Oily fish are rich in omega 3 fatty acids.
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According to the researchers from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, their findings needed to be reproduced in further studies in case they were replicated, patients with bowel cancer might benefit from boosting their oily fish intake.
“The study only found a link between eating more Omega 3 fatty acids and a lower risk of dying from bowel cancer so it’s not yet clear whether increasing Omega 3 in patients’ diet was directly causing this lower risk”.
Previous studies have shown that omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) can suppress tumour growth and prevent blood supply to malignant cells.
Compared with patients who consumed less than 0.1 g of omega 3 fatty acids daily, those who consumed at least 0.3 g daily after their diagnosis, had a 41% lower risk of dying from their disease, the study found.
Meanwhile, a reduction in daily intake of omega-3 was associated with a 10 per cent increased risk of death from the disease. Eating a 100 g fillet – a portion that might be served as a meal – once a week would be enough to provide the equivalent of this amount daily.
Analysis of data from more than 170,000 people in the United States revealed that among 1,659 who developed bowel cancer, there was a strong correlation between higher omega 3 intake and lower risk of death, it said.
For the research, published online in the journal Gut, experts analysed data from two long term studies: the Nurses’ Health Study of 121,700 female nurses and the Health Professionals Follow Up Study of 51, 529 male health professionals.
Similar studies into fish oil and heart health initially spurred enthusiasm about the nutrient until subsequent, more rigorous research “punctured the idea that fish oil was good medicine for heart patients”, he said.
Omega 3 intake, however, was not linked to a lower risk of death overall.
The reduced risk applied to both food sources and omega-3 dietary supplements.
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However, “if this association does turn out to be true, then it will be great for patients”, he said.
