The study shows that increasing levels of Omega-3 in the
blood were linked with reduced breast density. However, the association was
found only in women with a body mass index above 29, bordering on obesity.
Omega-3 fatty acids are naturally found in fatty fish, such
as tuna, seafood and some nuts and seeds.The anti-inflammatory effects found in
Omega-3s, specifically Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a type of fatty acid, are
preferentially protective in obese post-menopausal women.
Further, women with a normal weight have less inflammation
than heavier women, and are therefore less likely to benefit from
anti-inflammatory Omega-3. "Omega-3 fatty acids have an anti-inflammatory
effect, so that's one of the reasons why we suspected it may be particularly
effective in obese women," said Andrea Manni, professor at Pennsylvania
State University in US.
The other thing which was noted was that obesity is a major
breast cancer risk factor in post-menopausal women, and scientists believe that
increased inflammation is an important underlying cause in this population. The
study which has been published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research,
included 266 healthy post-menopausal women with high breast density detected by
routine mammograms.
These women either received no treatment, or were given
Raloxifene, an antiestrogen drug, or Lovaza, an omega-3 drug, or a combination
of the two drugs. In conclusion, the study pointed out that although Lovaza
contains both the fatty acids DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), only DHA
blood levels were associated with breast density reduction.
If you're not a person who would like to sweat it out in the
gym, just a few minutes of sedentary time with some sort of movement may help
improve your health. In a new study involving over 3,000 people aged 50 to 79,
the researchers found that the least active people were five times more likely
to die during the study period than the most active people and three times more
likely than those in the middle range for activity.
"Activity doesn't have to be especially vigorous to be
beneficial. That's the public health message," said study lead author Ezra
Fishman from University of Pennsylvania in the US. These findings were
published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
