Posts Tagged ‘Prostate cancer’
Pomegranate Seed Oil Fights Cancer
- Image by faria! via Flickr
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?
- Image via Wikipedia
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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Predicting Success for Prostate Cancer Surgery
- Image by Ian Samuel via Flickr
For senior men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer the decision about deciding to undergo surgery to eradicate the prostate is often a difficult decision for the patient and the doctor. Trying to decide if this type of surgery or other therapy is the best course of action depends in large measure on the probability that the procedure will be curative. If the cancer has already spread beyond the prostate gland, then the surgery will probably not cure the disease. In this case the doctors will not recommend surgery. In many cases the surgeon does not know the extent of the cancer prior to performing the surgery.
Fortunately a newly developed test has been identified that offers hope of revolutionizing the evaluation of cancer prior to deciding on a treatment. This new test measures the circulating tumor cells (CTC) in the bloodstream by both detecting them and allowing a genetic assay of them. The circulating tumor cells are the seeds that allow the cancer to spread or metastasize to other parts of the body. In recent tests patients suffering from prostate cancer who had PSA scores greater than 10 were tested using the CTC test. The ones who tested positive on the CTC test all had potential surgical failure, but those who tested negative on the CTC test showed greater than an 85% chance of a surgical cure.
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Increasing Prostate Awareness
Over the course of a lifetime, more than one in five males will have medical issues with their prostate. It’s important to be aware of potential risks of improper prostate health, and also to take precautions to ensure the well-being of your prostate. Ironically, maintaining a healthy prostate begins as easily as most other health improving practices; balanced diet. It’s important to avoid eating foods that are high in fat or cholesterol, and also to be sure to eat green vegetables when possible.
You can also increase prostate health by taking various vitamin supplements designed for men of all ages. The prostate can repair and prevent future damage with a correct allocation of vitamins and minerals.
Can Phytoestrogens Aid Senior Health ?
- Image by AlishaV via Flickr
Phytoestrogens are food sources that provide targeted health benefits over and above the basic nutritional value found in other foods. Some have been shown to preempt aging, particularly in the case of age-related diseases. For example the isoflavones, which are a major class of phytoestrogens and lignans, which are another major class, have been studied and shown to reduce the risks for heart disease, osteoporosis and certain cancers for the folks that consumed them. Lignans are found in significant quantities in a variety of foods including whole grains, vegetables, legumes and berries. Lignans are found in flax seeds and sesame seeds, too. The lignans in sesame seeds provide a synergistic effect with vitamin E to provide an anti-aging effect.
One study in the British Isles found that men with the highest consumption of lignans had the lowest incidence of prostate cancer. Parallel studies in Europe of postmenopausal woman who consumed a greater amount of lignans in their diet showed a reduced risk of breast cancer. A similar result was found in the case of pre-menopausal women; those with the highest consumption of lignans showed the lowest risk for breast cancer. This is good news for seniors, both women and men, who are looking for dietary means to preempt aging and improve their senior health.
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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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Latest Word About the PSA Prostate Test?
- Image by programwitch via Flickr
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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Get PSA Blood Test for Early Detection
- Image by programwitch via Flickr
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
- Image by Bad Alley via Flickr
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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