Father's Day Prostate Plan

Men are more often delinquent in adhering to preventative practices than women. When it comes to prostate prevention, men should not procrastinate. Safe prostate health prevention recommendations (specifics must be discussed with your licensed health professional):

Majority of the Male Population (if well tolerated) -

Vitamin D
Levels should be taken every year to ascertain the optimal vitamin D3 dose for you. American Journal Lifestyle Medicine 12/2009

Antioxidants
Polyphenols (green tea, red wine, black coffee): the FASEB Journal explains that antioxidants in red wine and green tea produce a combined effect to disrupt an important cell signaling pathway necessary for prostate cancer growth.

Cruciferous Vegetable Family
Broccoli, Cauliflower, Bok Choy, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, among others; Food Chemistry 10/2008

EPA/DHA Omega 3
Clinical Cancer Research 4/2009, Journal Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics 10/2009

Zinc
Journal Nutrition 9/2009, American Journal Clinical Nutrition 9/2009

Selenium and Vitamin E Combination
Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2/2009

If Family History of Prostate Problems, Chronic Inflammation, or Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, add one or more of the following:

Saw Palmetto Complex
Saw palmetto berry extract in combination with other prostate nourishing nutrients such as pumpkin and pygeum seed is suggested. Some clinical studies show that saw palmetto is comparable in efficacy to finasteride (Proscar) and saw palmetto might be better tolerated. Cochrane Database Review 2002 (3)

Ground Flaxseed or Fermented Soy
American Journal Clinical Nutrition showed an association between consumption of soy foods and 26% lower incidence of prostate cancer risk in men who consume them as opposed to those that do not. The risk was lower in men who consumed organic fermented soy foods as opposed to nonfermented.

Pomegranate Fruit/Pomegranate Juice Concentrate
No more than 4 oz. daily. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry 1/2009

If You Have Localize Prostate Cancer, add one or more of the following if authorized by your oncologist:

Large doses of Vitamin B-6 (25-50 mg.)
American Journal Clinical Nutrition 8/2009

High levels of vitamin A (retinol)
Men with the highest concentrations of vitamin A had a slightly lower risk of prostate cancer overall, but had a 42 percent reduction in aggressive prostate cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention 4/2009

General Notes

False Positives with PSA Screening

• One in eight men screened for prostate cancer will test positive when they do not have the disease. A positive result can mean undergoing invasive tests such as biopsy as well as potentially unnecessary treatment. A European study of those screened with prostate specific antigen (PSA) who tested positive but were later found not to have cancer were twice as likely not to agree to screening in the future even though they were at risk of developing the disease later, the British Journal of Cancer reported. Study leader, Dr Tuomas Kilpelainen, said: "I don't think routine screening should be advised until more is known on the adverse effects and costs of screening."
  

• Two decades after the explosion in cancer screening fueled by reimbursement for prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing, a new analysis suggests that it is time to rethink the push for early detection of these two cancers. There is no argument that more cancers are being detected and at a much earlier stage, but that increase has not resulted in a decrease in metastatic disease, according to Laura Esserman, MD, MBA, of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues, who made their case in a special communication published in the October 21, 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
  

• Men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer will probably live a full and long life without needing surgery. Only those who have very aggressive cancers should consider a radical prostatectomy, say researchers from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Those diagnosed with the cancer can expect to live for at least a further 15 years, especially if the cancer is slow-growing, without needing to have any treatment, according to a Journal of Clinical Oncology study of 12,677 men.
  

Balancing Blood Sugar
Minimizing refined carbohydrates, eating balanced meals/snacks, and minimizing or eliminating added sugars is crucial for prostate prevention.