Although a headline-grabbing piece of research has claimed that omega-3 supplements cause prostate cancer, plenty of other independent studies continue to show the benefits of the fish oils. They can help fight diabetes and heart disease, and reduce hyperactivity in teens, two recent trials have discovered.
Omega-3 fatty acid supplements increase levels of adiponectin, a hormone that helps reduce the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, usually brought on by a poor lifestyle, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found.
And the fatty acids could help ward off anxiety and hyperactivity in teenagers, a separate study has suggested. Certainly, the converse is true: teenagers who are low in the acids suffer anxiety, hyperactivity, memory problems and cognition skills. Worse, say researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, the problem seems to pass down through the generations, so parents who are deficient in omega-3 are more likely to have children who are also deficient.
The deficiency started to appear in the 1960s when corn and soy oils started to replace oils rich in omega-3s, and farm animals moved from eating grass to grain.
These beneficial effects are at variance with a study that claimed the fish oils caused prostate cancer. It suggested that men with high levels of the fish oil in their blood were 71 per cent more likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer.
However, the study has been criticised for finding an association, but not a cause, and other lifestyle factors were not taken into account, which would have nullified any effect from omega-3 levels.
(Sources: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2013; 98: 2451-9 (diabetes study); Biological Psychiatry, 2013; doi: 10.1016/.j.biopsych.2013.06.007 (hyperactivity study); Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2013; doi: 10.1093.jnci/djt174 (prostate cancer study))
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