Mackerel is recommended for breast cancer in moderation
Like herring, mackerel is a good source of vitamin D, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), selenium and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Generally speaking, the benefits of consuming fatty fish are thought to outweigh the potentially detrimental effects of the toxins from pollution and other sources that tend to accumulate in their adipose tissue. Consumption of fatty fish or fish oil has been found to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Consumption of dried mackerel was shown in one study to improve the learning ability of laboratory mice, apparently by increasing the level of the marine omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid in their brains. Eating fatty fish such as mackerel has been found to be associated with reduced risks of leukemia, multiple myeloma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as renal cell, endometrial and prostate cancer.
Breast cancer-related effects of eating mackerel
Like other fatty fish, mackeral contains marine fatty acids (docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid), in which there has been considerable interest. It is felt that these fatty acids probably have anticarcinogenic effects against breast cancer, especially since they have been shown to inhibit proliferation of breast cancer cells in the laboratory. Fish protein hydrolysates have been shown to have antiproliferative activity against human breast cancer cell lines in the laboratory.
One study found that docosahexaenoic acid enhances the cytotoxic effect of taxanes used in chemotherapy and reduces HER2/neu oncogene expression in human breast cancer cells. Another study found that docosahexaenoic acid increased survial times for almost half of a group of stage IV breast cancer patients on FEC (5-FU, epirubicin and [1]), an anthracycline-based chemotherapy regimen.
Not all epidemiological studies have found convincing evidence of a negative association between marine fatty acid intake or fatty fish consumption and the risk of breast cancer. One study concluded that higher intakes of fish were actually associated with higher incidence rates of ER+ breast cancer for postmenopausal women. However, several studies have found that higher omega-3/omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid ratios are associated with reduced risk of breast cancer and consuming mackerel would tend to improve the ratio for most women.
Additional comments
Mackerel consumption should be reduced or eliminated by pregnant and nursing mothers since toxins from pollution and other sources might reduce birth weight and are secreted in breast milk. While mackerel is not generally considered a high mercury level fish, king mackerel and other mackerel from the Gulf of Mexico have been found to have high levels of mercury and should be avoided.
We recommend against consuming all but modest amounts of smoked mackerel, dried mackerel, salted dried mackerel, or mackerel pâté since such preserved fish foods have been associated with increased risks of gastric, colorectal and other cancers.
Pan frying mackerel has been shown to release carcinogenic heterocyclic amines (HCAs) in concentrations high enough to affect human health. Population studies have found that consumption of fried fish is associated with increased risk of breast cancer.
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