Good news for fish lovers. A systemic review and meta-analysis conducted on 41 studies finds that those who eat lots of fish might reduce risk of colon cancer and rectal cancer.
The analysis is one of many reports to suggest eating fish is very good for your health. The work focused on fresh fish, though the study authors can’t say what varieties of fish were eaten, or how they were prepared.
Doctors know that cooking temperatures may well have an impact on colorectal cancer. This comes from recent studies that have found eating meat and fish that’s BBQ’d or grilled over a high heat appears to bring an increased risk of cancer.
Researchers in China examined 41 studies on fish intake from places like the U.S., Norway, Japan and Finland and others that were published between 1990 to 2011. The findings show that consumption of fish is inversely (intake goes up, the disease risk goes down) associated with colorectal cancers.
Frequently eating fish was linked to a 12% reduced risk of having (or dying from) cancers of the colon or rectum according to the researchers. The effect of eating fish was strongest for the rectal cancers – those who consumed the greatest volumes of fish showed a 21% lower risk of rectal cancer compared to those who consumed the least amount. For colon cancers the reduction in risk was just a few percentage points, meaning it may have been down to chance.
This finding held even after accounting for family history of these cancers, age, alcohol intake and red meat consumption as well as other known risk factors. (more…)
