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There are three products from Natural Factors that I think are critical in supporting good health :
Lycopene is the red carotene found in tomatoes, papaya, pink grapefruit, guava, and watermelon. Harvard researchers discovered a few years back that of all of the different types of carotenes, only lycopene was clearly linked to protection against prostate cancer.
Among other things, lycopene acts as a powerful antioxidant and helps protect the body against cancer. During normal cellular processes, extra oxygen atoms, or free radicals, are often produced and are used by the body to destroy foreign invaders like bacteria. Antioxidants such as lycopene mop up free radicals and thereby might contribute to the protection against cancer. Research over the years has demonstrated that the benefits offered by lycopene are best realized when derived from tomato-based sources, both because of the way it interacts with other nutrients in the fruit, and because of the way it is absorbed by the body when ingested from food-based sources. The combination of these factors might therefore make tomato-based foods more potent than lycopene supplementation in the fight against prostate cancer cell growth. In fact, studies have shown that not only are tomatoes better than lycopene alone, but that processed and cooked tomatoes are even better.
The men who consumed the highest levels of lycopene (6.5 mg per day) in their diet showed a 21 percent decreased risk of prostate cancer compared with those eating the lowest levels. It was also found that the high lycopene eaters had an 86 percent decreased risk of prostate cancer (although this did not reach statistical significance due to the small number of cases). In a study of patients with existing prostate cancer. My recommendation if you are at a high risk for prostate cancer is to supplement with 5 to 15 mg of lycopene daily.
After studying the dietary habits of the men enrolled in one long-term study, researchers found that those who consumed at least two servings of tomato sauce a week over the course of the 12-year study demonstrated a 28% lower risk of developing organ-confined prostate cancer, a 35% lower risk of developing locally advanced disease, and a 36% lower risk of developing metastatic disease.
Why would tomato sauce be better than tomatoes?
It's still unclear exactly why, but it seems that processing and cooking a tomato releases compounds such as lycopene from their storage sites within the fruit, changing the way that these nutrients are absorbed and used in the body, and therefore changing the way the lycopene affects the growth of prostate cancer cells.
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Vitamin E is just as important as lycopene in preventing prostate cancer. While lycopene has clear benefit, it is important to point out that in a test tube study it was found that lycopene alone was not very effective at stopping prostate cancer tumors from growing. However, adding vitamin E resulted in a 90 percent decrease in cell proliferation. This result implies that lycopene works best (and perhaps only) if vitamin E levels are sufficient. Several population studies have also suggested that vitamin E supplementation prevents prostate cancer. The same sort of protection has been demonstrated in preliminary clinical studies as well. Be sure to get 100 to 400 IU of vitamin E daily.
Food sources :
- Wheat germ
- Corn
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Olives
- Spinach and other green leafy vegetables
- Asparagus
- Vegetable oils -- corn, sunflower, soybean, cottonseed
- margarine
Food Sources :
brewer's yeast,wheat germ,butter, garlic, grains, sunflower seeds, Brazil nuts, Walnuts, raisins, liver, kidney, shellfish (lobster, oyster, shrimp, scallops),
fresh-water and salt-water fish (red snapper, salmon, swordfish, tuna, mackerel, halibut, flounder, herring, smelts)., alfalfa, burdock root, catnip,fennel seed, ginseng, raspberry leaf, radish, horseradish, onion, chives, medicinal mushrooms (reishi, shiitake), and yarrow.
Green tea contains polyphenols that exert significant action against prostate cancer. Polyphenols have been shown to interrupt the growth pathways of cancer cells, while other studies have shown them to inhibit angiogenesis, the process by which tumor cells form new blood vessels to accelerate their own growth. However, the quantities needed to show a benefit can often exceed normal consumption amounts. For example, one study showed a significant decrease in the number of men who developed prostate cancer after ingesting green tea extracts, but the amount given was the equivalent of over 10 cups of tea per day.
Taking a green tea extract can provide the protective actions against breast cancer without the caffeine. Studies have suggested that prostate cancer rates are lower in Japan in part because people there typically drink about 3 cups of green tea daily. At this rate they consume about 3 grams of soluble components, which yields a daily dose of roughly 240 to 320 milligrams of polyphenols. To achieve the same degree of protection from pills containing green tea extract standardized for 80 percent total polyphenol content would mean taking a daily dose of 300 to 400 milligrams.
Studies of other polyphenol-rich foods, specifically red wine and pomegranate juice, have shown that the risk of prostate cancer development or progression can be lowered even after one cup, but the data on these foods are still early or remain mixed. Nevertheless, the implication that only small changes in diet can affect prostate cancer development is certainly encouraging.
Soy As with the polyphenols, studies have shown that isoflavones from soy, specifically genistein, daidzein, and equol, interrupt cell growth pathways and angiogenesis, and therefore might slow both the development and progression of cancer cells. In addition, isoflavones have been shown to influence the production, metabolism, and excretion of testosterone and estrogens, hormones that can play important roles in the development and spread of prostate cancer.
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