and told to take a 45-minute walk three times a week lost an average 4.5 pounds in three months. Those who took sunflower oil and exercised or who only exercised lost no weight. Hill says “The omega-3 increases fat-burning ability by improving the flow of blood to muscles.”
Fish Oil Kills Pain
The typical remedy for back pain is an Advil or a painkiller called a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug or NSAID. But fish oil is just as effective and much safer at relieving back pain because of its strong anti-inflammatory activity, say neurosurgeons at the
Fish oil worked so well that 60% of their patients with back or neck pain stopped their prescription painkillers, preferring fish oil. The dose: 1200 mg a day of omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA—that’s 2 to 4 daily capsules, depending on potency. Check the label to be sure.
Fish Oil Halts Macular Degeneration
Fish oil helps prevent or retard the progression of macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in older people. Harvard researchers find that eating two or more servings of fish a week and having high blood levels of omega-3 cuts your odds of ever getting macular degeneration.
Further, new research at the National Eye Institute reports that fish oil thwarts progression of macular degeneration. People with the disease who take in the most omega-3 in fish oil are 20 to 25 per cent less likely to progress to the stage of visual loss.
Fish Oil Stops Bone Loss
Interesting new research in animals shows that fish oil may help prevent tooth loss from periodontal disease and bone thinning from osteoporosis.
Researchers credit fish oil’s anti-inflammatory properties with reducing production of highly inflammatory molecules known to stimulate bone breakdown.
Fish Oil Improves ADHD
Fish oil may help control attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in kids. In previous studies, fish oil calmed kids down, reduced aggression and improved their focus. Now, an Australian study says fish oil supplements also improved the attention span and hyperactivity scores of ADHD kids between 7 and 12 years old. Comparing other data, the researchers pronounced fish oil slightly more effective than the commonly used drug Ritalin. The dose: 3,000 mg fish oil every day for 15-30 weeks. If you try it, be sure to consult with a doctor before abruptly taking a child off Ritalin, caution experts.
Yes, fish may contain low levels of mercury. But that doesn’t make it unsafe to eat. Surprisingly, that’s the latest word from top experts. Mercury in fish is not toxic because fish is also loaded with selenium—and selenium detoxifies the mercury, says
For example, tuna has 15 to 25 times more selenium than mercury, salmon 10 times more selenium and swordfish 5 times more selenium—far more than enough to make the mercury harmless. Dr. Lands says avoiding fish because of mercury does more harm than good by depriving people of the enormous benefits of omega-3 oil in fish.
Other experts agree that government warnings to avoid or severely restrict tuna, especially canned albacore tuna, swordfish and tilefish are wrong because selenium renders their mercury content nontoxic.
Still, you can’t beat omega-3 rich salmon and sardines as well as high potency fish oil capsules for delivering huge benefits without toxic hazards. And by the way, farm-raised salmon has just as much omega-3 as wild salmon.
Here’s an alarming new reason to cut back on sweets and other foods that spike blood sugar--Alzheimer’s. High blood sugar--also called borderline or pre-diabetes-- raises your odds of Alzheimer’s by a startling 70%, says a new Swedish study.
Forty one million Americans have pre-diabetes and may not even suspect it. You can prevent high blood sugar by cutting down on sweets and other so-called high glycemic foods, such as white bread and white potatoes—and by eating more cinnamon. Some experts call Alzheimer’s the new “Type 3 Diabetes.”
Using cranberry juice as a mouth wash is not far fetched. The red berries have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activity that can help ward off gum disease.
Canadian researchers showed that unique cranberry chemicals prevented destructive bacteria from sticking to the teeth below the gum line. If the germs don’t stick, they can’t cause the infection that inflames gums and attacks bone and ligaments, eventually causing loss of teeth. Researchers say eating cranberries may be one more way—in addition to brushing, flossing and cleaning—to curb gum disease.
All forms of cranberries work—fresh, dried, canned, frozen as well as cranberry juice and cranberry juice cocktail.
You may know that trans fats in margarines, donuts and processed foods, clog your arteries—which is bad enough. But new research at
Worse, the extra fat deposits settled in the abdominal area, boosting the risk of diabetes and heart disease. It’s easy now to detect trans fats in foods because they are listed on labels. So look for them, and avoid them.
Here’s one of the best ideas yet for stopping yourself from pigging out. Put your food in smaller bowls and on smaller plates. It may sound hokey, but it works.Cornell
The guests were randomly given either a 17-ounce or 34-ounce bowl, and were told to scoop up their own ice cream. Those who got the bigger bowls took—and usually ate—31% more ice cream than those who got bowls half that size. It’s a simple message, even for professionals. Use smaller plates and bowls to stay a smaller size.
Swedish scientist Susanna Larsson found that drinking only a couple of cups or more of black or green tea daily cut risk of ovarian cancer by 46%. Other research shows that an specific antioxidant in green tea, called EGCG, kills ovarian cancer cells in test tubes. And Asian women with ovarian cancer who drank at least a cup of green tea a day were 57% more apt to survive 3 years than women who didn’t drink green tea. Important: to get EGCG and other antioxidants, you must drink brewed tea or take concentrated tea capsules. Bottled and instant tea have little or no antioxidants.
The South Beach Diet book got some facts wrong, say professors at the
Not true, say experts who have been trying to kill this carrot myth for years. Jennie Brand-Miller, who tests foods for glycemic index at the
A little bit of curry powder makes you smarter. Researchers tested the mental powers of over 1000 Asian men and women ages 60 to 93. Those who ate curry once a month or even once in six months did better on a standard test of mental function than people who rarely or never ate curry.
The secret brain-boosting ingredient is curcumin, a constituent of turmeric, a common yellow spice in curry powder. Other research shows curcumin reduces a brain toxin linked to Alzheimer’s. And , where curry is a staple, has one of the lowest rates of Alzheimer’s in the world.
It’s a common notion that eating hot chili peppers irritates hemorrhoids, causing burning, pain, itching, even swelling and bleeding. But there’s no hard proof of it. So Italian researchers did a blind test.
They gave 50 hemorrhoid patients a daily capsule of red hot chili pepper or a fake powder for a week. Then reversed it. Guess what? Patients did not rate their hemorrhoid symptoms worse after unknowingly downing the hot chili pepper. So researchers say: occasionally eating hot spicy foods is not likely to cause discomfort. |
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