Posts Tagged ‘Prostate cancer’
Is Vitamin D Really a Cancer Fighter?
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The information being published about vitamin D in the health media are generally very favorable about encouraging folks to make certain that they get sufficient vitamin D. It turns out that vitamin D is not really a vitamin, but it is a hormone that interacts with more than two thousand genes in our bodies. We have vitamin D receptors everywhere in our bodies. In terms of cellular health vitamin D has been shown to support the prevention of certain cancers including cancers of the prostate, breast, pancreas, and colon. All the medical studies performed to date indicate that more is better when it comes to the level of vitamin D in the blood.
For example in the case of breast cancer, women who are deficient in vitamin D when they are diagnosed with cancer are more than 70% more likely to die of it compared with women with sufficient levels of vitamin D. After heart disease, breast cancer is the deadliest killer of women in the United States. Exposure to the sun and a vitamin D rich diet significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer for women.
For men only heart attacks and lung cancer claim more men that prostate cancer. Exposure to sunlight that allows our bodies to make our own vitamin D has been shown to reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer by more than 65% for men who had the highest exposure to sunlight. Those men who had the lowest exposure to sunlight were three times more likely to develop prostate cancer. This is good news for seniors who want to take preemptive aging steps to foster their prostate health.
Senior Men Can Enjoy Avocadoes for Prostate Health
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This post is written for senior men who are concerned about promoting their prostate health and avoiding the effects of prostate cancer. Two of the possible paths taken by a developing prostate cancer include either the path of androgen-dependent or the path of androgen-independent cancer cells. Both of them will result in deadly consequences unless they are stopped. Current therapies can target the androgen-dependent prostate cancer cells and delay them in the short term. Androgen-independent cancer cells are much more difficult to treat and they tend to metastasize. What is needed is a way to inhibit the growth of both types of cancer cells.
It turns out that there appears to be some genuine hope on the horizon for senior men in terms of reducing their risk of prostate cancer. Recent research at the University of California has found that avocadoes are loaded with nutrients that promote prostate health and inhibit the growth of both the androgen-dependent and androgen-independent prostate cancer cells. Avocadoes are loaded with carotenoids including lutein, zeaxanthin, alpha-carotene, and beta carotene. They also contain a significant amount of vitamin E and they are a source of monosaturated fatty acids. Apparently the fatty acids assist the absorption of the carotenoids into the blood. The researchers discovered that extracts of the carotenoids and vitamin E from avocadoes inhibited the growth of both the androgen-dependent and androgen-independent prostate cancer cells.
Walk Frequently for Senior Health.
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The latest statistics show that about 50% of American adults to not engage in exercise despite the common knowledge that exercise is very beneficial for a healthy life. Seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps to foster their senior health need to take the big important step of exercising frequently. It turns out that one of the simplest exercises that many seniors can perform is walking. For seniors even walking slowly can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. Obviously walking farther, faster, and more frequently will provide greater benefits for senior health. It turns out that walking is a generally ideal exercise for many seniors, because it can be tailored to each person’s ability and needs.
Walking at any level of exertion will increase breathing and heart rate which will improve the health of the entire circulatory system including the heart. Walking regularly will generally improve balance, coordination, and leg muscle strength. A recent study reported that very senior men who walked more than two miles a day reduced their risk of dying by 50% compared with those who walked less than a mile every day. It turns out that walking which improves cardiovascular health usually results in attaining a healthy weight, because obesity is the enemy of good health. Obesity is linked to cardiovascular disease and many cancers. Among the cancers that strike seniors breast cancer afflicts women and prostate cancer afflicts men. Walking can promote a healthy weight, prostate health in men, and breast health in women.
Why Colorful Foods Are Healthy For Seniors!
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Vegetables and fruits come in a broad spectrum of colors including all the colors of the rainbow starting from purple through blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. They come in additional colors including white, tan, and brown. Bright colorful fruits and vegetables are loaded with health promoting phytochemicals. The colors that include red, white, and blue are most appropriate now, because they are the colors of the upcoming 4th of July celebration. For example tomatoes, cherries, watermelon, red apples, red peppers, and cranberries all contain the phytochemicals lycopene and anthocyanin that help reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers such as prostate cancer. This is good news for seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps against cancers and for cardiovascular health. Alternatively white vegetables including garlic, onions, and cauliflower which contain the phytochemical allicin which lowers cholesterol and blood pressure and increases the body’s immune system’s resistance to infections.
Finally the blue fruits including blueberries, blackberries, purple grapes, and plums contain the phytochemicals anthocyanin and phenolics that reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Soy Is a Healthy Nutritional Source for Seniors
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Many articles in the press have promoted the health benefits of consuming soy as a food. In fact in 1999 the FDA allowed a health claim to be made for soy as a food. This action by the FDA was very unusual; it came under attack by certain folks who were later identified as representing a narrow slice of the food industry. These critics apparently felt threatened by the success of soy which would take away some of their pre-soy approval profits. The end result of this story has a happy ending for seniors who are concerned about fostering their senior health. As a result of the criticism, many clinical studies and research were performed on soy and the verdict is in; soy is a very healthy source of nutrition for all ages including seniors.
Soy proteins and its isoflavanones provide a wide range of health benefits through direct and complementary paths in our bodies. They operate by various means to reduce inflammation and block oxidation. These healthy effects provide a multilayer protection against cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis as well as many other unhealthy conditions that accompany aging. It turns out that soy protein and isoflavones have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. This is very good news about soy for seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps to promote their cardiovascular health.
Can Sunlight Reduce Cancer Risk?
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About 30 years ago a research paper was published that raised the question of the connection between sunlight and reduction of cancer risk. The paper elaborated on the obvious conclusion that followed from sunlight’s effect on humans ability to synthesize vitamin D in its golden presence. The data that triggered the study was geographical data of the incidence of cancers across the United States of America. The southern half of the USA had a lower death rate from cancer than the northern half, but the northeast had the highest rates. For example its rates for colon cancer were twice as high as the southwest region. At the time it was published most of the medical establishment rejected it, but today the paper’s conclusion about the benefit of vitamin D for reducing the risk of cancer have been validated by many medical studies.
The best known studies include breast cancer and colon cancer, but other studies have validated the benefits of adequate vitamin D for 17 other cancers including prostate cancer. It is estimated that if everyone maintained even moderate levels of vitamin D that the deaths from many common cancers would be reduced by about 60%. For folks such as seniors who do not absorb the sun very well and those who live in a region where the sun is not high in the sky, supplements are available. This is very good news for seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive steps against cancer to protect their senior health. In particular senior women can reduce their risk of breast cancer and senior men can protect their prostate health by supplementing with vitamin D.
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Preemptive Steps for Prostate Health
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Here is some good news for senior men who are concerned about taking steps to promote their prostate health. We can take a health tip from the dietary practices of the men in Western Europe. They have lower rates of prostate cancer than we do in the USA. Recent research appears to point to a number of the items in their diet. We have all heard about the Mediterranean diet, but this research identified some very specific staples in that diet that supported prostate health. These staples appear to provide powerful defenses against prostate cancer. Two of the leading defenders of the prostate are both garlic and scallions. In a recent study in a national cancer journal it was reported that men who ate ample amounts of scallions or garlic on a daily basis reduced their risk of contracting prostate cancer by 50%. The organosulfur compounds in both vegetables are credited with providing the key to defending the prostate.
The fermented juice of the red grape are loaded with resveritrol which is an antioxidant that is found in several plants. Researchers think that it is the antioxidant in resveratrol that inhibits the growth of prostate cancer. For those who like a glass of wine with their meal the researchers suggest no more than two glasses, in order to get the benefits of the resveratrol. More than two glasses could negate the the benefits of the resveratrol. Fortunately for those who do not like to consume wine, resveratrol is available in supplement form which will provide the same defense against prostate cancer.
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Pomegranate Seed Oil Fights Cancer
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The benefits of pomegranate juice and pulp have been well documented for their ability to help combat a wide range of degenerative diseases. Two of the leading diseases include cardiovascular disease and prostate cancer. Recently researchers have discovered that other parts of the pomegranate plant can confer significant health benefits. for example the extracts of pomegranate flowers provide excellent protection against type 2 diabetes and many of the collateral effects of obesity. It turns out that pomegranate seed oil provides powerful chemoprevention against reproductive cancers.
In particular pomegranate seed oil is a potent inhibitor of the enzyme aromatase that produces estrogen from testosterone. As men age the balance of high testosterone to low estrogen tends to become inverted which fosters the growth of prostate cancer. Pomegranate seed oil reduces the amount of testosterone that can be converted to estrogen in older men which promotes their prostate health. Pomegranate seed oil provides another health benefit, because it greatly inhibits the proliferation of human prostate cancer cell lines by interrupting the cell growth cycle and also by inducing cell death known as apoptosis. Thirdly it greatly suppresses the invasion of cancer cells. Finally when pomegranate seed oil is teamed with other pomegranate components it acts synergistically to suppress prostate cancer proliferation and matastasis more effectively than any of the components alone.
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Why Cancer Doesn’t Like Cruciferous Vegetables?
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When we were growing up our parents always told us to ‘eat our vegetables’, but at the time most of us ignored their advice, because typically we liked the taste of other foods more. Now it turns out that our parents were on the right healthy track and it is not too late for seniors to experience a conversion that will benefit senior health. The vegetables that are especially healthy for senior men are the cruciferous vegetables that include the well-known broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. They have been shown to provided a two-fold capability to to slow prostate cancer growth. This capability was documented at a meeting of a national cancer research association meeting nearly three years ago.
Over several decades numerous studies have reported the anticancer effects of the cruciferous vegetables. It turns out that when we cut or chew them compounds called isothiocyanates are formed that appear to be responsible for contributing to these benefits. Lab tests showed that one of the anticancer effects provided by these isothiocyanates is that they block the formation of the new blood vessels that cancer tumors need to grow. This is good news for senior men who may be looking for ways to slow down or halt the spread of prostate cancer.
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Are Onions Really a Super Healthy Food?
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Onions and their close cousin garlic have been used since ancient Egyptian times as an integral part of healthy diets and natural medicine. During World War II British and Russian soldiers in the field regularly used onions to heal wounds, because of their reported antibacterial and antiseptic properties. Today we know more details about the health benefits of onions, because many of the phytonutrients have been recognized for their value in the prevention and management of conditions such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Two of the most important chemicals in onions are flavanoids and organosulfur compounds. The organosulfur compounds provide the strongs flavors and the flavanoids color the onions red, yellow, or brown. An outstanding property of onions is their ability to aid in the prevention and management of a number of cancers including prostate cancer.
Another important health benefit provided by consuming onions is they contribute a rich source of bioavailable quercetin. Quercetin is a flavanoid that may be very beneficial for cardiovascular health. Research results suggest that quercetin may contribute to preventing the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) thereby protecting against a major contributor of artherosclerosis. Recent research suggests that onions may protect against high blood pressure which is an important predictor of heart attack. This is good news for seniors who want to take preemptive aging steps to foster their senior health.
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