Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
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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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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Diet and Supplements Reduce Prostate Cancer Risk
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Recent reports about the incidence and mortality of prostate cancer show that men in China and Japan have a lower rate of prostate cancer by a factor of ten compared with men in Europe and the United States. A major factor that is suspected to be behind this large difference in the rate of prostate cancer is the differences in the diet of the men from the United States and Europe compared with the men from Japan and China. In Asia the men consume more plant lignans that are known to have a protective effect.
It turns out that consuming more plant lignans from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains results in higher blood levels of dietary lignan metabolites. The higher blood levels of dietary lignan metabolites are associated with lower rates of prostate cancer in men. Other studies show that lignans reduce the volume of tumors and increase the death of prostate cancer cells. This is good news for senior men who are trying to protect themselves by taking preemptive aging steps against prostate cancer. They can increase their consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and take newly developed supplements with concentrated lignans from Norway spruce or flax.
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Foods for Prostate Cancer Risk Reduction
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These well-known vegetables that can be eaten either cooked or raw make the good list of foods that contribute to preemptive aging for the benefit of seniors. The vegetables that qualify include broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. They belongs to the same family popularly known as cruciferous vegetables, which are members of the genus Brassica. Earlier epidemiological research indicated that consuming at least one serving a week of these vegetables would help reduce the risk of prostate cancer. The researchers suspected that the compounds found in these vegetables known as isothiocyantes were responsible for this cancer risk reduction effect, but they were not able to reach a firm conclusion.
More recent studies with men who volunteered for a 12 month study did a comparison of the effects of a broccoli-rich diet versus a pea-rich diet. The volunteers on the broccoli rich diet showed beneficial anti-cancer changes in their medical tests on their prostates following the 12 month study compared with their medical tests performed prior to the study. The volunteers on the pea-rich diet did not show any beneficial anti-cancer changes in their medical tests following the 12 month study. The consumption of a broccoli-rich diet had a preemptive effect on the processes that allow inflammation and carcinogenesis to be initiated. The results of this study supported the conclusion that a diet that is rich in cruciferous vegetables may lower the risk of prostate cancer.
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Swallow Your Pride and Get a Checkup
Like many proud and stubborn men, I have a natural aversion to doctors. I know it’s not logical, but I’m always afraid of what they might find. As a result, I often convince myself that what I don’t know can’t hurt me – an obvious fallacy that has proved costly to so many men in the past. Logic and reasoning finally triumphed, however, when I thought about what might happen to my family if they lost me to a preventable disease.
I had always dreaded the prostate exam that comes standard for men in their 50s, but it’s really a small price to pay to ensure the wellbeing of such an important gland. The procedure was over in a matter of minutes and my physician gave me a clean bill of prostate health. Now I can enjoy the stress-free months from now until my next scheduled appointment.
Is It Time for Your Checkup?
Prostate health is a key factor in determining a man’s overall wellbeing. It’s a common occurrence for doctors to check the prostate for irregular growth during a routine checkup. In its natural, healthy state the prostate is about the size of a walnut. If it grows much beyond that mark, doctors could have reason to suspect the presence of prostate cancer, which commonly affects older American men.
From the age of 50 – and perhaps even earlier – men are encouraged to undergo regular rectal exams in order to ensure that prostate cancer is caught in its early stages. Once diagnosed, this type of cancer can be treated through surgical techniques and radiation therapy. Because many men never develop symptoms, prostate cancer often goes untreated and leads to premature death.