Get the balance right and survival may be the reward.

Get the balance right and survival may be the reward.

Three recent studies suggest that the correct balance between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids could be very beneficial to men with prostate cancer.

As I’ve noted in previous e-Alerts, the optimum dietary ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is 1:1 – but most of us don’t even come close to that. The primary dietary sources of omega-3 are fish and flaxseed. But omega-6 is abundant in processed foods, so the typical Western diet is unfavorably skewed toward very high omega-6 intake, and only modest intake of omega-3. This lopsided ratio promotes inflammation that plays a role in many chronic diseases, including cancer and heart disease.

The July 2007 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation carries a Wake Forest University study in which mice, genetically bred to develop prostate cancer, were divided into three groups and fed diets with three different omega-6 to omega-3 ratios: 1:1, 20:1, and 40:1. Mice in the 1:1 group had a 60 percent survival rate, while survival was only 10 percent in the 20:1 diet group. None of the mice in the 40:1 group survived.

Last year, a UCLA laboratory study showed that PSA levels and prostate cancer growth rates were reduced when omega-6 to omega-3 ratio was closer to 1:1. And earlier in the year, a mouse study published in the British Journal of Cancer showed that prostate cancer spread to bone marrow when omega-6 levels were high, but not when omega-3 levels were high enough to balance the ratio.

Until human subjects are tested we won’t know for sure if a 1:1 ratio in the diets of men will make a significant difference in prostate cancer survival. But that’s no reason for men to wait even one more day before moving their diets toward that ideal ratio. Virtually all men (and women) will enjoy better health when processed foods are replaced by fresh, whole foods and omega-3 sources are increased.