Does Flaxseed Oil cause Prostate Cancer?

Recent media reports suggest a link between flaxseed oil and prostate cancer. As a guy in his mid-forties who takes flaxseed oil, I was intrigued by these reports and took a closer look.

There's research looking at high alpha linolenic acid levels and prostate cancer. Some studies say this fatty acid causes prostate cancer and some studies showed no link. Take a closer look at the research and form your own opinion:

Research Study #1:

Researchers at the Michigan Prostate Institute took rat prostate cancer cells in test tubes and exposed to them different fatty acids. They found linolenic acid increased the cancer cells' growth.

We know flaxseed oil also contains high amounts of alpha linolenic acid. But you must remember these cancer cells weren't exposed to flaxseed oil. Would flaxseed oil increase the growth of cancer cells? Not enough information from this study to make that conclusion.

Research Study #2:

Eat too much fat and increase your risk for prostate cancer?

Scientists at Harvard Medical School discovered certain fats in your diet increase the risk for prostate cancer. Which fats were these? They looked at dairy fats, fish fats, meat fats and specific fatty acids.

What they found was:

• Dairy fats (not including butter) and fish fats had almost no increased risk for prostate cancer.
• Eating certain types of fatty meat containing alpha linolenic acid increases your risk for prostate cancer.

Now since flaxseed oil also contains alpha linolenic acid, a connection was made that eating flaxseed oil may increase your risk for prostate cancer. Before you toss out that bottle of flaxseed oil, you need to know that some animal fats contain alpha linolenic acid.

Research shows that exposing alpha linolenic acid to high cooking temperatures (such as grilling those big juicy fat steaks) releases cancer-causing agents, such as benzene.

Could this be the cause of increased prostate cancer risk? I'm sure a lot of vegetarians are nodding their heads in agreement.

Research Study #3:

A study from the Department of Preventative Medicine in Chicago showed an increase risk for prostate cancer with high plasma levels of alpha linolenic acid.

Researchers in Norway confirmed this with their own study showing prostate cancer patients had high blood levels of alpha linolenic acid.

So Does Flaxseed Oil Cause Prostate Cancer?

After reading the above studies, you may have more questions.

Here you'll read studies showing no link between high alpha linolenic acid levels and prostate cancer.

Researchers in the Netherlands conducted a study and found no connection between high levels of alpha linolenic acid and prostate cancer.

Scientists in the U.S. conducted a study which showed no connection between flaxseed oil and prostate cancer.

The National Cancer Institute performed a ground-breaking study on alpha linolenic acid and prostate cancer involving over 29,000 men. They found absolutely no link between increased levels of alpha linolenic acid and prostate cancer.

To date, there are no published studies linking flaxseed oil and prostate cancer.

Conclusions:

So what can we gather from all this research?

• There are no published medical studies linking flaxseed oil and prostate cancer.
• There are conflicting studies linking prostate cancer with high levels of alpha linolenic acid:

• Some studies show high alpha linolenic acid levels and an increased risk for prostate cancer and other studies didn't support this.
• To date, there are no studies showing flaxseed oil causes prostate cancer.

• Eating a high fat diet may increase your risk for prostate cancer:

• High cooking temperatures may alter the fat in meat, releasing cancer-causing agents. Alpha linolenic acid (found in certain cuts of meat) releases benzene (a carcinogen) when exposed to high temperatures.

So after all this, is it safe to take flaxseed oil supplements?

Flaxseed oil is a great plant-source of omega 3 fatty acids. Some people who don't eat fish take flaxseeds and flaxseed oil supplements to round out their omega 3 intake.

If you're concerned about the risk of flaxseed oil causing prostate cancer, and you need more omega 3 fatty acids in your diet, why not take fish oils, krill oil, or eat at least 1 - 2 servings of freshwater fish per week? This will ensure you're getting adequate levels of omega 3 fatty acids in your diet.

Personally, I think moderation is the key. I still take a shot of flaxseed oil with my protein shakes and also use ground flaxseeds with my morning cup of orange juice. I think it's a great way to get a natural source of plant-based omega 3 fats in my diet.

Research References: