Monday, April 27, 2009

Beat Prostate Cancer Naturally

At some point in life, about one in six American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, which is second only to lung cancer among the leading causes of cancer deaths in men.

Scientists are just beginning to understand that inflammation may play a key role in prostate cancer’s development, but they have found that the degree of inflammation may play a huge role in survival chances. Men with prostate cancer who have higher levels of inflammatory chemicals have poorer prognoses than those with lower levels, researchers say.

The inflammation may be too subtle for a doctor to pick up, but obvious inflammatory conditions have been present for decades in a majority of cases. For example, one might have chronic prostatitis for 15-20 years before prostate cancer develops. 

Most cancer researchers believe the most common risk to developing cancer is age. The older we get, the more likely we are to develop a cancer. As we age, our bodies become more inflamed, and those with the greatest inflammation are at the greatest risk of cancer.

As we age, our DNA becomes damaged and our bodies become less able to repair it. That’s when a healthy diet is especially vital. Diets are a major factor in the chances of developing prostate cancer. Scientific evidence indicates that a diet high in vegetable oils, red meats, trans fats, and sugar, but low in selenium, natural vitamin E, zinc, and lycopene greatly increases a man’s risk.

But special nutrients and nutrient combinations help fight prostate cancer. They include:

  • Selenium. One double-blind study found that selenium supplementation reduced prostate cancer by 63 percent.
  • Vitamin E. In one study, men with the highest gamma-vitamin E had a five-fold reduction in prostate cancer risk.
  • Quercetin. This nutrient found in onions dramatically reduces inflammation in the prostate gland and protects DNA
  • Cucurmin. Found in the Indian spice turmeric, curcurmin curtails the growth of prostate cancers.
  • Lycopene. A powerful anti-inflammatory, it’s the pigment that gives tomatoes their red color.
  • Indole-3 carbinol. A broccoli extract that can reduce a swollen, inflamed prostate dramatically when combined with lycopene.

One study found that the most common link to prostate cancer was the consumption of milk, especially non-fat milk. In fact, more than two-thirds of cases were attributed to milk consumption. The reason appears to be high amounts of calcium, since taking calcium supplements also dramatically increased risk.

Other studies have shown that diets containing more than 2,000 milligrams of calcium a day (from all sources) dramatically increase the number of advanced prostate cancers when compared with diets containing fewer than 500 milligrams.

There is also a strong correlation between calories from sugars and carbohydrates and the early development of prostate cancer. High caloric intake increased risk 267 percent in one study. This is a significant risk factor because Americans consume tremendous amounts of sugar.

You can take many to reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer. If you combine all of the factors that we know, you can make your risk of developing prostate cancer extremely low. 

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