Tag: Cancer Prevention

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Avoid Prostate Cancer By Drinking Pomegranate Juice


The second-most fatal cancer for men after lung cancer, prostrate cancer may well be tamed by the humblest of juices, suggests a new study published in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that tested the efficacy of the red pomegranate juice on mice. The gaining in popularity health drink was found to deter prostate cancer cells successfully in lab dishes and mice, suggesting a potential cure for the cancer.

Pomegranate Juice Beats Prostate Cancer

The pomegranate juice that is known for its rich source of antioxidants, that give it the deep color and act upon chemicals that damage cells and tissues to cause cancer, were found to shrink human prostrate tumors in mice. Dr. Hasan Mukhtar of the University of Wisconsin Medical School who led the study said, “Our study, while early, adds to growing evidence that pomegranates contain very powerful agents against cancer, particularly prostate cancer. He suggested that the results of the study provided a good reason, to test this fruit in humans, both for cancer prevention and for treatment”.

Though natural antioxidants have been widely believed to prevent cancer, little has expanded the knowledge of the specific chemicals that serve this purpose. Pomegranates, native to the Middle East, have been consumed for a wide variety of health reasons and as traditional medicines all over the Middle East and Asia and have proven to be rich in both anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.

What Kinds of Research Used Pomegranate Juice?

Avoid Prostate Cancer By Drinking Pomegranate JuiceWhile earlier research had tested pomegranate extract on tumors in mouse skin, this study made a preliminary test of the juice on lab cultures of human prostate cancer cells and then on mice. The findings were dramatic, as the extract was found to kill cancer cells in a dose-dependent way, with higher doses being more lethal to aberrant cells. A similar reaction was noted in mice, as those given only water showed no regression of the cancer whereas the mice whose water was supplemented with 0.1% or 0.2% of pomegranate juice showed a regression that was higher with higher doses of the juice.

The doses were in turn chosen to be as close to the amount a healthy person might willingly to consume on an everyday basis. An examination of the mice’s blood showed that higher doses of pomegranate juice had lead to decrease in prostate-specific antigens (PSA) that serve as a marker for monitoring the progress of prostate cancer.

If America reflects any part of the globally applicable health risks of prostrate cancers, its 30000 prostrate cancer linked fatalities every year and over 230,000 diagnosed cases stand to gain a lot should the pomegranate extract be tested on humans and be made available in a packaged form commercially. The fruit which is generally available through most part of the year in parts of Asia and the Middle-East may even yield an elixir against other cancers if research permits.

Meanwhile the pomegranate growing regions still continue to enjoy the benefits of the wondrous fruit as traditional streams of medicine such as Unani (Arab origin) and Ayurveda (Indian origin) continue to use pomegranate juice, seeds and other parts of the plant to cure a wide variety of ailments.

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Multi Vitamins May Reduce Cancer Risk in Men


Multi Vitamins May Reduce Cancer Risk in Men

A huge study just took place and was reported by the Journal of the American Medical Association on the affect of multivitamins and cancer in men. In the study they looked at a huge number of male doctors and came up with some good although vague results.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School Study

Scientists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School recruited nearly 15,000 male physicians, 50 years or older, and followed them for more than a decade.  Half took the daily multivitamin Centrum Silver; the others took a placebo.

Men in the vitamin group had a modest 8% reduction in cancer cases compared to the others.

“This study suggests, at least for men, that there might be benefits to taking multivitamins in terms of cancer,” study author Dr. John Michael Gaziano said in a press release. He is the chief of the Division of Aging at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“Overall the study provides the first very nice piece of evidence that well-balanced – not overdose, not mega dose – combination of vitamins and minerals seems to have an effect at preventing cancer,” said Dr. Boris Pasche, director of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “But more research is needed to validate this.”

Multi Vitamins May Reduce Cancer Risk in Men

Multivitamins may Reduce Cancer Risk

The researchers were not able to determine which types of cancers might be prevented when taking the vitamins.

They are also not sure that the results will be seen in other groups of people such as women or smokers. The men in this study were generally healthy physicians, not overweight or obese and most were non-smokers.

“It will be difficult to make generalizations to the broad public from this one study, but I was impressed by the data,” said Dr. Ernest Hawk, vice president and division head for the Division of Cancer Prevention Population Sciences at MD Anderson Center in Houston, Texas.

Conflicting Vitamin Studies

Back when the study began in 1997, most experts thought taking a vitamin would be beneficial to our health. But in the subsequent years, many scientists were alarmed by evidence suggesting potential harm from vitamin use. Newer studies found vitamin supplements didn’t reduce the risk of cancer, and, in some cases, raised the risk of men and women developing cancer.

This latest study may once again lead experts to re-visit the issue.  Pasche and Hawk, who did not participate in the research, said they are encouraged that after 10 years of study researchers did not see an increase in lung, colorectal, prostate and other cancers, but rather a modest decline in overall cancer cases.

My Recommendations on Multivitamins?

I am a big fan of taking multivitamins. There may be conflicting studies but I feel that if we are deficient in any vitamin or mineral it will definitely affect our health. There is no way that we can substitute multivitamins for food but at least we can enhance our diet just in case.

Whether you do take multivitamins or not you can enhance your diet just by getting rid of a lot of the foods that you are eating, getting rid of processed foods, and replace those foods with fruits and vegetables instead.

 


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