Q&A of the Week: Shark Liver Oil?
In the Forum, S. says: I had an abnormal pap smear, but the biopsy showed
that nothing was precancerous, only warts.
But my acupuncturist keeps saying, as a cancer preventative, I should be taking
shark liver oil.
I can't find any info on it - do you have any?
Fish oil, specifically because of its high concentration of Omega 3 fatty acids,
is an area of emerging research and is very interesting to me. I think the evidence
for fish oil having a protective effect against some cancers and heart disease
is mounting. It is one of the few supplements I take myself.
As far as whether shark liver oil has any additional effect, besides on your
pocketbook, I haven't seen anything compelling that leads me to believeit does.
It is apparently quite popular in Scandanavian countries and has been studied
there, but I read a review of that literature which concluded that most of those
studies weren't conducted very scientifically, and that the evidence for shark
liver oil being better than other fish oils is meager at best.
A caveat for any fish oil: make sure it is free of contaminants. Fish tend to collect PCB's and other environmental nasties. I have read that any fish oil labeled "cholesterol free" has been purified.
If anyone has any information on fish oil or shark liver oil, let me know.
Laura
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