Prostate Health
Index of Diseases / Health Conditions ... Medicinal Foods, Herbs, Spices & Household Items
The below provides a general overview on this topic and may not apply to everyone. Any treatment protocol should be discussed with a qualified healthcare practitioner ... Please refer to: Medical & Legal Disclaimer.
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Prostate Health:
The PSA Test - How Valuable a Tool is it?
Dr. Thomas Stanley, professor of urology at Stanford University School of Medicine, recently announced at a medical conference:
"We need to recognize that PSA is no longer a marker for prostate cancer. We originally thought we were doing the right thing, but we're now figuring out how we went wrong."
Dr. Stanley changed his mind about the test because of the alarming number of FALSE positives. A false negative is when the patient DOES have cancer but the test fails to detect it.
It turns out that 70 to 75 % of men with elevated PSAs don't have cancer (a false positive). Yet, patients are still being asked to go through a horrendous (and likely unnecessary) prostate biopsy that has a high risk for serious infections and possibly side effects (see below).
In one study, researchers followed 9,459 men who had annual PSA tests. Of this group, 2,950 had test results showing very healthy prostates. But when these "healthy" men underwent biopsies, a whopping 15% tested positive for cancer! Many had high-grade cancer; and the PSA test missed it in all of them.
The incidence of false negative may be even higher.
Bottom line: You shouldn't rely on PSA alone whether or not you have cancer. Discuss with your doctor other or additional diagnostic tools.
About Biopsies:
Prostate biopsies are taken by random needle jabs into the gland. No matter how many sticks are made, there's no way to know if cancer lurks outside the needle tract.
Although biopsies are thought to be safe, they could actually help spread more cancer! Even mainstream medicine is beginning to realize that needle pricks from biopsies can actually release cancer cells into your bloodstream.
Prostate cancer tends to be slow growing and most patients die of other causes; but once the cancer has been released into the blood, it can be extremely violent and difficult to treat.
Prostate Cancer:
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, with an average of 220,000 cases diagnosed each year. The good news is that most prostate cancer tumors grow so slowly that they never threaten the lives of the patient. Natural causes will kill those men long before the tumors do.
Early-stage Prostate Cancer:
In a study of over 9,000 men who opted to put off treatment for prostate cancer (or skip it entirely), only 10 percent of them had died of the cancer 10 years later. In fact, most of the men were living with the disease without significantly worse symptoms. Even the 30 percent of the men who chose to eventually undergo treatment were able to put it off for an average of 11 years.
The Value of Nutrition on Prostate Health:
- Pomegranate:
- Pomegranate juice packs a punch on prostate cancer that prolongs post-surgery PSA doubling time, drives down cancer cell proliferation and causes prostate cancer cells to die, according to a study published in the July 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research. PSA, or prostate specific antigen, is a protein marker for prostate cancer. The faster PSA levels increase in the blood of men after treatment, the greater their potential for dying of prostate cancer. "The velocity of the increase in PSA is decreased by 35 percent among those who drank the pomegranate juice," said Allan Pantuck, M.D., associate professor, Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, and lead author of the paper. "We are hoping that pomegranate juice offers a novel strategy for prolonging the doubling time in men who have been treated for prostate cancer," Dr. Pantuck added.
- Study participants drank eight ounces of pomegranate juice daily
- The American Chemical Society (2007) reports that Pomegranate juice has a set of antioxidants called ellagitannins, which have the ability to target prostate cancer cells in a unique "seek and destroy" fashion. The California researchers who made the discovery further report that ellagitannins break down in the body into a special class of metabolites that inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Researchers hope that due to its medicinal properties, pomegranate juice may one day play an active role in the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer.
- Pomegranate juice packs a punch on prostate cancer that prolongs post-surgery PSA doubling time, drives down cancer cell proliferation and causes prostate cancer cells to die, according to a study published in the July 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research. PSA, or prostate specific antigen, is a protein marker for prostate cancer. The faster PSA levels increase in the blood of men after treatment, the greater their potential for dying of prostate cancer. "The velocity of the increase in PSA is decreased by 35 percent among those who drank the pomegranate juice," said Allan Pantuck, M.D., associate professor, Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, and lead author of the paper. "We are hoping that pomegranate juice offers a novel strategy for prolonging the doubling time in men who have been treated for prostate cancer," Dr. Pantuck added.
Flaxseed Halts Prostate Cancer Growth New Study Shows
A new US study suggests that flaxseed, which is rich in omega3 fatty acids and lignans, can stop prostate cancer tumors from growing. The study was presented at the 43rd annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago on Saturday by researchers from Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
The researchers think that flaxseed, which has similar properties to sesame seed, probably interrupts the chain of events that eventually makes cells multiply out of control and become a tumor.
Dr. Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, a researcher in Duke's School of Nursing and lead investigator on the study said that:
"Our previous studies in animals and in humans had shown a correlation between flaxseed supplementation and slowed tumor growth, but the participants in those studies had taken flaxseed in conjunction with a low-fat diet."
However, she explained that: "For this study, we demonstrated that it is flaxseed that primarily offers the protective benefit."
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, and researchers at the University of Michiganand the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill also took part.
Demark-Wahnefried and colleagues recruited 161 men who were due to have surgery for prostate cancer (prostatectomy: where all or part of the prostate gland is removed). The patients were randomly assigned to one of four groups. One group took 30 grams of flaxseed a day for an average of 30 days before they had the operation (the flaxseed only group). Another group did the same but also followed a low-fat diet (20 per cent or less of their calories from fat). A third group did not take the flaxseed and only followed a low-fat diet, while the fourth group, a control, had none of the interventions.
After the surgery, the researchers examined the tumour cells under a microscope to assess how quickly they had multiplied.
They then compared the men who had only flaxseed, with or without following a low-fat diet, with the men in the other two groups: no intervention and low-fat diet only. They found that the slowest rate of tumour growth occurred in the two flaxseed supplemented groups.
Demark-Wahnefried said: "The results showed that the men who took just flaxseed as well as those who took flaxseed combined with a low-fat diet did the best, indicating that it is the flaxseed which is making the difference."
The flaxseed supplement was given in ground form because in the whole form the seed coat is hard and undigestible. The patients took the flaxseed either in drinks, sprinkled on food, or with yogurt.
Flaxseed is thought to stop the growth and spread of cancer cells. This could be because the omega-3 fatty acids it contains interferes with the ability of cancer cells to cling onto other body cells, said Demark-Wahnefried. The lignans it contains may also have antiangiogenic properties, the ability to stop the blood supply to the tumour.
Demark-Wahnefried said that they were "excited that this study showed that flaxseed is safe and associated with a protective effect on prostate cancer". In next phase of their research the team hopes to study the preventative properties of flaxseed, and its effect on patients with recurrent prostate tumours. As well as being antiangiogenic, the lignans in flaxseed, one of the richest sources of these fibre-related compounds, are thought to interfere with or prevent cell division and affect hormones. They are antimitotic, affect androgen metabolism and have estrogenic effects, said Demark-Wahnefried. Flaxseed is also the richest known source of plant-based omega-3 fatty acids which affect the production of cell membranes, the levels of natural killer cells and circulating levels of protein kinase C and tyrosine kinases, which profoundly affect cell activity.
According to the American Cancer Society, one in six American men gets prostate cancer. This year it is estimated that over 200,000 will be diagnosed with the disease and 27,000 will die from it.
Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com
- Broccoli & Cauliflower:
- Men who consume broccoli or cauliflower have a lower risk of prostate cancers that have spread beyond the prostate. Researchers tracked more than 29,000 men in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. After four years, the risk of advanced prostate cancer (stage III or IV) was roughly half as high for those who ate broccoli or cauliflower more than once a week than those who ate those vegetables less than once a month. (Ref.: "J. Natl. Cancer Institute" 99: 1200, 2007)
- Cauliflower is loaded with nutrients that are essential for keeping the immune system strong. One study found that eating just four servings of cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli or cauliflower, a week slashed the risk of dying from ANY medical cause by 26%! (From "The Doctors Book of Food Remedies," page 149).
- Choose Organic WHOLE Milk & Avoid Fat-Free: Recently the Journal of Epidemiology came out with a study that showed that non-fat milk was related to the progression of advanced prostate cancer. Whole milk contains a number of vitamins, particularly fat soluble vitamins including Vitamins A, D, E and K not found in fat free milk. When you are consuming fat free or low fat products you are also filtering out the fat soluble vitamins in the food. Whole milk should be organic to avoid the growth hormones that is fed to cows, which are linked to the development and progression of prostate cancer. Because of its high fat content, it should be enjoyed in moderation. It is speculated that people generally reduce their risk of cancer by avoiding fat free milk.
- Tea: The National Cancer Center in Tokyo recently found that men who drank five or more cups of green tea a day were half as likely to get advanced prostate cancer (the type that spreads beyond localized disease) as were those who sipped less than a cup per day. Study authors credit compounds called catechins, which may reduce risk by controlling levels of testosterone linked to advaned disease.
- Vitamin K2 supplementation may reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 35 percent, according to the results of European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). The potential benefits of K2 were most pronounced for advanced prostate cancer. Vitamin K1 intake did not offer any prostate benefits. The findings were based on data from more than 11,000 men taking part in the EPIC Heidelberg cohort. It adds to a small but ever-growing body of science supporting the potential health benefits of vitamin K for bone, blood, skin, and now prostate health. Sources: NutraIngredients.com April 9, 2008 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition April 2008; 87(4):985-92
- Other Prostate Health Foods:
- Pistachio Nuts & Sunflower Seeds: Researchers discovered that pistachio nuts and sunflower seeds contain unique phytosterols that can block cholesterol from being absorbed into your bloodstream. These phytosterols could also help prevent cancer and heart disease, treat enlarged prostate, and control blood sugar in diabetics.
- Bee Pollen - can be eaten plain or sprinkled over your smoothie, yoghurt or cereal.
- Chili Peppers (prostate cancer) ..... Cranberries (lung, cervical, prostate, breast and leukemia cancer cells)
- Grapes (prostate, lung, liver and breast cancer)
Cancer-fighting Foods & Supplements
Selenium Cuts Death Rate from Cancer in Half!
The Story Of Vitamin B17 - Could it be that easy to cure cancer?
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