Fish, seafood and you colon

A large 22 year study has looked at fish and seafood in the diets of men, and discovered that those who eat fish, shrimp, prawns and other seafood have a 40% lower chance of colon or rectal cancer

The researchers were not sure why frequently eating fish has such a protective effect on you colon health. They made a couple of suggestions: first, that the omega-3 essential fatty acids and the vitamin D in fish might protect you. Second, they suggested that it could simply be that fish lovers eat less red meat - something known to raise colon cancer risk

The researchers suggestion that red meat can cause cancer misses the most important point. Yes, meat from sick animals will raise your cancer risk. Animals that are held in pens and feedlots, and fed on foods other than their natural (or wild) diet, produce meat, milk and eggs with a damaged nutritional profile

However, meat from wild or healthfully grown animals will not raise colon cancer risks. Just one of many examples of this is the traditional peoples from the far northern parts of the world who ate caribou and other red meats as a large part of their diet

Unfortunately, virtually all the research I have read on the health affects of different foods does NOT take into account the quality of the foods studied. Most researchers assume that organic, free range or wild foods are the same as farmed, mass-produced, chemically produced foods

Here are some warnings concerning fish:

Grow Youthful notes how mercury and other pollution levels are rising in most of the world's oceans
Another trend noted in the book is the dramatic rise in fish farming, and how farmed fish are low in Omega-3 oils in particular
The pollution risk in seafood products coming from China and several other countries is high, as they are farmed with minimal or unreliable supervision

Reference: Hall, M. N. et al. A 22-year prospective study of fish, n-3 fatty acid intake, and colorectal cancer risk in men, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 2008 May;17(5):1136-1143