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Vegetable Oil Fats Can Accelerate Cancer Growth

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This is an older article that may not reflect Dr. Mercola’s current view on this topic. Use our search engine to find Dr. Mercola’s latest position on any health topic.

Omega-6 fatty acids accelerate the growth of human prostate tumors.

The current study found that the fats caused human prostate tumors in cell culture to grow twice as quickly as tumors to which omega-6 fats had not been added.

Omega-6 fatty acids are found in vegetable oils, including:

  • Corn
  • Canola
  • Soybeans

Americans currently consume over 25 times the level of omega-6 fats as the beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. Further, the researchers pointed out that the rate of prostate cancer in the United States has increased steadily along with intake of omega-6, suggesting a possible link between diet and prostate cancer.

 

 

 
Dr. Mercola's Comments:

This is similar to a study I posted last year, which also found that omega-6 fats promote prostate cancer growth.

Many of you reading this are under the impression that polyunsaturated fats are good for you. This is related to aggressive marketing campaigns by the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> edible oil industry that sought to demonize tropical oils and promote their own vegetable oils like corn and soybean oil.

Polyunsaturated fats is a general term that refers to fats that are primarily not saturated like most tropical oils (such as coconut oil) are. Nearly all vegetable oils contain primarily omega-6 polyunsaturated fats.

While omega-6 fats are necessary, we don't require that much and deficiencies are very rare. About the only time this is seen clinically is someone who is restricted to IV feedings and is not receiving supplemental fats.

Nearly anyone eating regular food will not be deficient in omega-6 fats. The problem that arises is that we have an excess of these fats and nearly all of them are highly processed and consumed as extracted vegetable oils.

About 100 years ago the average person ate less than a pound of these oils per year. Now people in most industrialized societies consume around 75 pounds per year.

Compounding the problem is that the vegetable oils become even more dangerous when they're heated for cooking. Damage done by frying starts at about 320 degrees Fahrenheit and goes up exponentially as the temperature rises.

The nature of chemical reactions is that for every 10-degree rise in temperature, the rate of chemical reactions (with oxygen, light and metals) at least doubles, and may even triple or quadruple.

Excessive consumption of omega 6 vegetable oils can lead to:

And it is difficult to avoid excessive intake if you eat processed foods, since these oils are present in nearly all of them.

If you want to protect yourself from breast or prostate cancer, try taking these following sensible steps:

  • Avoid highly processed foods, which frequently contain heated vegetable oils and other dangerous ingredients.
  • If you must cook with oil, use coconut oil. Despite the bad reputation of saturated fats, they are actually better for cooking because they are far less damaged by the heating process.
  • Optimize your vitamin D levels, and get plenty of sunlight. Deficiencies in your Vitamin D levels can increase your risk of prostate cancer, breast cancer and autoimmune disease.
  • Eat your vegetables raw or juice them. This prevents the valuable, delicate and health-protecting micronutrients in vegetables from being destroyed.

 

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