Those of you who are supplementing with ALA may wish to carefully consider the following, especially since many are taking very high daily doses of same. At the very least, I would recommend adding in a generous portion of fish oil.
Dietary intake of n3 and n6 fatty acids and the risk of prostate cancer
Michael F Leitzmann, Meir J Stampfer, Dominique S Michaud, Katarina Augustsson, Graham C Colditz, Walter C Willett and Edward L Giovannucci
Background: Laboratory studies have shown that n3 fatty acids inhibit and n6 fatty acids stimulate prostate tumor growth, but whether the dietary intake of these fatty acids affects prostate cancer risk in humans remains unclear.
Objective: We prospectively evaluated the association between intakes of -linolenic (ALA; 18:3n3), eicosapentaenoic (EPA; 20:5n3), docosahexaenoic (DHA; 22:6n3), linoleic (LA; 18:2n6), and arachidonic (AA; 20:4n6) acids and prostate cancer risk.
Design: A cohort of 47,866 US men aged 4075 y with no cancer history in 1986 was followed for 14 y.
Results: During follow-up, 2965 new cases of total prostate cancer were ascertained, 448 of which were advanced prostate cancer. ALA intake was unrelated to the risk of total prostate cancer. In contrast, the multivariate relative risks (RRs) of advanced prostate cancer from comparisons of extreme quintiles of ALA from nonanimal sources and ALA from meat and dairy sources were 2.02 (95% CI: 1.35, 3.03) and 1.53 (0.88, 2.66), respectively. EPA and DHA intakes were related to lower prostate cancer risk. The multivariate RRs of total and advanced prostate cancer from comparisons of extreme quintiles of the combination of EPA and DHA were 0.89 (0.77, 1.04) and 0.74 (0.49, 1.08), respectively. LA and AA intakes were unrelated to the risk of prostate cancer. The multivariate RR of advanced prostate cancer from a comparison of extreme quintiles of the ratio of LA to ALA was 0.62 (0.45, 0.86).
Conclusions: Increased dietary intakes of ALA may increase the risk of advanced prostate cancer. In contrast, EPA and DHA intakes may reduce the risk of total and advanced prostate cancer.
Dietary intake of n3 and n6 fatty acids and the risk of prostate cancer
Michael F Leitzmann, Meir J Stampfer, Dominique S Michaud, Katarina Augustsson, Graham C Colditz, Walter C Willett and Edward L Giovannucci
Background: Laboratory studies have shown that n3 fatty acids inhibit and n6 fatty acids stimulate prostate tumor growth, but whether the dietary intake of these fatty acids affects prostate cancer risk in humans remains unclear.
Objective: We prospectively evaluated the association between intakes of -linolenic (ALA; 18:3n3), eicosapentaenoic (EPA; 20:5n3), docosahexaenoic (DHA; 22:6n3), linoleic (LA; 18:2n6), and arachidonic (AA; 20:4n6) acids and prostate cancer risk.
Design: A cohort of 47,866 US men aged 4075 y with no cancer history in 1986 was followed for 14 y.
Results: During follow-up, 2965 new cases of total prostate cancer were ascertained, 448 of which were advanced prostate cancer. ALA intake was unrelated to the risk of total prostate cancer. In contrast, the multivariate relative risks (RRs) of advanced prostate cancer from comparisons of extreme quintiles of ALA from nonanimal sources and ALA from meat and dairy sources were 2.02 (95% CI: 1.35, 3.03) and 1.53 (0.88, 2.66), respectively. EPA and DHA intakes were related to lower prostate cancer risk. The multivariate RRs of total and advanced prostate cancer from comparisons of extreme quintiles of the combination of EPA and DHA were 0.89 (0.77, 1.04) and 0.74 (0.49, 1.08), respectively. LA and AA intakes were unrelated to the risk of prostate cancer. The multivariate RR of advanced prostate cancer from a comparison of extreme quintiles of the ratio of LA to ALA was 0.62 (0.45, 0.86).
Conclusions: Increased dietary intakes of ALA may increase the risk of advanced prostate cancer. In contrast, EPA and DHA intakes may reduce the risk of total and advanced prostate cancer.
