Archive for the ‘Prostate’ Category
Lower Your Senior Risks for Cancer
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A number of years ago a signature line of a show business fellow was that ‘You are what your eat’. For seniors who want to reduce their risks of various cancers, this statement about what we eat is very true. Certain foods are known to lower our age-related risks for contracting cancers including breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, and so on. Conversely, a number of foods are known to be associated with higher risks of contracting those same age-related cancers. As we age our cells are subjected to an accumulation of mutations in our genes that make us more vulnerable to contracting cancer. These mutations affect the way our genes regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. In order to avoid cancer we need to restore our gene functions to a healthy state.
We can foster healthy healthy gene functions by the foods and supplements that we consume. By eliminating or greatly reducing the foods that increase our risk of cancer such as red meat, high fat dairy and sweets and replacing them with foods that support our gene health we can reduce our risk of cancer. The foods that allow us to take preemptive aging steps against cancer are vegetables, soy products, cruciferous vegetables, soy isoflavones, dietary lignans, and vitamin D3. The soy isoflavones in particular are associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer and prostate cancer.
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Is Coffee Heart Healthy?
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Over the past few years a number of reports have been published claiming that coffee is good for your health or not good for your health. Finally, it appears that coffee is definitely heart healthy. These positive reports at a prestigious conference have just recently been published. The studies were presented at the American Heart Association conference that was held in San Francisco this week. This is good news for seniors including both women and men, because the enemy of healthy hearts, artherosclerosis, is the number one killer in the US. Artherosclerosis actually kills over 800,000 Americans by means of heart attacks every year.
One study reported that in the matter of artherosclerosis, drinking two to three cups of coffee daily does not contribute to hardening of the arteries that leads to heart attacks which are caused by artherosclerosis. Another study showed that coffee drinking apparently lowered the risk for hospitalization for folks that suffer from abnormal heart rhythms. A third study which last for 20 years and included folks from nearly every demographic group did not find any association between coffee drinking and atherosclerosis. The group included smokers and nonsmokers, blacks and whites, and men and women. The range of coffee cups consumed by the participants ranged from zero to four cups per day. The good news for seniors is that they can enjoy drinking coffee and benefit their cardiovascular health at the same time.
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Latest Word About the PSA Prostate Test?
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For a number of years men over 50 years of age have been urged by their doctors to get a PSA blood test to help diagnose the condition of their prostate. Very recently the American Cancer Society recommended changing the emphasis from it would be a good idea for men over 50 to get a PSA test to consider the potential risks of treatment before making the decision to get a PSA test to screen for prostate cancer. The reasoning supporting this change of emphasis was based on the trade off between the negative side effects of PSA screening versus the positive benefits of avoiding the test. For example a slightly high PSA blood test may detect prostate cancer, but it can be a false positive. Conversely men with apparently normal PSA scores actually have had cancer, but the test indicated that they did not have cancer. The high PSA score typically was followed by a biopsy and treatments that had negative side effects that included urinary incontinence and impotence.
For these reasons the American Cancer Society made the recommendation that men who do not have special risks of prostate cancer should take counsel with their doctors, in order to reach an informed decision about getting screened for prostate cancer. The American Society of Clinical Oncology, which represents cancer specialists, including those treating prostate cancer patients, is supporting the Cancer Society guidelines. This is good news for senior men who are about to reach the age when they need to be concerned about the health of their prostates.
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Reduce Your Cardiac Risk Factors
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The leading cause of death in the Western world is atherosclerosis. As we age seniors low density lipoproteins (LDLs) become oxidized, which results in the oxidized LDLs accumulating on arterial walls. This accumulation of oxidized LDLs on the arterial walls causes hardening of the arteries. Recent research has shown that in seniors the high density lipoproteins (HDLs) that normally prevent the LDLs from becoming oxidized are not able to perform this function. The researchers suspect that as we age one of the HDL’s helper enzymes, known as paraoxynase (PON-1), drops to a lower level in the blood. PON-1 is produced in the liver and after it is released into the blood it attaches to the HDL, in order to assist the HDL to inhibit the buildup of lipoperoxides in LDL cholesterol.
The researchers have demonstrated that there is a correlation between folks with low blood levels of PON-1 and cardiovascular disease risk. Seniors need to counter the age related drop in PON-1 levels in the blood by raising their PON-1 levels. It turns out that there are several substances that have been found to boost PON-1 levels. Pomegranate and its extracts have shown to increase the PON-1 levels in the blood by a large amount. Two other potential PON-1 boosters have been identified as quercetin and resveratrol. This is good news for seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps to support their cardiovascular health by reducing their cardiac risk.
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Get PSA Blood Test for Early Detection
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Early detection is the key to treating prostate cancer which is the second leading cause of death by cancer among men in America. About 85% of the cases are diagnosed in men between the ages of 55 and 84, so this is of concern for senior men. This result indicates that advancing age is major risk factor for prostate cancer. At the present time the best diagnostic tool for early detection of prostate cancer is the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test combined with the digital rectal exam. The importance of early detection of prostate cancer is confirmed by the reported reduction in the number of deaths by about 8% in 2006 as a result of the early detection of the disease using the PSA test. The good news for senior men is that prostate cancer is nearly 100% survivable if it is detected early.
At this time some advances are being achieved to improve the PSA testing and its interpretation. Several advances include PSA velocity, PSA density the ratio of free to total PSA. These measures can help determine the need for a biopsy. It turns out that a new test for prostate cancer is under development, that is known as the early prostate cancer antigen-2 (EPCA-2) which may be more cancer specific and more accurate. The bottom line for senior men over 50 years of age is that they should have a yearly PSA blood test combined with a digital rectal exam.
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Lignans Contribute to Preventing Prostate Cancer
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For senior men effectively reducing their risk of prostate cancer requires a multi-pronged approach. What is presented here represents one major prong that emphasizes the nutritional side of prostate cancer risk reduction. For example in Asian countries such as China and Japan most men have healthy prostates. By comparison US and European men have ten times the rate of prostate cancer. Multiple research studies indicate that diet greatly influences the risk of contracting prostate cancer and dying from it. In Japan and China folks consume a lot of fruits, vegetables, grains, and seeds. These foods are rich in plant lignans. Western diets are generally low in plant lignans. Lignans definitely appear to help prevent and treat prostate cancer.
The way lignans work to help prevent prostate cancer is described as follows. After the lignans enter the digestive system they are converted into what are called lignan metabolites or enterolactones that help our bodies prevent prostate cancer. Enterolactones are known to protect against hormone-dependent cancers. Several very precise studies in Europe showed that men with the highest level of enterolactones in their blood were more than 80% less likely to have prostate cancer. A parallel study reported a 60% less likely number. A third study in the US confirmed the results of the two European studies. This is very good news for senior men who are concerned about their prostate health. In addition to the lignan rich foods that are referenced above supplements are available to enhance the effect of the plant lignan rich foods.
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Prostate Cancer Risk Reduction for Seniors
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Men entering their senior years have an increased risk of prostate cancer. The good news is that a number of preemptive aging steps can be taken that will reduce that risk. Many factors contribute to the risk of senior men contracting prostate cancer, but changes in lifestyle and nutrition can provide protection against it. Lowering the risk increases the probability of escaping protate cancer. For example diets that are high in Omega-6 and saturated fats increase the risk, but the Omega-3 fats found in fish oil decrease the risk. Adding plant foods such as broccoli, cauliflower, and soy protects against prostate cancer and numerous other diseases.
Adding key supplements to senior’s diets can further reduce the risk. Vitamin D has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Vitamin E was used with selenium in an extensive study that produced a negative result in terms of preventing prostate cancer. Fortunately for senior men an analysis of that study revealed that only one component of vitamin E, the alpha component, was used. Other studies have shown that the gamma component of vitamin E is needed to balance the alpha component. Seniors can add both components by means of supplements or by adding foods that are rich in all the components of vitamin E. For example almonds, sunflower nuts and asparagus provide the full spectrum of vitamin E.
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Senior Men Need Complete Vitamin E
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Good health requires good nutrition which includes all the standard vitamins including vitamin E. Vitamin E is an active antioxidant that protects vitamins A and C as well as selenium and fat compounds from being oxidized. Good food sources of vitamin E include almonds, asparagus, avocados, spinach and other green leafy vegetables as well as wheat germ and eggs. The food sources contain the full spectrum of compounds that make up vitamin E. These eight compounds are known as tocopherols and they are labeled starting with alpha through theta in the Greek alphabet.
The alpha component is typically included in multivitamins. One large scale study that was designed to show that vitamin E would help to prevent prostate cancer produced a negative result. The study used the alpha component of vitamin E. It turns out that senior men need to consume the gamma component of the vitamin E tocopherol for their good senior health particularly their prostate health. Recent research results appear to indicate that senior men who are not getting the full spectrum of eight tocopherols, particularly the gamma component, may not be doing their prostates any favors. This is why senior men need either to consume foods with sufficient vitamin E or to take special supplements that contain the full spectrum of all the vitamin E tocopherols.
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Will Coffee Reduce the Risk of Prostate Cancer?
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One of the leading causes of death among senior men is prostate cancer. Taking preemptive steps to prevent or at least reduce the risk of contracting prostate cancer has a high priority for senior men who are seriously concerned about safeguarding their prostate health. A number of foods have previously been identified that provide a reduction in the risk of prostate cancer. Among the foods that reduce the risk are cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower, green tea and tomato products containing lycopene. Recently another food was identified as providing a reduction in the risk of prostate cancer.
In a large scale study of about 50,000 participants that was conducted over a period of twenty years, coffee consumption was shown to have a modest effect in protecting against prostate cancer. More significantly, when the researchers studied how much the effect of coffee consumption reduced the risk of advanced and aggressive prostate cancer they found that it reduced the risk by more than 55% for men who drank the most coffee. This latter result has not been confirmed by additional studies, but it suggests that drinking coffee in large amounts may very well reduce the risk of advanced and aggressive prostate cancer.
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Chemopreventive Spice for Prostate Cancer!
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Recent cancer researchers in Europe ran tests that used curcumin that is derived from the well known spice turmeric. They tested curcumin in order to discover how efficacious it would be as part of a chemopreventive regimen for prostate cancer. The spice turmeric is used extensively in India and curcumin is the main curcuminoid found in turmeric. Curcumin is a natural compound that appears to interfere with the proliferation of prostate cancer and its metastasis.
The researchers also found that by using curcumin, they were able to regulate the inflammatory response by inhibiting pro-inflammatory mediators and the signaling pathways. Their results are consistent with curcumin’s known ability to induce pro-apoptotic proteins and to reduce the the anti-apoptotic counterparts. Other reports confirm that curcumin is effective in promoting the death of prostate cancer cells by apoptosis. In their study the researchers summarized the results of their work by affirming that curcumin appears to be an effective alternative for for the prevention and treatment or co-treatment of prostate cancer. This is very good news for senior men who are concerned about taking preemptive steps against prostate cancer or finding alternative treatment or co-treatment for prostate cancer.
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