Maternal consumption of omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy and breastfeeding protects women against breast cancer

Women who eat foods rich in omega-3 during pregnancy and lactation, and then continue to feed their daughters with such a regime protect these risk of developing breast cancer in adulthood, suggest American jobs conducted in mice.
However, excessive consumption of omega-6, as in Western diets, may increase this risk, according to research presented at the meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Anaheim.

The two types of fatty acids are essential to human health, but in Western diets, the ratio between the two tends to be unbalanced with too much consumption of meat, eggs, poultry, cereals, bread and bakery products, most vegetable oils and margarine which contain omega-6 fatty acids.

However, the omega-6 to increase maternal estrogen levels, which increases the risk of breast cancer in the offspring, recalls the AACR in a statement. In contrast, omega-3 are known to block the effects of estrogen.

This is what prompted Elaine Hardman, of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and his colleagues, studying mice genetically predisposed to breast cancer, who were exposed in utero, during lactation and after weaning , a diet rich in omega-3 and omega-6.

All young mice exposed only to omega-6 during the three periods developed mammary tumors at the age of 6 months.

But mice exposed to omega-3 either during pregnancy and lactation or after weaning, only 60% developed mammary tumors in 8 months.

Among those exposed only to omega-3 for the three periods, only 13% developed mammary tumors.

The suppression of tumor growth was observed when the proportion of 2% omega-3 content in the diet, the investigators observed. "Two servings per week sure can mutiply