New ways to prevent prostate cancer....

Today's post: Thursday, 5-15-2008

We’ve done several posts on how to prevent all kinds of cancer & a few on preventing prostate cancer. And, I’ll review some of those at the end of this post.

But here are two studies that I had not yet heard of that came to my attention in the last day or two.

There have been some studies showing a low fat diet may help prevent prostate cancer.

But these two studies add considerable precision to that information.

1. One found that when they fed mice a low fat diet & another group of mice a high fat diet of corn oil that’s high in omega 6 fatty acids, the corn oil group had more prostate cancer. This suggests but does not prove that people who eat a lot of food or oils high in omega 6 oils will get more prostate cancer.

My strong guess is that the proof will arrive. And, based on other research showing that heating oils like safflower, soy, & corn oils that are high in omega 6 produces dangerous breakdown products, I think that men who eat cooked food high in omega 6 content or cooked in oils high in omega 6 will get the most prostate cancer. There is also research showing other health problems from eating too much omega 6 oils and not enough omega 3 oils. So, avoiding most omega 6 oils and getting extra omega 3 oils has other health benefits & is a good idea even if the proof hasn’t yet arrived that it also helps prevent prostate cancer. And, avoiding foods cooked with a high omega 6 oil content looks wise for the same reasons.

2. The other study found that lowering high levels of LDL cholesterol was not only effective in lowering PSA levels, where high levels tend to indicate prostate cancer, it also found that lowering LDL levels more also lowered PSA levels more. That looks very much like a cause & effect relationship to me.

The good news is that eating less fatty meats & full fat dairy products and eating more foods such as beans, apples, & oatmeal that are high in soluble fiber; taking real niacin; eating a lot of nuts & vegetables that have a high sterol content; taking sterol supplements will reliably lower LDL cholesterol. And, if you do all of these things, many people can lower their LDL cholesterol below 100.

(This kind of diet kept my LDL level to 143 where it would have certainly been over 160 on the food most Americans eat.

And, adding niacin and sterol supplements lowered it to 93.)

Statin drugs have some really serious side effects in many people who take them. So I believe strongly that while lowering your LDL is a good idea, taking statin drugs is not. This is particularly true when you can get their benefit WITHOUT taking them.

3. Also, eating less fatty meats & full fat dairy products has some other cancer fighting benefits.

It’s not widely known. But you are exposed to pesticides & herbicides MUCH MORE by eating fatty meat from grain fed animals than you are by eating produce that is NOT organic. The grain they get stuffed with is grown with pesticides & herbicides and the animals bioconcentrate it in their fat.

In addition, that SAME grain is high in omega 6 oils. So by avoiding fatty meats from grain fed animals, you prevent prostate cancer three ways.

Your LDL level is less from avoiding the saturated fat in the fatty meat. You ingest less omega 6 oils from the grain the animals eat. And, you avoid the big dose of herbicides and pesticides in their fat.

The other good news is that there are a LOT of good foods you can eat instead of fatty meats for protein.

Pasture fed poultry; beef or buffalo fed only grass; wild caught fish; nuts, beans, & nonfat & very lowfat dairy all work.

Foods such as pasture fed poultry; beef or buffalo fed only grass; & wild caught fish have several benefits. They tend to be more expensive than fatty, grain fed meat. This helps most people eat a more moderate amount of them. They are both higher in omega 3 oils AND lower in omega 6 oils than fatty, grain fed meat. The fatty wild caught fish do have more fat; but they are very high in omega 3 oils. And, the meat from animals fed grass or which are pasture fed, also is much leaner than fatty, grain fed meat. That way you get more benefits AND lower calories. Lastly, beans and lentils score a triple. They are high in protein; they are high in LDL reducing soluble fiber. And, they are MUCH cheaper than animal protein foods.

So, you can eat beans plus less of better quality animal protein foods for about the same as the cost of eating a lot of fatty, grain fed meat.

Your heart health will be better; you’ll be less fat; & it now looks like your risk of prostate cancer will be a lot less as well.

3. Other things we’ve posted on before to prevent cancer or prostate cancer include taking resveratrol supplements, taking more than 1,000 iu a day of vitamin D, taking 200 micrograms of selenium daily; eating raw broccoli & cauliflower at least once a week each; never eating farmed fish as they are now farmed; completely staying away from tobacco smoke; & getting regular exercise.

Each of these things was been proven to cut your risk of all cancers or of getting prostate cancer. If you do them all, you cut your risk by something like 70 to 90 %.

Then by adding this new information, you may be able to cut your risk of prostate cancer by even more.