A large US study of the health benefits of vitamin D supplementation and fish oil has concluded that eating omega-3 fatty acids can significantly reduce the risk of heart attacks, and vitamin D benefits appear to reduce the risk of dying from cancer.
But vitamin D and fish oil did not reduce the risk of an attack or cancer in themselves.
The study found that the rate of heart attack in those who ate fish oil was 28 percent lower than those who took fake drugs, and reduced the risk by 77 percent among African Americans. But the study's lead author told Reuters Health, that much needed to be confirmed.
"The cancer death rate among those who took vitamin D was 25 percent lower," said Dr. Joan Manson, head of preventive medicine at Brigham & Wemen Hospital in Boston, adding that this may be because the vitamin "may affect the vital structure of the tumor , Reducing the likelihood of spreading to other areas of the body. "
"So we may see a reduction in cancer mortality, but it is not a reduction in initial diagnosis. It takes a longer study ... If we talk about cancer prevention, it may take treatment for more than a decade," she said in a telephone interview.
The new study was published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Most of the previous research has focused on volunteers who are already at high risk for a heart attack, stroke or cancer.
The study included 25,871 participants aged 50 years and no one had a heart attack, stroke or cancer before. More than half of them followed more than five years of study.
Manson said the new findings would make "those who eat vitamin D, or fish oil already feel that there is nothing to stop them."
But some may want to wait until more results are published about the relationship of these supplements to diabetes, cognitive function, depression and autoimmune diseases over the next six months to decide whether the benefits are worth addressing, she said.
