On the heals of recent concerns over the purity of fish oil comes yet another study showing the benefit of omega-3 supplementation.  This time the study focused on precancerous bowel polyps.  A condition known as familial adenomatous polyposis is an inherited condition in which numerous polyps form in the bowel.  If left untreated, these polyps often turn from benign to cancerous.

From an article at Medicinenet.com:

The study participants were divided into two groups, with 28 receiving six months of treatment with daily 2-gram doses of a highly purified form of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, and the others receiving an inactive placebo.

Among those who took the placebo, the number of polyps grew by almost 10 percent, but it dropped by more than 12 percent among those who took the omega-3 capsules. The size of the polyps also increased among those in the placebo group, but decreased among those who took omega-3.

The study authors noted this new omega-3 treatment appears to work as well as the conventionally prescribed treatment drug Celebrex, but unlike Celebrex doesn’t cause heart-related side effects.

– Michael Ventresca