How to make lycopene fight prostate problems even better

One of the biggest issues I deal with among men is prostate problems. Whether it's benign enlargement (BPH) or cancer, every male patient I see either has one of these problems or wants to prevent it. That's because the former causes urinary obstruction. The latter can kill and hits about 1 in 7 American men. The good news is there are easy ways to prevent both of them.

You probably already know that the plant nutrient lycopene is great for your prostate. But you can help it fight prostate problems even better.

Individual carotenoids can protect you from macular degeneration (lutein, zeaxanthin) and prevent prostate cancer (lycopene). (I use SWU260 Carotenoid complex from Swanson, along with extra lutein (80mg/d) and lycopene).

By itself, lycopene can reduce PSA scores in men with BPH. But if you eat lots of onions and garlic along with the lycopene, you'll dramatically lower your risk of developing BPH in the first place.

In a recent study, researchers found that those eating the most onions and garlic had a significantly reduced risk of BPH. Compared to those who didn't eat any onions or garlic, those who ate them regularly saw their risk go down by 59% and 28%, respectively. The researchers found that eating the two together frequently will lower your risk by 35%. These are two of my favorite foods. Feel free to eat as much as you want.

And regarding cancer, a lab study found that adding lutein to lycopene (two colorful carotenoids) makes it an even better cancer preventive. The researchers incubated cancer cells with lycopene and lutein. They discovered the combination inhibited the growth of the cells. These carotenoids have the combined ability to reduce the incidence of BPH and slow cancer growth.

If you don't like tomatoes, a prominent source of lycopene, then you can take the supplement Lyc-O-Mato. It's available at most health food stores and on the Internet. And you can take lutein and garlic in capsule form (available everywhere). But the best way to get all of these nutrients is to eat a diet heavy in fruits and veggies. Start now before the trouble hits.

Yours for better health and medical freedom,
Robert Jay Rowen, MD
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Nutrient That Prevents Prostate Cancer Also Reverses It

I’ve told you in the past that lycopene can prevent prostate cancer. Now there’s evidence that it can also reverse prostate cancer and even reduce prostate enlargement.

In a new study, researchers followed 43 men, aged 45-75, who had prostate enlargement. Their PSA levels ranged from 4-10. They consumed 50 grams a day (about one and three-quarter ounces) of tomato paste for 10 weeks. After 10 weeks, their PSA, which averaged 6.51 at the outset, dropped to 5.81 (more than 10%!).

This is very encouraging news for men with any prostate problems. Odds suggest that at least some of these 43 men also had prostate cancer. While an elevated PSA doesn’t mean cancer is present, it can indicate cancer in some cases. In the cases where it does, the drop in PSA suggests the lycopene (the active ingredient in the tomato paste) can reverse the cancer. If the high PSA is due to enlargement, it suggests the lycopene can reduce the prostate enlargement. And it confirms that it can reduce the risk of later cancer development.

I love tomato paste and eat a lot. It tastes great. Be sure the kind you get is organic. You’ll also want to buy it in glass, not metal or plastic. Tomato paste is highly acidic and will leach chemicals or metals from the containers.

Ref: “Effect of the consumption of tomato paste on plasma prostate-specific antigen levels in patients with benign prostate hyperplasia,” Edinger MS, Koff WF, Braz J Med Biol Res, 2006; 39(8): 1115-9.

The Food That Increases Your Risk of Prostate Cancer

I’ve said for years that cooked meat, especially overcooked meat, is bad news for men. It can cause cancer and a number of other illnesses. Now the medical press has proven me right.

A new study shows that men who eat more than one-third ounce of overcooked meat per day have a 20-40% higher risk of developing prostate cancer. That’s not a lot of meat. After all, consider the weight of most T-bone steaks. The study did not find an association with total red or white meat consumption, only with well done meat. (Note that excess iron accelerates the growth of cancer and is a free radical, causing heart disease).

Why is this? Heat destroys what nature made and converts what would have been useful molecules into highly toxic compounds. Even the names of these compounds are frightening – pyridines, quinolalines, trimethylimidazols, polycyclic benzopyrenes, etc. I was an organic chemistry buff in college. We knew back then that you didn’t want this stuff on your skin let alone to ingest it.

The less you cook your foods, the better. That now includes even meat. However, uncooked or inadequately cooked meat carries other risks, like bacteria. I recommend you briefly soak your meat in hydrogen peroxide and then cook it as little as you can tolerate. Medium rare to rare is best. Make sure you fully cook — but don’t overcook — chicken. You can also avoid the risk simply by increasing your vegetable intake and reducing how much meat you eat.

Ref: “A prospective study of meat and meat mutagens and prostate cancer risk,” Cross AJ, Peters U, et al, Cancer Res., 2005; 65(24): 11779-84.
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How to Keep Prostate Cancer From Growing Twice as Fast 
 
If you are as concerned about cancer, especially prostate, as I am, this information is big news. It confirms much of what I have been telling you about fatty acids and prostate cancer for the last five years. The omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (commonly called essential fatty acids — EFA — since our bodies cannot manufacture them) must be kept in ideal balance for ideal health and cancer prevention. A recent study showed how prostate cancer will actually grow twice as fast if your body’s ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is out of balance.

In the study, researchers added omega-6 fatty acids to the growth medium of prostate cancer cells. The cancer cells then grew twice as fast. Earlier work by the same team found that a particular omega-6 fatty acid called arachidonic acid stimulated production of an enzyme called (cPLA-2). This enzyme caused a chain of biochemical reactions that led to tumor growth.

The researchers then followed this finding upstream. They discovered that the raw material for arachidonic acid is commonly found in corn or soy oil and increases the enzyme PI-3 kinase.

The study’s lead author is Millie Hughes-Fulford, PhD. She is the scientific advisor to the U.S. Under- Secretary for Health for the Department of Veterans Affairs. She said that PI-3 kinase is known to be a key player in cancer’s development. Omega-6 oils are the raw material for arachidonic acid and, therefore, the stimulus for both enzymes. Dr. Hughes-Fulford noted that the typical American diet may be as much as 20:1 omega-6:omega-3. This is five times greater than the ideal balance of 4:1, which is what I advocate.

I have previously told you that analyses of prostate cancer have de-monstrated excess omega 6:omega 3. All of this tells me that your intake of fat has a direct impact on your future development of prostate cancer. And I assure you that all cancer development will be similarly affected.

But it goes far further than that. This research shows that the omega-6 line promotes inflammation that can lead to the cancer. Adding an anti-inflammatory drug stopped the genetic pathways and stopped the tumor growth. Hmmm, I’ve said for years that the ideal anti-inflammatory is not a drug, but omega-3 fatty acids! They provide the proper balance to the omega-6s and keep them in check.

It’s absolutely vital that you keep your fat intake as balanced as you can, and avoid corn and soy oil. There are enough fats contained in whole foods and these are generally in the right balance. Green leafy vegetables are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, believe it or not. You’ll also get abundant omega-3 in walnuts, flaxseeds, and hemp seeds. I grind a tablespoon of flaxseeds every night and add it to my salad. (Note: See my Cancer Info page regarding Concentrated Flaxseed Lignans.) Most American beef has far too much omega-6 from feeding grain (like corn) to cattle to fatten them. Grass-fed beef will be richer in omega-3, since grass is a green leafy vegetable for cows.

If you must use oil, limit it to olive, macadamia nut, coconut oil. Don’t cook with flax oil. It’s too unstable. (Add some curcumin, ground rosemary, lemon juice and full-spectrum oil-soluble vitamin E to extra-virgin, cold-pressed olive oil. Don't allow any cooking oil to get hot enough to smoke.)

Ref: Cancer Research, February. 1, 2006.
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Many Breast and Prostate Cancers Are Caused by One Nutritional Deficiency      What if I told you there’s a 90 percent chance you’re grossly  deficient in an essential trace element?

What if I also said there’s a good possibility this nutritional  deficiency could cause breast or prostate cancer?

Interested?

Well, not only is all of this true, but if you’re deficient in  this one nutrient, it also could be causing your fatigue,  chronic illness, or many other ailments.

And, most amazingly, the cure for this nutritional deficiency  could be sitting in your own medicine cabinet!

So what is this common nutrient that isn’t so common in your  body?

Iodine!

Everybody knows iodine is essential to your body. But few know  how much is essential. In the 1800s, when iodine was discovered,  doctors quickly found iodine alone cured most goiters (enlarged  thyroid). Iodine was the first trace element proven to cure a  disease, which ushered in the era of “modern medicine.”

In fact, during the 19th century, iodine was considered the  universal treatment: “If nothing else works, try iodine” was the  adage. Considering the broad range of symptoms of thyroid  deficiency (fatigue, hypertension, depression, hair loss,  hoarseness, dry skin, constipation, cold intolerance,  concentration difficulties, muscle cramps, menstrual problems,  poor memory, inability to concentrate, weight gain, nervousness,  infertility, irritability, bone thinning, just to name a few),  no wonder it was promoted as the universal treatment.

While we consider iodine common, it’s a relatively rare element,  with 67 of the 92 naturally occurring elements more abundant.  There are not many good natural sources of iodine. It’s found in  seawater in low concentrations. Plants pick up iodine if  available in the soil. However, iodine is more common on land  close to coasts where winds can blow it in from evaporated sea  spray.

Iodine is lacking in the American Midwest, where the “goiter  belt” exists. Forty percent of Michigan’s school age children  had goiter in the early 1920s. When potassium iodide was added  to salt, goiter (and cretinism) incidence dropped precipitously  and immediately. Cretinism — a cause of deafness and mental  impairment of children — is an iodine deficiency!

By 1950, goiter incidence dropped to 0.5 percent. Due to the  success of this program, potassium iodine was routinely added to  table salt in amounts of 110 PPM (parts per million). This  equates to 77 mcg of iodine per gram of salt. While this amount  was enough to shrink goiters, it pales in comparison to the  amount the earlier researchers were using (12.5 to 37.5 mg  daily). That’s more than 100 times as much as that supplied in  iodized salt.

Iodine is concentrated in the thyroid, where it’s used to make  the hormone thyroxin. What you may not know, and what medicine  ignores, is that every cell in the body contains and uses the  element. Large amounts of iodine are (or should be) stored in  your fat tissues, liver, heart, salivary glands, stomach cells,  parts of the eye that deal with aqueous fluid and intraocular  pressure, and even in specific brain cells that are related to  Parkinson’s disease.

More than any other element, iodine is associated with  intelligence. But that’s not all. Your white blood cells  absolutely require iodine to make germ-killing compounds! The  stomach cannot make acid without it. And, if you’re a woman,  your breasts are a sponge for iodine. I’ll tell you more about  that fantastic pearl in a moment.

You already know that the RDA is set up merely to prevent severe  deficiency states. No RDA of any nutrient was ever evaluated for  optimal performance. For example, the RDA for vitamin C was set  at a paltry 60 mg, just enough to prevent scurvy, when studies  have shown that 50-100 times that amount optimizes immune system  performance. The early goiter belt studies led to  endocrinologists setting the RDA of iodine at about 150 mcg,  just enough to prevent most goiters. These guys were not looking  at, nor even considering iodine’s impact on other tissues.

If you don’t eat iodized salt or if you’re on a salt-restricted  diet, where are you to get it naturally? The Lord in His wisdom  gave us seaweed, which is able to extract and highly concentrate  iodine from seawater. Iodine was discovered when a French  scientist working with seaweed noticed a peculiar violet color  emanating after acid had been added to the preparation. He  termed it iodin, the Greek word for violet.

To more fully explain the iodine story, I need to explain a few  terms regarding basic chemistry and pathology. Please bear with  me for a moment.

Hypertrophy is the enlargement of cells to work harder for what  is asked of them. For example, if you have hypertension, your  heart hypertrophies to pump your blood in the face of greater  resistance. Hyperplasia, on the other hand, is when cells divide  and multiply more than normal. In the uterus, for example,  monthly cycles of estrogen cause cells to divide (hyperplasia),  thickening the uterine lining. When estrogen is withdrawn, the  cells shed off (menses), protecting the woman. If these cells  remain exposed to the estrogen, they will continue to divide  abnormally and cancer can result. You know that estrogen use can  lead to uterine cancer. That’s how! While hypertrophy is not  good, hyperplasia is downright bad.

It’s critical for your thyroid to be producing adequate  hormones. Every cell in your body depends upon it. So the  thyroid is extremely adept at pulling iodine from your blood. As  long as you get a minimum amount of iodine in your diet, your  thyroid will find it. If you aren’t getting enough iodine,  you’ll develop a goiter. A goiter is the result of the thyroid  going into hypertrophy and hyperplasia (thus the large size of a  goiter). And hyperplasia of any organ is an early step toward  cancer.

The FDA has determined that the required daily allowance (RDA)  of iodine is only 150 mcg. This is because clinical deficiency  of iodine is foolishly held to be goiter (no goiter = no  deficiency). For adults, the RDA range is 150 mcg, with up to  250 mcg set for a pregnant or lactating woman. The small amount  of iodine added to table salt in those who used such salt was  sufficient to prevent 90 percent of goiters. So the medical  minds of the day thought they had iodine all sewed up. Trouble  is, if you have clinical signs of any deficiency (scurvy,  hypothyroidism, goiter) you’re in the “terminal” stages of the  deficiency, according to Albert-Szent-Gyorgi, the brilliant  Nobel Prize-winning discoverer of vitamin C.

I contend that we should not determine minimum amounts of iodine  needed for the body based on the thyroid alone. Let me explain.  You see, the rest of your organs have greater difficulty finding  iodine in your blood. This is good because it allows the thyroid  to take out what it needs first before the other organs begin to  use it. But in order for these organs to receive adequate levels  of iodine, your blood needs to have an abundant supply.

The second largest concentration of iodine in the female body is  in the breasts. To give you an idea of how much iodine your body  needs, the breasts must have 100 times as much iodine in the  blood to have their fill as does the thyroid! The same is true  for the other endocrine glands, the prostate, stomach, and white  blood cells.

What that means is that just because you don’t have a goiter  doesn’t mean you have adequate levels of iodine. It also means  that your mammary glands and these other organs could move into  hypertrophy and hyperplasia because they don’t have enough  iodine! Again, those are the early steps toward cancer.

So how much iodine do you need? Prior to RDA guidelines, many  free-thinking medical scientists were daily providing up to 100- 400 times the RDA. Yes, you read that right! And this is still  the standard.

So is that dose toxic? Iodine has gotten a bad rap from the  medical mob. It seems their synthetic iodine-containing drugs,  such as amiodarone and X-ray dyes can lead to serious allergic  and even fatal reactions. Even though their literature clearly  has fingered the synthetic molecule forms, iodine itself is  blamed. None of these chemicals are found in nature. Of course,  they should be expected to have toxic effects. But you can’t  blame iodine.

Still, some “experts” consider iodine to be toxic in just a  little more than the RDA requirements. In fact, one recent  medical publication blames iodine as a contaminant in preventing  thyroid uptake of goitrogens (chemicals that induce goiters or  serious thyroid dysfunction). Can you believe that craziness?  This unfounded fear led to the removal of iodine from bread,  used until a few decades ago as an anti-caking agent.

While 150 mcg may prevent goiter, it might take five to 10 mg to  fill up the breasts. In fact, studies on rats confirm exactly  that! And people are no different.

Japanese women have a very low incidence of breast cancer  compared to American women. The same is true for Japanese men  and prostate cancer. However, when natives move from Japan to  America, their risk of these cancers approaches that of  Americans. We’ve always attributed it to adopting the American  diet. But let’s look closer. The average daily dietary intake of  iodine in Japan is about 13.8 mg per day, some 100 times the  American RDA. Japanese living closest to the coast take in up to  100 mg daily and these have the lowest incidence of breast  cancer. I haven’t seen reports of iodine poisoning either! Their  diet is rich in seaweed.

How important is iodine to the breasts? Many of us integrative  physicians have used iodine for decades to completely quell all  symptoms of fibrocystic breast disease and menstrual-associated  breast pain. Why? Because iodine is an absolute requirement to  reduce unbridled sensitivity of mammary cells to estrogen.  Without it, estrogen effects can run rampant! Estrogen is a well- known carcinogen. Animal studies confirm that iodine deficiency  makes mammary glands much more susceptible to damage from  injected estrogen!

I hope you’re beginning to see how important iodine is to your  health and why you’re likely deficient.

What I haven’t told you yet is how iodine deficiency could also  be the cause of your fatigue, chronic illness, immune defects,  and lack of stomach acid.

Next month, I’ll show you how iodine deficiency can lead to  these problems. And I’ll tell you how to test your iodine levels  and fix any deficiency. You won’t want to miss it. 

Wipe Out Fatigue, Chronic Illness, and Immune Disorders and Feel Great!      Last month, I told you that many breast and prostate cancers are  caused by one nutritional deficiency.

What I didn’t tell you was how this same deficiency can also  cause fatigue, chronic illness (such as Graves’ disease), and  autoimmune diseases. And it might even cause your indigestion!

The great news is that there’s a simple test to determine if  you’re deficient — which you probably are — and an easy way to  correct the deficiency.

How can I be so sure you’re likely to have this deficiency?  Because the nutrient — iodine — isn’t found in many of our food  sources. Here’s why:

Forty years ago, the food industry regularly added iodine to  store-bought bread. One slice of bread once contained about 150  mcg iodine, the whole day’s RDA. Your average diet in 1960  contained about one mg of iodine per day, with bakery products  providing 726 mcg. This amount was enough to significantly  reduce your thyroid gland’s ability to absorb radioactive  iodine. It also was enough to lower excess thyroid hormone  release, preventing hyperthyroidism. And it would provide more  availability of iodine for your breasts or prostate.

Then it was withdrawn for fear of adverse effects from too much  iodine. I showed you last month that it’s very difficult to get  too much iodine from food. But to make matters worse, the food  industry decided to replace the iodine with bromine.

Bromine belongs to the halogen group of elements, also  containing fluorine, chlorine, and iodine. All these elements  have similar electrochemical properties, with bromine and iodine  the most similar because of their larger sizes. To the thyroid,  bromine looks like iodine and tightly binds to thyroid iodine  receptors. However, bromine doesn’t help the thyroid the way  iodine does.

And, what’s worse, it also inhibits iodine’s activity. Once the  food industry stopped enriching your bread with iodine and  replaced it with an element that doesn’t work, and knocks out  any remaining iodine, your body suffered a double whammy. Since  the switch was made, Americans, across the board, are becoming  severely deficient in iodine.

This deficiency is causing some terrible health problems.

Researcher Guy Abraham, MD, my mentor on the subject, has  amassed a ton of literature to prove the disease connection to  iodine deficiency. Here are just a few:

Fatigue — An underactive thyroid typically causes  fatigue. Iodine supplementation can quickly activate the thyroid  and relieve fatigue. Dr Abraham reports iodine deficiency may  harm pituitary-adrenal function in rodents. Your adrenal is  essential for energy and stamina.

Thyroid disease — When there’s not enough iodine to bind  with cell membranes, it allows enzymes called peroxidases (which  can damage those membranes) to wreak havoc and cause autoimmune  disease, such as thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s or Grave’s).

In fact, Dr. Abraham has several cases of both thyroiditis and  hyperthyroidism (not just hypothyroidism) that have corrected  after sufficient iodine/iodide supplementation.

For over a century, high doses of iodine have helped both  hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. Many doctors fear giving too  much iodine will cause Hashimoto’s to worsen. But this usually  isn’t the case.

While iodine will help the thyroid increase the production of  hormone where necessary, it also inhibits over-release from the  gland by giving thyroid enzymes what they want. These iodine- seeking enzymes that attack thyroid membranes can be normalized  when they get the iodine they need. This old information is  terrific news for the many people (usually women) who have been  told to have their thyroid removed to end hyperthyroidism. These  draconian measures ensure the patient will have to rely on  prescriptive thyroid hormone for the rest of their life. But  iodine can completely solve the problem.

One 1860 French physician mistakenly gave a tincture of iodine  when he meant to give digitalis to a woman with Grave’s Disease.  She recovered within three weeks. When he discovered his  mistake, he switched to digitalis, and her symptoms came back.  He switched back to the iodine and achieved a remission.

Poor digestion — I showed you last month that many organs  need iodine, but can’t absorb it until the blood measurements  reach very high levels. The stomach and salivary glands are two  such organs, but they can’t uptake iodine in any significant  amounts until the blood level reaches 100 times what the thyroid  needs. Most people do not produce enough stomach acid as they  grow older. I firmly believe low gastric acidity can be caused  by iodine deficiency, as iodine promotes stomach acidity!

Breast, ovarian, and skin cysts — In addition to fixing  almost all cases of breast cysts, iodine also has a remarkable  healing effect on ovarian cysts, and even on skin cysts. (For  the latter, I recommend rubbing in iodine right over the cyst.)

Dementia and glaucoma — Iodine is found in large amounts  in the brain (including the parts of the brain associated with  Parkinson’s disease) and the ciliary body of the eye, a possible  factor in glaucoma.

Other illnesses — Iodine reduces the dangerous activity  of lipoprotein(a). When elevated, this protein can lead to  excessive blood clotting and vascular disease. Iodine has been  used successfully in headaches, keloid formation, parotid duct  stones, and Dupytren’s and Peyronie’s contractures. Doses up to  six times the RDA have been used safely for months to combat the  excessive mucous in chronic lung diseases.

Now that I’ve shown you how important iodine is to your health,  it’s time for you to find out if you’re deficient. Actually, you  already know that you probably are deficient, but there are  times when you might need to know for sure.

Some of you may remember a simple patch test I recommended  several years ago. With this test you would simply swab a  quarter-size patch of iodine on your skin and watch to see how  fast it would disappear. Unfortunately, I can’t continue to  recommend this test. While it won’t harm you, it’s simply not  accurate enough. There is a test now that’s far more accurate  and is fairly inexpensive.

The test was developed by Dr. Abraham and is called a loading  test. With this procedure, the doctor administers four iodine  tablets. If your body has all the iodine it needs, you would  expect to urinate out most of the ingested amount over the next  24 hours. If not, your body would hold on to a significant  amount of the iodine and you would know that you’re deficient.

But I’m not sure you need the test. David Brownstein, MD, author  of the wonderful new book Iodine, (available by calling 888-647- 5616) also was performing loading tests on his patients. However,  Dr. Brownstein and I stopped most of the tests after nearly every  test we performed returned positive for deficiency. Now I just  start iodine supplementation in any condition where iodine is a  known factor.

I do recommend a test under certain circumstances. If you’re  taking an iodine supplement for several months and experience no  clinical results, you might have a problem with absorption.  That’s when a test should be performed. It commonly takes three  months of supplementation to get sufficient levels.

Another illness that might require a test is cancer. We know  iodine deficiency is a factor in breast and prostate cancer, so  there’s no need to test. Other cancers probably warrant taking  the test even though deficiency is likely. It would be good for  the doctor to have a baseline to monitor your condition.

Just how likely is deficiency in cancer? In an in-house study,  60 cancer patients (various types) were given the iodine-loading  test and then measured for urinary excretion. All 60 patients  were found to be seriously deficient in body stores of iodine  and some had great excesses of bromine. The best case excreted  only 50 percent of the load and the worst excreted only 20  percent (that means they were retaining a very high 80 percent).  Folks, these are some serious numbers. One hundred percent of  these cancer sufferers were deficient in iodine! I assure you  the problem is population wide.

Your doctor can administer the test very easily, or you can  contact Dr. Flechas (828-684-3233), who offers the iodine- loading test for only $75. His iodine website is  www.helpmythyroid.com/iodine.htm.

If you’re deficient and think iodized salt is your answer, I can  assure you it’s not. First, the amount of iodine (as potassium  iodide) added is relatively small. You will need a minimum of  100 grams of iodized salt daily (20 tsp) to get adequate levels.  Even saltaholics can’t eat this much salt.

Dr. Abraham has developed a convenient iodine/iodide preparation  you can take by pill instead of the usually unpleasant Lugol’s  solution. Called Iodoral, a tablet is quite literally dried  Lugol’s solution, providing 12.5 mg of iodine/iodide. In his  research, Dr. Abraham found that a person abundant in iodine  should excrete at least 90 percent, over the next 24 hours, of a  loading dose of four tablets (50 mg). If you excrete less, that  means your body needs and is retaining it.

Dr. Abraham believes the dose of iodine for maintaining  sufficiency of the whole body is at least 13 mg per day (100  times the paltry RDA) – six mg for the thyroid, five mg for the  breasts, and two mg for the rest of the body. Men would likely  need less, though not always.

Not everyone needs this much, though. Take Betty for example.  She visited me with complaints of terribly painful and cystic  breasts. She often had to shoo her husband away. Simply  providing iodide at a level of five mg per day completely  reversed the problem and made her feel womanly and erogenous  again.

Of course, some people need more. Veronica, 46, limped in on  crutches with stage-IV breast cancer with severe pain in her hip  from an advanced metastasis. She received IPT, artemisinin, and  nutritional supplements, which checked the disease. Her iodine- loading test showed great deficiency. After three months of  Iodoral, her iodine level had not yet come up, but her excretion  of bromide had increased 10 times.

She now receives only occasional IPT, and is still stable on  several nutritional supplements including Iodoral (six daily —  75 mg). Dr. Abraham tells me he also has seen two apparent  remissions of breast cancer from the use of Iodoral — two  tablets, three times daily.

Another physician has a case of prostate cancer in apparent  remission with the addition of Iodoral and other supplements.  George Flechas, MD reports that many of his diabetes cases need  lowered insulin or drugs when taking “sufficient” iodine. I have  seen the same!

Some people may see alteration in their thyroid blood tests or  require adjustment in their thyroid medication and iodine dose.  Medical supervision is suggested.

If you want to get your iodine from food sources, brown and red  seaweeds (kombu, fucus, etc.) contain the most iodine. I see no  downside to getting abundant iodine from seaweed, since it’s a  whole food. Eat as much as you like. You can find it at your  local health food store or Asian market. Another great source is  Mendocino Sea Vegetables (707-895-2996 or www.seaweed.net).

Your integrative physician can obtain Iodoral from Dr. Abraham’s  Optimox Corporation (310-618-9370). Lugol’s solution is  available at most pharmacies by prescription.
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Stop Prostate Cancer by Eating Fat!

I had a heart-wrenching moment during one of my weekly radio shows a few years back. David called to ask me if there was anything he could do for his  rapidly rising PSA level. Eight years before, at age 44, he had  a slight rise in his PSA, prompting a prostate biopsy  confirming “early cancer.” Taking his doctors advice, he went  for a radical prostatectomy.

On the radio, with his voice quivering, he acknowledged the end  of his wonderful sexual intimacy with his wife following the  surgery, as well as some urinary incontinence. His marriage was  strained as a result.

His story was so devastating, my voice cracked as I related the  sad truth that no conventional therapy has shown any value for  prostate cancer over doing nothing. So by fighting his war on  the cancer conventionally, he lost his ability to make love to  his wife and, now that the cancer had returned, the war itself.  He’s not alone among prostate-cancer victims.

Medical pundits have lauded the PSA test for prostate screening.  Yet, it’s surrounded by great controversy. Many men with PSA in  the “normal” range have prostate cancer, even with known  metastasis, and many men with an elevated PSA have no cancer at  all. Dr. Otis Brawley, professor of medical oncology and  epidemiology at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory  University, is concerned. National data, he said, make him  wonder whether the PSA test is saving many lives.

The test, Brawley said, has led to a huge increase in the number  of prostate-cancer diagnoses.

But if the PSA test were saving lives, the early diagnosis of  prostate cancer should lead to a sharp downturn in its death  rate. That has not happened, Brawley said.

While the mortality rate has fallen, it did not fall  significantly with the advent of PSA. He is very concerned that  the PSA test is leading to a diagnosis of cancers that are not  dangerous and would never lead to the death of the individual.  And, many of the cancers being discovered may not be treatable  by any means.

“The concept that every cancer that can be found early can be  cured is a faulty concept,” he said. Thus, Dr. Brawley, at 42,  has not been tested and refuses to do so. At 52, I haven’t been  tested either, and don’t intend to be. Men undergoing PSA must  understand that there are many false positives, as well as false  negatives. And the finding of a cancer by PSA and a follow-up  biopsy does not guarantee the cancer can be cured at that stage,  or that the cancer would even be dangerous. Medicine knows that  if you wait long enough, virtually all men will have microscopic  clusters of cancer in the gland, but the fact that the cancer is  not killing them all leads us to suspect the truth of Dr.  Brawley’s conclusions. By the time a dangerous cancer is  detected, whether in the breast, prostate, or elsewhere, chances  are great it has already spread.

If not PSA testing, what then? I don’t believe in screening for  something when it’s too late. By the time cancer triggers a  positive mammography or a true high PSA, it’s likely too late  or, if fortunate, that particular cancer will not be a problem.  It makes far more sense to prevent the problem in the first  place. And there’s clear data that prevention is possible.

In 1996, Dr. Larry Clark, of the University of Arizona,  published startling data suggesting that prostate cancer could  be reduced by as much as an amazing 60 percent by supplemental  yeast derived selenium, 200 mcg per day. Selenium is a powerful  antioxidant that participates in key and crucial detoxification  and free-radical scavenging enzymes. His work is being confirmed  in other ongoing studies.

In 1999, a New Zealand study published in the British Journal of  Cancer, documented a 40 percent lower incidence of prostate  cancer in men with the highest levels of the omega-3 fish oils  EPA and DHA in their blood. The relationship held fast when  other markers, such as lycopene intake and socioeconomic status,  were taken into account. These findings have been confirmed in  other studies. Conversely, another published report documents a  high level of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in invasive  prostate tissue samples.

A common thread emerges when these studies are coupled with  recent reports on the high levels of omega-6 fatty acids that  are linked to breast cancer. The American diet is overwhelmed  with omega-6 oils, such as corn, soy, safflower oils, etc.  Excess omega-6 fatty acids can cause inflammation and secondary  carcinogenesis. If the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats is in  the right proportion (1:1), the omega-3s will directly  counteract these negative effects of the omega-6s. But an out of  balance ratio will overwhelm the omega-3s. Trans-fatty acids  from hydrogenated oils seriously add to the problem.

There are other nutrients that have been shown to reduce  prostate-cancer risk. Vitamin E and lycopene have made the news.  Both are antioxidants. Lycopene is found abundantly in tomatoes,  especially cooked tomatoes. If you like salsa, eating plenty on  a regular basis is a great way to fight prostate cancer (avoid  salsa with sugar added).

Finally, while red meat has been getting hit hard lately in the  risk of cancer, I want to point out that most of America’s meat  supply is grain fed, totally upsetting the favorable natural  omega-oil balance. Furthermore, another most favorable nutrient,  conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is richly present in beef and  dairy products from grass-fed cows. CLA, like omega-3 oils,  likely balances out the inflammatory and carcinogenic properties  of the omega-6 oils. Action to Take:

(1) There’s little dispute over the cancer- and circulatory- protecting properties of omega-3 fats, and the detriments of  excessive intake of omega-6 fats. I recommend immediately  ceasing all cooking oils and hydrogenated fats, including fried  foods (unless lightly fried in butter, coconut oil, olive oil,  or lard and don’t use corn meal or flour). Increase your cold- water, wild-fish intake (NOT FARMED FISH, which are fed grains  like cattle and have a poor content of healthy omega fats  compared to their wild cousins). Shellfish is not a good  alternative, either. Discontinue meat from unnaturally fed  cattle.

(2) On the plant side, flax, walnut, and especially hemp oils  have the best beneficial omega-3 content. However, hemp oil may  be scarce due to the government’s shortsighted overzealousness  in banning use of an exceptional food source because it’s a  close cousin to  the marijuana plant.
 (3) I also recommend a natural source of mixed tocopherols  (vitamin E), 400 IU per day, and selenium (best in this case is  yeast derived), 200 mcg per day.

(4) Eat organic foods whenever possible to reduce chemical and  pesticide residues on food. Such compounds, called xenobiotics  (man-made chemicals), have powerful estrogen-like properties and  can cause cancer in both sexes. Men, like women, ought to  consider a test for urinary estrogen ratios. An unfavorable  ratio of 2:16 hydroxy estrogens (16 is likely carcinogenic) can  be corrected with indole-3 carbinole, a nutritional supplement  derived from Brassica vegetables. I personally believe prostate  cancer to be estrogen related, not testosterone related!

(5) Because omega-3 fatty acids are in short supply in most  diets, I strongly suggest you take a fish-oil supplement, as  well as CLA. I’ve worked closely with Healthy Resolve to develop  one of the best essential-oil capsules you can buy. For more  information, please see the enclosed insert.

(6) If you have prostate cancer, please don’t submit to surgery,  chemotherapy, or radiation. There’s no evidence these will  extend your life, but they will severely diminish your quality  of life.

In short, eat naturally, eat organic, load up on tomatoes and  vegetables, high omega-3 foods and oils, and consider  supplementing the diet with selenium, vitamin E, fish oil,  lycopene, resveratrol, and CLA. I believe that taking these  steps will do more to solve the prostate-cancer problem than any  variation of the PSA test ever could, by dramatically reducing  the development of prostate cancer rather than trying to detect  it after the fact.

(7) If you already have prostate cancer, your best alternative  may be a treatment course centered around artemisinin, which I  covered in the May issue. See page 8 for more on this therapy.   Letters to the Editor      Q: I recently spoke with Dr. Suttley, a urologist, who has a  terminal cancer patient.

He placed him on artemisinin, “primarily because we exhausted  all other avenues of treatment for malignancy of the prostate.”  The patient took 500 mg in the morning with cottage cheese and  cod liver oil (CLO) and did well. Then he took 500 mg at night  with CLO. He developed nausea, threw up, and had diarrhea well  into the morning and nausea into the following day. This patient  has many other problems, including bone breaks, severe pain, and  gastrointestinal problems.

I pointed out that there’s a wide range of dosages suggested in  your article, and I explained the likelihood that this reaction  was due to die-off. He eventually got around to seeing this, and  will try to re-introduce artemisinin at a lower dose, but he  would like to have you follow up your article with a suggestion  that artemisinin should be initiated at a low dose and titrated  up. — Dan Milosevich, CN, Allergy Research Group

A: My original piece on artemisinin mentioned the dosage  range (500 mg, twice daily) of Dr. Hoang of Vietnam. Based on  other information, this may be high for some people. I feel it’s  almost always better to start any treatment at a lower dose and  work up.

Consequently, I’m now recommending many of my patients to begin  with 200 mg of artemisinin, once daily, and gradually increase  to 300 mg, twice daily. It’s best to take it on an empty stomach  to avoid the possibility of iron in the stomach from food.  Absorption may be enhanced with some full-fat organic dairy  product. I am reserving the higher dose ranges for non- responders.

It’s also important to remember that multiple medical  publications have shown this herbal extract is safe for short- term use in malaria. Cancer requires longer-term therapy. All  patients should definitely be followed professionally and be on  a rigorous detox program. Nausea in cancer patients is not  unexpected. Causes include the effects of any medicine in the  gut, the toxic byproducts of killing off cancer cells, the  physical presence of the tumor itself, the general diseased  metabolism of cancer patients, among others. I would love to  hear about your experience using artemisinin and I know other  readers would like to hear, as well.

Chinese Herb Cures Cancer     

These days, it’s not uncommon to hear about a therapy or nutrient that cures cancer. Problem is, few of them really work.

I remember when shark cartilage was the new cure for cancer  because, after all, sharks don’t get cancer. Even some prominent  newsletter writers bought into this supposed “miracle cure” and  promoted it hard. Trouble was, it didn’t work.

I work with a group of about 20 different doctors who try  treatments like this, and we compare our results to find out  what works and what doesn’t. Shark cartilage failed our tests  miserably!

Since then, we’ve found several therapies that really do work in  many cases. I’ve told you about a few of these, including  insulin potentiation therapy and cancer vaccines. Unfortunately,  all of these are doctor-administered therapies. They work  wonders, but you have to find a doctor who is willing to  administer them, which is a serious problem for many of you.

While I never recommend my patients treat their cancer by  themselves, there’s now an herb I can recommend wholeheartedly  that’s safe and can be used at home and in conjunction with the  previously mentioned doctor-administered therapies. This isn’t  just a supplement to help build your immune system. This herb  aggresively fights cancer.

Just how effective is it? Let me introduce you to Donald, a 47- year-old mechanic who is in great shape. He had a newly  diagnosed lymphoma and came to see me just after his oncologist  had biopsied the tumor. There was an ugly egg-sized mass on the  left side of his head with a gaping hole from the biopsy and an  angry redness from inflammation.

I immediately put him on a derivative of this Chinese herb and  he took it for two weeks. At the end of that time, the lump  developed a little depression in the center, but the perimeter  had grown just slightly. Dejected that it didn’t significantly  regress, he elected to stop further use of the product and take  a “wait and see” approach.

Four weeks later, I received a call from Donald. The tumor was  gone!

My mouth dropped open and I could hardly wait to see him.  Returning with his wife and a big smile a few days later, I  couldn’t believe my eyes. The skin was smooth, no mass was  present, and the angry redness was fading fast. He said, “I had  lots of people praying for me, I have faithfully followed your  recommendations on diet, which are extremely important, but I’m  convinced the artemesia product was the key.”

As you can imagine, I was jumping out of my skin!

Artemesia is a simple plant that grows in Southeast Asia. I’ve  used it for years to treat intestinal parasites. The World  Health Organization lauds it as a safe malaria treatment. Little  did I know I had a cancer cure sitting right under my nose.

I discovered the cancer connection Drs. Henry Lai and Narenda  Singh, bioengineering professors at the University of  Washington, reported on the active agent of this Asian herb  (artemisinin). Their report said the herb “might provide a safe,  non-toxic, and inexpensive alternative for cancer patients.” So  I called Dr. Lai and he told me some earth-shaking information.

What I didn’t realize was that artemesia is a close cousin to  oxygen therapy. Chinese researchers said the key to its effects  was a peroxide linkage (two oxygen atoms hooked together) within  the herb’s active molecule. Remember our old friend hydrogen  peroxide?

All peroxides share a common feature. In the presence of free  iron, they break down to form highly reactive oxygen-based free  radicals. Malaria is a parasite (plasmodium) that infects the  iron-rich red blood cell and accumulates iron. While the body  avidly shields iron in a bound-up state (hemoglobin, enzymes,  etc.), excess iron accumulates in the parasite, and the  accumulation allows some iron to spill out of the bound state  and become free. When the artemisinin products contact the iron — BOOM! A huge burst of free radicals is unleashed, virtually  blowing up the cell harboring the free iron and destroying the  parasite.

Some seven years ago, Dr. Lai, aware of the high accumulation of  iron in cancer cells, wondered if this same mechanism might work  in cancer treatment. He and his colleague, Dr. Singh, conducted  experiments in laboratory cancer cells documenting a 100 percent  kill rate of breast-cancer cells and leukemia cells in just  hours. More importantly, it left normal breast cells and white  blood cells unscathed.

Then, one year ago, an article appeared in a major cancer  journal demonstrating significant artemisinin anticancer  activity in a wide variety of laboratory cultured cancer cells.  But astonishingly, cancers resistant to common chemotherapy  drugs showed no such resistance to artemisinin. It does not have  the chemical structure a cancer cell requires to develop  resistance! (This was reported recently in the (International  Journal of Oncology 18; 767-773, 2001 by Efferth, et al.)

I was more than intrigued. I was captivated. I thought if its  antimalarial effects translated to anti-cancer effects, this  could be the cancer breakthrough of our lifetime.

So I started using the herb’s derivatives in my cancer treatment  program. Donald, mentioned earlier, was one of my first cases.  At about the same time, I continued to follow a long-term  patient, a delightful 47-year-old female with stage-4 breast  cancer. Diane was diagnosed only two years before with the  promise of “We got it all” at her mastectomy. When she came to  me, she had developed metastases in her spine, which caused her  to limp. A cancer-induced fracture in her vertebrae gave her  significant pain and prevented her from performing the duties of  her job. All the conventional doctors could offer was full-dose  chemotherapy at a horrific toll on the quality of her life, but  they also confided honestly that there was no hope it would lead  to a cure.

She chose alternatives instead, receiving IPT, high-dose  nutritional therapy, dietary changes, dendritic cell vaccine,  multi-step oxygen therapy, and more. All of her symptoms  regressed, but the CT showed no change. After a short course of  artemisinin derivatives, she reported back to me that physically  she couldn’t tell she had ever had cancer. She felt totally  well. The CT scan showed regression but there’s no way to tell  if the remaining lesion was a tumor or healing scar tissue.  Results like this with absolutely no toxicity are simply amazing  by any standards, conventional or unconventional.

Yet another patient, Carole, who was seeing my friend Dr. Donato  Perez-Garcia for IPT, came to see me with an unsightly, massive,  open, and oozing cancer engulfing what had been her whole left  breast. She had been fighting the cancer for two years and,  convinced on her own that doing conventional therapy was a death  sentence, she explored nearly every option she could. She  started an artemesia derivative and sent me photos one month  later showing exceptional healing!

I recently had the pleasure to speak with Dr. Hoang of Hanoi,  Vietnam, whose family of physicians has been using artemisinin  for about 10 years. He reports that 50-60 percent of 400 cancer  patients have achieved long-term remission utilizing artemisinin  together with  a comprehensive integrative cancer strategy.

Among these patients is a 47-year-old female who, presented with  terminal liver cancer from hepatitis B and abdominal ascites  (massive swelling from liver failure), was just days or weeks  from death. Today, two-and-a-half years later, she is alive and  well with no signs of any disease!

Dr. Singh is currently following many cancer patients. While not  reporting remissions or apparent cures, he says all patients are  responding and have at least stabilized. He has found no type of  cancer unresponsive to artemisinin derivatives in his studies.

Dr. Hoang recommends treatment for two years. Cancer could be  like the malaria parasite. If just one cell remains, it can find  its way back. Thus, as in malaria, although the parasite is  cleared in a few days, prolonged treatment best prevents  relapse. And the beauty of this treatment is that it’s non- toxic, so you can continue taking it indefinitely with no  expected side effects.

There are three common artemesia derivatives, and one must know  the properties of each for best treatment. Artesunate is water  soluble and may be the most active and the least toxic, but it  has the shortest life within the body. Artemether is oil or  lipid soluble and has the longest half-life. It also has the  most toxicity (but this is related to rather high dosages, which  are unnecessary. Its big advantage is that it can cross the  blood-brain barrier to reach cancers in the nervous system.  Artemisinin is the active parent compound of the plant. It has  an intermediate half-life, is very safe, and also can cross the  blood-brain barrier.

The first two are slightly altered semi-synthetic derivatives of  artemisinin, the concentrated and purified active agent. Dr.  Singh reports that a combination of the forms may be the very  best treatment due to these different properties (based on a lab  experiment). Thus, he feels the best preparation will contain  artemisinin and artemether to provide a dose of 0.5-2 mg/Kg of  each form once daily before bed (away from any residual iron  left in the stomach from the evening meal). Dr. Hoang reports  that 500 mg twice daily of oral artemisinin by itself is the  dosage he has been using with great success.

The product is best taken on an empty stomach with some natural  fat to enhance absorption. Any iron present from residual food  may neutralize the peroxides. Milk is one of the few foods with  minimal iron. Whole milk, cottage cheese, or yogurt have ample  fat to enhance absorption. Additionally, I believe simultaneous  administration of cod liver oil (for its omega-3 and vitamin D)  and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) will assist absorption, while  providing additional therapeutic benefits.

Folks, my hat’s off to Drs. Lai and Singh, medical saints who  have brought this information to the world. To date, with the  exception of patients very near death, taking artemisinin or  derivatives have stabilized, improved, or remitted every cancer  patient I have followed. No one could deny this is nothing short  of an absolute miracle!

We are in the infancy of our understanding of how to use  artemesia products. The medical literature suggests that  oxygenating the system, perhaps with multistep oxygen therapy,  might make them more effective. Administration of certain  chemotherapy agents (IPT), which kill cells through free radical  mechanisms, is another option.

Please note that artemesia herb products are not the same as the  concentrated forms of the derivatives I’ve described here. The  highest concentration of artemisinin (the active agent) in the  raw herb in best of conditions does not even get beyond one-half  pecent. Furthermore, there’s concern by Dr. Singh that  unscrupulous dealers will label artemisinin content without  performing a proper analysis. Thus, he has tested some products,  finding perhaps only 10-20 percent of anticancer activity  against cultured cancer cells compared to pure artemisinin.  Allergy Research Group (800-545-9960) distributes a high-grade  artemisinin confirmed by independent lab analysis, which I  recommend.

But, remember, it is not a singular therapy. It should be used  in conjunction with a comprehensive cancer management strategy,  together with the help of an integrative medicine physician or  an open-minded oncologist.

The best news of all, though, is that you now have more hope  than ever that cancer will not take your life!  
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Can Fish Oils Cause Cancer?
 
For years, fish oil has been the darling of alternative medicine. It’s been touted as a healing nutrient for everything from arthritis to heart disease to cancer, but a new article in the Journal of the American Medical Association states that fish oil and other omega-3s not only don’t fight cancer, but might even contribute to it.

For this article, the authors evaluated 65 already-published studies to reach a consensus. They found conflicting evidence for an association with cancer risk across many of the studies.

For example, they found one study indicating an increased risk of breast cancer … three other other studies suggesting a decreased risk ... and seven others showing no significant association between breast-cancer risk and omega-3 consumption. For lung cancer and omega-3, one study showed a triple increased risk and another showed a two-thirds decreased risk. Four others showed no significant associations. And for prostate cancer, one study showed a nearly double increased risk and one estimated a nearly 60% decreased risk. And 15 others found no association at all.

So how do we interpret this?

The first thing you should know is that not all studies are good ones, not even the ones published in fancy medical journals. Recent scandals have shown that medical research is rife with researchers setting up studies to give them the results they want, not necessarily the truth. I don’t know if that type of agenda was behind this study, but I think there’s great reason to question the results.

In this study, the authors depended upon previously done studies that were based on dietary questionnaires. These studies are always very suspect. And to draw definitive conclusions from them puts the whole study into question. How do we know the surveys were accurate? How do we know the entire picture of the studied population? Did the studies evaluate for the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids? (No, they didn’t.) That’s what might be most important.

All of the examined studies were deficient. They had no way to evaluate the level of antioxidants taken in by the studied groups. Why is that important? If your diet is rich in highly unsaturated fatty acids, the lack of antioxidants may allow the fish oils to become rancid (oxidized) negating any beneficial effects.

The studies I like best when it comes to this subject are those that actually measure the amount of fatty acids in the blood or body tissues. In the case of prostate cancer, for example, it has been shown that there’s a lack of omega-3 fatty acids when cancer is present. But this study didn’t examine any of these studies.  So I think the conclusions of this study are completely wrong. Even worse, these conclusions are dangerous.

How many people will stop taking fish oils based on such shabby research? Don’t be one of them! Continue to take your fish oils.

They are some of the best supplements available. I also recommend you eat plenty of wild Alaskan salmon. It’s the only fish I’m comfortable recommending because it has the least mercury contamination of all the fish you can eat.

For this same reason, make sure your supplements say they are contaminant free. I particularly like Carlson’s and the fish oil that comes with Healthy Resolve’s Max Plus. (I use NSI liquid fish oil from www.vitacost.com)

Yours for better health and medical freedom,

Robert Jay Rowen, MD
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You might also try modified citrus pectin (MCP), which has  demonstrated the ability to prevent prostate cancer from spreading.  You should be able to find it at your local health food store.  Allergy Research and Klabin Marketing both make good quality MCP.

Flaxseed and Prostate Cancer

I have long promoted the concept that the whole is better than  the sum of its parts, especially where nutrition is concerned.  In the July 2001 issue of Urology, a Duke University team  reports that men who were on a low-fat, flaxseed-supplemented  diet for an average of 34 days experienced decreased levels of  testosterone, lower tumor-cell proliferation rates, and higher  levels of cancer-cell death. The researchers attributed this to  the presence of a fiber called lignan in the flaxseed. They  concluded that lignan’s binding effect on the hormone  testosterone contributes to this effect.

Earlier studies have suggested lower levels of testosterone to  be helpful in preventing cancer, and this may support that  hypothesis. Men in the study group had lower levels of cancer  proliferation and higher numbers of cancer-cell death than those  not on the low-fat, flaxseed-supplemented diet.
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If you have prostate cancer or want to avoid it, read this...

I've told you in the past about cancer's connection to omega-6 fatty acids. The connection with prostate cancer is so strong you can greatly reduce your risk simply by cutting back on these fats. And a recent study from Jamaica proves this connection - and shows another great way to fight the disease.

In this study, researchers followed men with proven prostate cancer. They biopsied each of the participants to confirm the presence of cancer. Then they did a fatty acid analysis of their blood cells. And here's what they found:

There is a highly significant correlation of prostate cancer to high levels of omega-6 fatty acids.

High levels of omega-6 means there is more than four times as many omega-6 fats compared to omega-3s. Most Americans have 20 times as many! The Jamaicans are even worse. This country has the highest incidence of prostate cancer of any country in the world. I've been to Jamaica. Their diet is full of fried foods. It's much like what I saw in India, where the incidence of cancer and vascular disease is skyrocketing.

The culprit is dietary oil. Specifically, any oil that's full of omega-6 fatty acids. These include most vegetable oils, such as Wesson oil. Instead, use oils that are high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as coconut, macadamia nut, sesame, and olive oils. And keep their heat exposure to a minimum, as it damages the oil.
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When You Should Never Treat Prostate Cancer

Conventional treatments for prostate cancer, such as surgery to remove the prostate gland or radiotherapy, are dangerous. The good news, though, is that they may not be necessary for most men diagnosed with a low-grade of the disease.

Prostate cancer surgery can result in serious problems. These include incontinence and impotence. Radiation treatment is not effective and can lead to major problems in your bladder and colon. Unfortunately, few medical professionals in this country will admit there's a better way. But the British are making headway.

Researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research in England found something I've been telling you for years. They discovered that men whose cancer is detected early by a PSA screening are not likely to die from the disease. They are far more likely to die from something completely unrelated.

The study followed men between the ages of 55 and 59 with low-grade cancer. It showed that men in this age group have only a one in 100 chance of dying from the disease within 15 years. This was true even when they didn't receive any treatment at all. Treatments, such as surgery and radiation, are not likely to prolong survival in low-grade cases. Yet your urologist will jump to relieve you of your gland (and possibly your sex life) if cancer is present, no matter the grade.

The PSA test measures levels of prostate-specific antigen. Your prostate gland produces this protein. Doctors believed for years that it provided an earlier detection. However, now we know that most elevated PSA levels are due to benign enlargement of the prostate.

The British researchers are testing a new technique for prostate cancer called Active Surveillance. This technique will help ensure that doctors give treatment only to men who will benefit. Men who have high-grade, advanced, prostate cancer, for instance, would be more likely to benefit from treatments.

As you can see, not all cancers are the same. All men will get prostate cancer. Should we go chopping and slicing on small chances that these cancers will be lethal? I think not. At last we're seeing some enlightenment in the medical industry. Too bad it's coming from Europe and hasn't had an effect in the U.S. yet. I predict it will be years before the sickness industry in this country looks itself in the mirror.

The chances you'll die from prostate cancer are slim, especially if you have the more common slow-growing cancer. If you're in this group, don't submit to surgery or radiation. There are plenty of alternatives that work well and don't have any negative side effects. You can find these on my website at http://link.ixs1.net/s/lt?id=r195308&si=w123073609&pc=i2002&ei=i114523

Yours for better health and medical freedom,
Robert Jay Rowen, MD
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Want to stop cancer? Take this new soy product...

Soy continues to make news. Of course, there are those warning against its use, claiming interference with thyroid function, among other problems. But I continue to see good research on soy, and have promised to report both sides of the story to you.

In a new study, Japanese researchers compared 200 patients with prostate cancer to 200 controls. They found an inverse correlation between their intake of isoflavones and aglycones (genestein and daidzein) with the risk of prostate cancer. These plant chemicals are phytoestrogens. That is, they are weak estrogens that can replace more toxic carcinogenic estrogens already in your body.

The results are quite telling. If you are in the highest category for dietary intake of these chemicals (at least 89.9 mg daily) you'll have a 58% reduced risk of prostate cancer compared to the lowest intake. This remained true even after the researchers adjusted for omega fatty acids and magnesium intake. The authors concluded that isoflavones might be an effective dietary tool to reduce your risk of prostate cancer.

That's an understatement - a 58% risk reduction is huge! Soy may be a friend to both women and men seeking to lower their risk of hormone-related cancer. I like fermented soy products the best. These include miso and tempeh. Soy, miso, and tempeh are readily available. Just make sure that what you purchase is organic and not GMO "Roundup Ready" soy Frankenfood. There's a lot of GMO soy on the market.

But I've got even more great news: There's a powerful new fermented soy drink on the market that can work wonders on cancer. The product is Haelan 951. I've seen it work in several people. In each of these cases, it virtually single-handedly reversed early cancer. It's an amazing product.

Unfortunately, it does have some problems. It's a bit pricey. And its taste is not pleasant. I have a stomach that can handle most natural substances easily. Even I found this one hard to down. However, if faced with cancer, especially a hormone-related cancer, I think that my stomach would have to forgive me. Haelan 951 is readily available from Farmacopia (800-896-1484) and on the Internet.

Yours for better health and medical freedom,
Robert Jay Rowen, MD

Ref: "Dietary Isoflavones May Protect against Prostate Cancer in Japanese Men," Nagata Y, Sonoda T, et al, J Nutr, 2007; 137(8): 1974-1979.
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You will likely get cancer. This stops it from spreading.
 
Almost all of us (men and women) will get cancer at some point in our life. That's the bad news. The good news is that for most of us, the cancer remains localized. It never spreads. These cancers are harmless. So if there were a way to keep them localized, we wouldn't have to worry about dying from cancer.

Well, the great news is that a common food enables your body to do just that. It's one of my favorites: broccoli!

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) just released a prospective study on nearly 30,000 men. The researchers followed the men for 4.2 years. They found a stunning 59% reduced risk of extraprostatic (spreading) prostate cancer in those eating lots of veggies.

The greatest improvement came from those with the highest intake of cruciferous veggies. That netted a 40% reduced risk of extraprostatic prostate cancer. In particular, eating more than one serving per week of broccoli will reduce your risk of this dangerous form of cancer by 45%. That's compared to eating less than one serving per month. Similarly, eating broccoli's cruciferous cousin, cauliflower, reduces your risk by 52% as compared to eating less than one serving per month.

This is the best news you can get. You have to eat. So there's effectively no extra cost for this treatment. And it cuts your risk of deadly prostate cancer in half. No supplements to pay for, no exercise to do, no metals to detoxify - although all of these might help you further.

Please increase your intake of this wonderful vegetable family. If you just can't, then consider the supplement DIM that I told you about a few years ago. It's a concentrate of some of the terrific phytochemicals found in broccoli. But I've always encouraged you to eat the raw food, the source, over supplements. This study is the real proof.

Yours for better health and medical freedom,
Robert Jay Rowen, MD

"Prospective Study of Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Risk of Prostate Cancer," Kirsh VA, Hayes RB, et al, J Natl Cancer Inst, 2007 July 24.
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New, inexpensive supplement stops prostate cancer
 
I've told you many times that prevention is the best way to treat cancer. But now there's evidence that a new supplement can actually reverse prostate cancer.

Columbia University researchers say that a proprietary supplement called Zyflamend might help your prostate cancer. They looked at the product's effects on cultured prostate cancer cells. It reduced cancer cell proliferation by a remarkable 78%.

But that's not all it did. The supplement actually induced apoptosis (death) of the cancer cells as well.

The researchers were surprised. They lauded the product as showing "great promise." They're now studying the formulation in human volunteers with non-invasive prostate cancer.

Zyflamend is a concoction of well known herbs and compounds, including berberine, ginger, resveratrol, curcumin, and others. All of these provide powerful bioflavonoids. The researchers believe the product works through these bioflavonoids. They are potent modulators of inflammation, especially the cyclo-oxygenase pathway of inflammation. This is the pathway that NSAID drugs, such as Motrin, Celebrex, and the infamous Vioxx, target. Some researchers now tout these drugs as a possible treatment for cancer. However, their side effects can kill. Bioflavonoids provide the same beneficial effects, but without toxicity.

It's available online and at many health food stores. I've seen it offered for less than $20 on some websites.

Remember, just because something works in a test tube doesn't mean that it will work in a human body. But there's nothing to lose in trying this - and a lot to gain. If you have prostate cancer and try Zyflamend, please send me an email (feedback@secondopinionnewsletter.com) and let me know how it works.

It's also important to remember that these aren't the only bioflavonoids that work. Zyflamend is a patented 10-nutrient formula. But other bioflavonoids will have the same or similar actions. One such example is resveratrol, which can work wonders all by itself. You can order resveratrol from Healthy Resolve by calling 800-728-2288. (I take Boswellia with Zyflamend -- www.vitacost.com)

The Only Time I Recommend a PSA Test

I’ve told you in the past that the PSA test is useless. Now there’s evidence that it might be worth something after all.

If you are a man in your mid to late 40s, and your PSA is in the top 20% of “normal” PSA levels, a Swedish study found that you will have a much higher risk of advanced prostate cancer 17 years later.

The researchers found that those men in their 40s who did not eventually get cancer had a baseline PSA of 0.54ng/mL. Those who went on to get cancer averaged higher at 1.22. If your baseline PSA (in that age group) is between 1.01-2.00, your increased risk is sevenfold. That rises quickly as PSA rises. If you’re between 2.01-3.00, your risk is 21.5 times higher and your risk increases to 120-fold higher if your PSA level is 3.01 or higher.

This certainly increases the controversy over whether to do the test or not. I remain unconvinced that any conventional therapy, other than hormonal, is worth anything. That said, it might be of value to get a one-time test to determine your future risk. Why? I believe in prevention more than treatment after the fact. I think it might be worth it even if you’re not in your 40s anymore.

Assuming this study is correct, it may enable you to assess your long-term risk. It would allow you to take steps now to lower your risk. I’ve covered preventive strategies for prostate cancer many times in these pages. These include, but are not limited to: a meatless diet, vitamin D (up to 10,000 IU daily), selenium (200 mcg daily), DIM, omega-3 fatty acids, lycopene, resveratrol, and more.
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This Soup Cuts Cancer Risk in Half
 
Cancer researchers have found a soup that can cut a woman's risk of breast cancer in half (and could have the same impact on prostate cancer for men). If true, this is huge news, especially for women who have a family history of breast cancer. But this study found something unique - the soup was most beneficial for postmenopausal women.

In this study, the researchers followed 21,852 Japanese women. They found that the women who drank three or more bowls of miso soup every day have approximately one-half the risk of breast cancer compared with women who consumed less than one bowl. And postmenopausal women had the greatest benefit.

Miso is fermented soy paste made into soup. It's very popular in Japan. Interestingly, the authors found the cancer risk didn't correlate to the consumption of cooked or non-cooked tofu or fermented whole soybeans.

There's a lot of controversy surrounding soy. I try to bring you the good and the bad news. This is definitely good news. (Other fermented foods, such as sauerkraut are also good).

Researchers suspect the genistein in the miso is what gives it the anti-cancer attributes. Genistein is a major isoflavone in soy. These isoflavones are weak plant estrogens. So I expect miso will help prevent prostate cancer as well, which is most likely an estrogen-related cancer. This is one reason why I'm a big fan of miso. I've never seen the negative press for miso that soy often receives.

I once read an interesting story about miso. A hospital stood underneath ground zero of the Hiroshima bombing. The blast went out, not down, and spared the building. The hospital's doctor walked out and saw the city destroyed. He didn't know what happened, but went back in and told everyone to eat miso. Those who did reportedly had much less radiation sickness. I attribute that to the large amounts of antioxidants found in miso.

Oriental markets and health food stores sell this paste, which is easily made into soup. Bring water to a boil, let it cool substantially, and add the paste. Mix to taste. Boiling the miso itself will kill the beneficial fermentation bacteria. Please consider drinking miso soup! You can also buy miso supplements at most health food stores. But, as always, I consider the whole food superior to isolated supplements.

Yours for better health and medical freedom,
Robert Jay Rowen, MD 
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Too much of this healthy fat increases your risk of cancer
 
I've told you in the past that eating the wrong fat can make prostate cancer grow twice as fast. But now there's evidence that reducing how much of this fat you eat now will lower your risk of ever getting the disease. And I've got an even easier way to help you reduce your risk, which I'll tell you about in just a moment.

First, an article published in the Journal of Urology has further linked prostate cancer to too many omega-6 fatty acids. The researchers conducted this study in Jamaica, a country with the highest incidence of prostate cancer in the world. The researchers biopsied the patients to prove cancer's presence. They then did a fatty acid analysis of their blood cells. The researchers found that all of the prostate cancer patients had way too many omega-6s in their blood.

Omega-6 fatty acids are essential for life. The trouble is, most of us get way too many. And here's one area where you can easily get way too much of a good thing. I've been to Jamaica. Most of the population eats a lot of fried foods - a primary source of omega-6 fatty acids.

The ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in your diet is 4:1. Most people have at least 12:1. That's way too many omega-6s, which means most men have an increased risk of prostate cancer. No wonder the disease is becoming epidemic.

You really don't need a lot of oils in your diet. I like salad dressing as much as you do. So, when you do eat oil, make sure it's a high quality oil, such as olive oil or sesame oil (these are great for salads). There is NO place for common vegetable oils, such as Wesson or Canola oils, anywhere in your diet.

If you must cook with oil (cooking is the worst for oil), use coconut, macadamia nut, sesame, or olive oils, and keep the temperature as low as possible. I believe that you can get all the omega-3 you need from a diet rich in living foods. I would bet that the high rate of prostate cancer in Jamaica is not just omega-6, but an overall terrible deterioration in their diet.

I also recommend you take a high-quality omega-3 essential fatty acid supplement (I take 4TBS/d purified fish oil + 3TBS freshly-ground flaxseed/day).

Yours for better health and medical freedom,
Robert Jay Rowen, MD
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The Only Time You Should Take Hormones for Prostate Cancer 
 
I’m often asked by prostate cancer patients if they should take hormones to treat the disease. This is a tough situation, as hormone therapy can prolong your life. But it can also end it. So what should you do?

Prostate cancer is hormone driven. But there’s some debate about which hormone causes it. The current medical dogma says DHT, which comes from free testosterone, is the culprit. Free testosterone is simply testosterone that floats freely in your plasma. Free testosterone passes through your prostate cell membrane. There it’s metabolized into DHT by the enzyme 5 alpha-reductase.

DHT is 2.5 times more potent as a male sex hormone than testosterone. DHT binds to androgen receptors (AR) within the glandular cells and can drive cell proliferation. Ask a urologist or oncologist and he’ll tell you that DHT caused your problem. So, shutting off the source of DHT, namely testicular-produced testosterone, might slow the process. (Note: stinging nettle root, pollen, zinc, pygeum bark, saw palmetto, calcium d-glucarate & DIM help balance hormones).

Your pituitary gland, which is just below your brain, drives the sex hormones (testosterone and estrogen). The drugs available for treating prostate cancer shut off your pituitary gland’s stimulation of your testicles. One of these drugs is Lupron. Lupron shrivels up your testicles (and your sex life). Without testicular testosterone, the theory holds that there’ll be less DHT and a slower growing cancer.

The other theory on what causes prostate cancer is centered around estrogen. I’ve mentioned this in past issues. Certain metabolites of estrogen are highly destructive to DNA. There’s growing evidence that your own estrogen and environmental estrogens (such as man-made chemicals found in pesticides and other toxins) accumulate in your prostate and lead to disease. It’s this estrogen that may be the real driving force behind prostate cancer. After all, it’s what drives breast and uterine cancer. And the prostate is made of the same hormone sensitive tissue as the uterus.

Whether prostate cancer is caused by testosterone or estrogen doesn’t really matter – the hormone-blocking drugs will work for either one. But it will only work for a little while.

Using these drugs will lower your PSA. And it can keep it low for several years. But eventually the cancer cells that are not hormone sensitive will grow and eventually take over. When they do, the tumor is now hormone “insensitive.” At that point, the cancer “returns” and resumes its detectable growth.

But this isn’t the biggest problem with hormone-blocking drugs. There’s a new reported complication for men who take hormone therapy for prostate cancer – dropping dead of a heart attack! Again, we see that conventional treatment may be worse than the disease.

Oncologist Dr. Anthony D’Amico of Boston combined 206 men in his Boston study with studies overseas to evaluate 1,372 men. Researchers gave half of the men both radiation and hormone suppression. They gave the other half only radiation. The researchers tracked the men for five years.

There were 51 fatal heart attacks evenly distributed between the two groups. However, the heart attacks in the hormone group occurred on average two-and-a-half years earlier than the group not receiving the hormones. Some heart attacks occurred within the first six months to two years after treatment, hitting about 2.5% of the men.

Why did they have a heart attack? There are plenty of testosterone receptors in your heart to keep it young and vigorous. Many integrative physicians use testosterone to help reverse heart disease, especially in diabetics and those with significant risk. So, it makes sense that shutting off the supply of heart rejuvenating testosterone could quickly spur a heart attack if you’re susceptible.

Conventional treatments for many diseases are far worse than the disease. In the case of prostate cancer, there’s little evidence that conventional treatments do any better than living out your life. However, there is a place for hormone blockade. In a number of men, the cancer can be suppressed for years. But the longest I’ve ever seen is about 10 years. Many are back much sooner.

If you have prostate cancer and are considering or are already receiving the hormone-blockade drugs, please be sure to have your heart status evaluated. You might trade the possibility of delaying death from prostate cancer to hastening your death from a heart attack.

I also recommend you don’t take the hormone blockade unless you’ve tried everything else. I’ve reported on many treatments that have stopped and even reversed prostate cancer in many cases. You can read about these treatments on my website. You’ll also need to find an integrative physician to work with. He or she can help you with an individualized treatment plan that has a much better chance of succeeding. If all else fails, then try the hormone blockade.
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New Chemotherapy Treatment Safely Destroys Prostate and Breast Cancer 
 
When Donna McDermott noticed a slight change in the shape of her  right breast, she went straight to her doctor and received a  mammogram and an ultrasound. The doctor told her she had  fibrocystic breasts.

But Donna was actually suffering from an advanced stage of  breast cancer (chalk up another false negative to mammograms).  She suffered from some of the classic symptoms of breast cancer,  including fatigue, exhaustion, excessive hair loss, lower back  pain, and, of course, the change in shape of her breast. The  real giveaway, though, was the thickening tissue around the  breast.

At first, Donna refused to believe she had cancer, but within  six months, “I knew I was dying,” she told Chris Duffield, PhD,  of Stanford University. “The tissue was thickening all the way  up to my collarbone.... The tissue of the entire breast was  calcifying.” A biopsy confirmed her worst fears.

Donna’s surgeon scheduled a modified radical mastectomy  (personally, I consider any mastectomy to be radical), but the  last thing she wanted to do was submit to the usual cutting,  burning, and poisoning conventional medicine offered. Instead,  at Duffield’s recommendation, she visited a friend of mine,  Donato Perez Garcia, III, MD, who has successfully used a cancer  therapy called Insulin Potentiation Therapy, or IPT, for nearly  20 years.

IPT had its origins in the 1920s in Mexico City with Dr. Perez’s  namesake and grandfather, who at the time was a 28-year-old  military doctor. After reading about using insulin to treat non- diabetic malnutrition, Dr. Perez decided to try using it to  treat his own chronic gastrointestinal condition. He effectively  treated himself for the disorder and then moved on to other  diseases. In 1945, Dr. Perez used IPT to treat cancer for the  first time. The results were astonishing!

In the late 1950s, Dr. Perez passed on his IPT work to his son,  Dr. Donato Perez Garcia y BellF3n (Dr. Perez II). They worked  closely from 1956 to 1971, until the elder Dr. Perez passed  away. During this time, they expanded the use of IPT to treat  other diseases, including reversing polio paralysis in children.  They further developed their treatments for cancer to include a  simple electrophoresis technique and an apparatus called  an “Oncodiagnosticator,” which detects a chemical imbalance that  is believed to lead to or support cancer.

In 1983, Dr. Perez II was joined by his son, Dr. Donato Perez  Garcia (Dr. Perez III), at the family practice. In 1988, Dr.  Perez III moved part of the family practice to Tijuana, just  south of San Diego, to make IPT more available to patients from  the U.S. There are now more than 30 doctors actively using IPT  throughout this hemisphere, in- cluding many in the U.S.

How does IPT work? It’s really very simple. Cancer cells need  glucose to burn for energy. They are almost totally dependent  of glucose as their energy source, while other cells can also  burn fats. With few exceptions, all cells require insulin to  allow glucose to enter. Since cancer cells are totally dependent  on glucose as their only energy source, they have many more  insulin receptors on their membranes (this is how the cancer  cell consumes the glucose). In fact, they may have anywhere from  six to 15 times the number of insulin receptors as normal cells,  giving them a real competitive advantage in swallowing up fuel.

But insulin has other effects as well. In addition to insulin  opening up the path for glucose to enter, it also makes the cell  membrane more permeable to other substances, including  chemotherapy drugs. Thus, because insulin receptors are so  concentrated on cancer cells, increasing the insulin in the  cancer patient’s body opens the cancer up. When this happens,  the cancer can be selectively targeted by the cancer drugs  without affecting the normal cells. More drugs will enter the  cancer cells in the presence of insulin. In fact, a study in the  early 1980s showed that the chemotherapy drug methotrexate had  its ability to kill breast cancer cells magnified 10,000 times  when the cells were prepared with insulin!

Further, insulin has properties that encourage the cancer cells  to enter a phase of DNA synthesis and cell division, which is  where cells become the most vulnerable. Thus, preparing the  patient with insulin provides a double whammy for the cancer  cells. More drug enters and in a more vulnerable time in the  cell cycle.

This means a far smaller quantity of chemotherapy drugs are  needed to achieve effectiveness. Hence — little, if any,  toxicity!

When Donna first visited Dr. Perez III, he told her to expect  anywhere from 12 to 20 treatments and that they would know if  the treatment was working within a few weeks.

After the first treatment, she “felt more energy and  strength.... With each treatment, I felt a little stronger and  the tumor got a little smaller.” The only side effect she  encountered was a little constipation from time to time. But she  suffered none of the other well-known side effects such as hair  loss (in fact, her hair grew thicker than it’s been in 25  years), nausea, vomiting, night sweats, hot flashes, or swollen  legs (to name just a few).

After three months, “I woke up one morning and I knew that I was  no longer dying. I could feel it.” After 11 months, she was  released from treatment, completely free from the cancer! Now  all she has to endure is the follow-up blood tests and  ultrasounds.

Obviously, this treatment is new to the medical world, so the  number of patients who have experienced its marvelous healing  abilities is not large. But the treatment is so safe and  effective, it should be one of your first choices for treatment,  especially if you suffer from a solid tumor like breast or  prostate cancer. These cancers are where we’re seeing the best  results.

I personally have treated several people and have seen  remarkable results. One 62-year-old man was suffering from lung  cancer. I had treated him for six years with standard  complementary therapies, but his tumor continued to grow, but  slower than expected. We embarked on IPT therapy and, after the  first month, his radiologist called up the clinic in disbelief  that the tumor had regressed by 30 percent. He had followed the  patient  for the past six years and never saw it shrink at all. I reduced  the frequency of his treatment from two to one per week and the  progress halted. When we re-instituted two treatments per week,  the tumor again regressed with the progress described  as “dramatic” by the radiologist. While the patient hasn’t been  cured of his cancer (as of yet), he has been able to maintain a  consistent quality of life. To date, he hasn’t experienced any  toxicity from chemotherapy.

A 59-year-old man suffers from esophageal cancer. The primary  mass was surgically removed, but the metastatic lymph nodes were  left intact. In his first month of therapy, the metastatic nodes  had regressed by 40 percent, with no toxicity. He is still under  treatment.

And finally, R.R. is a 76-year-old man with lung cancer. This is  his third cancer. He was recommended to receive full-dose  chemotherapy, but decided to go with IPT instead. He is one of  the few patients who did develop slight toxicity with minor hair  loss and a slight fall in blood count. But he felt no worse for  wear at all. His tumor was growing each month prior to IPT,  proven by CAT scans. After IPT started, there was no longer any  growth of the tumor at all. Due to the slight toxicity, we  reduced frequency of treatments to every four to eight weeks and  even after two months of no therapy, there has not been any  further growth of the tumor.

These are my own consecutive cases. Even if the tumors did not  disappear completely, all of these patients have been afforded  significantly more time, are cancer-symptom free, and virtually  free of any major toxicity or “side-effects.”

Because IPT uses standardized chemotherapy drugs, many insurance  companies will pay for the treatment, though Medicare isn’t  usually as cooperative and most physicians who practice the  technique have, out of justified fear of their own government,  opted out of Medicare entirely. You’ll have to check with your  carrier to find out for sure if it will help pay for the  treatment.

The best resource for learning more about IPT is the Web site  www.iptq.org. Chris Duffield has done an excellent job of  hosting this Web site in an effort to promote IPT and help  cancer patients find doctors who can help them. The Web site  also has the complete story of Donna McDermott, which is  definitely worth reading.

If you don’t have access to the Internet, you can get a list of  doctors who have been trained in IPT from the technique’s  teacher, Dr. Steven Ayre, by sending $5 and a self-addressed  stamped envelope to Contemporary Medicine, 322 Burr Ridge Pkwy.,  Burr Ridge, IL 60521. IPT is one of the few cancer therapies I  would consider using if I had cancer. There are other therapies  that work, including one in particular I’ll be discussing in a  few months. But if you have cancer, make sure you contact a  doctor who practices IPT and see if the treatment is right for you.

Ref: www.iptq.org.
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Dairy Products, Calcium and Prostate Cancer 

In another blow to dairy products, a study documented 1,012  cases of prostate cancer among 20,885 men and found that those  with the highest milk consumption had a 30 percent increase in  the incidence of prostate cancer.

Questionnaires were sent to physicians to discover the calcium  intake of prostate cancer patients. Men taking the highest  levels of calcium had the lowest levels of vitamin D3 in their  blood. The interesting thing about the study is that only 600 mg  of calcium from dairy caused this increased risk, as compared to  men consuming only 150 mg calcium.

The authors believe that the additional calcium was inhibiting  the natural metabolism of vitamin D, depressing the conversion  to the active D3 form in the kidney. Vitamin D is getting lots  of PR these days as a preventive for such cancers as colon,  prostate, and breast.

Even more interesting is that this study was concluded in 1994,  before the introduction of bovine growth hormone into the milk- producing cows, which could be causing even more cancer.

Action to take: I’m not against all milk, as it does have  conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which may prevent cancers.  However, pasteurized and homogenized milk are dangerous and  should be avoided. CLA is a fatty acid that’s essential for fat  metabolism. Raw milk from organic grass-fed cows is a terrific  health food if available and legal in your state. Please be  aware there’s the risk of it carrying germs. I suggest you pour  a teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide into each gallon to help  sanitize it. A second best, if you’re into dairy, would be  cultured organic products such as plain white yogurt. Please  remember, all animal products, whether beef, lamb, or dairy  should come from organic grass-fed animals. I’ll explain the  significance of this next month.

I’ve always been against indiscriminate use of calcium  supplements, even in osteoporosis; they’ve been shown to throw  off the calcium/magnesium ratio, which definitely leads to  vascular disease and possibly cancer. Be sure to get moderate  amounts of sunlight for vitamin D. Vitamin D levels can be  measured by your doctor. If your levels are low, I’ve found cod  liver oil and Standard Process Cataplex D to help.
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Calcium D-Glucarate — A Cancer Preventer? 
 
If you follow the news, you are no doubt aware of the  tremendous harm chemicals are doing to the environment and, more  importantly, the negative impact of those chemicals on your  health. One major concern is the effect of environmental  chemicals on hormone-sensitive tissue. Mounting evidence is  linking excessive levels of hormones and carcinogenic chemicals  to breast, prostate, uterine, and probably ovarian cancers.

Your risk of cancer and other serious illnesses increases in  relationship to your body’s accumulation of toxic chemicals and  toxic levels of steroid hormones. Under ideal circumstances, the  body has a biochemical plan in place to help it inactivate and  eliminate hormones, drugs, and other undesirable chemicals. Such  detoxification and elimination is one of the main functions of  the liver. One such liver pathway is glucuronidation.  Glucuronidation is basically a chemical reaction performed by  your liver during which a water-soluble substance is combined or  coupled with a hormone or toxin, both inactivating it and  allowing the substance to be more easily excreted. This process  is called “conjugation.” Conjugation renders the original toxic  compound inactive and makes it possible for the body to  eliminate it through normal channels like the bowels or the  urinary tract.

Normally, the glucuronidation pathway works pretty well, unless  the body is grossly overloaded with toxins or some other  chemical, parasite, or bacteria gets in the way. An example of  the latter exists in the intestines. The bacteria there produce  enzymes that should support healthy elimination, but sometimes  it has the opposite effect. Sometimes an enzyme (produced by the  gut bacteria) called beta-glucuronidase works against the  elimination of estrogens and carcinogenic environmental toxins.  This enzyme has the ability to uncouple the toxin from its  conjugated form, freeing it for reabsorption. When this occurs,  the body’s intricate system of detoxification and elimination is  thwarted.

Turns out, the dietary supplement calcium D-glucarate blocks  beta-glucuronidase, which enhances your body’s ability to  secrete these toxins before they can be liberated and reabsorbed.

Although we don’t have direct human evidence, we do have very  promising studies in both human and animal studies. Researchers  have observed that humans with high levels of beta-glucuronidase  activity in their gut have a higher risk of hormone-associated  cancers, such as breast, prostate, and colon. And rats bred to  have a very high incidence of cancer (100 percent) had a 56  percent reduction of cancer when fed calcium D-glucarate. And  of the animals that did develop cancer, there was greater than  an 80-percent reduction in the overall number of tumors. Some of  the rats were protected even though they were genetically meant  to have cancer and others had less threatening forms of the  cancers.

Calcium D-glucarate is a safe supplement that has no known  negative interactions or toxicity, it inhibits the undesirable  bacterial enzyme beta glucuronidase and, thus, aids our  elimination of toxins. Calcium D-glucarate naturally occurs in  fruits and vegetables. This may explain the protective effects  of vegetables that reduce the risk of cancer. Many of them are  abundant sources of D-glucarate. They include the cruciferous  vegetables cabbage, broccoli, and brussels sprouts. Other foods  that contain it are grapefruit, apples, bean sprouts, and  lettuce.

Calcium D-glucarate is relatively inexpensive and is recommended  by nutritionists for persons at risk of cancer. The suggested  dose ranges from 200-400 mg per day. If you have had a  relatively low exposure to toxins in your life, a low dose may  be fine. If you smoke or have lived in a very polluted area, you  might choose a higher dose, say 500 mg three times a day. I  enthusiastically recommend it to my patients, especially female  patients who I feel are at elevated risk of breast cancer, men  at risk of prostate cancer, or both sexes at risk of colon  cancer. The mucosal cells that line the colon may be a hotbed  for cancer simply because they are at the end of the line for  exposure to a wide variety of poisons being eliminated through  the gut.

Calcium D-glucarate supplements do not take the place of  changing your lifestyle to a healthy one. But they do offer good  support of important detoxification pathways, especially if  you’ve ever been a smoker or a lover of lunch meats, hot dogs,  coffee or sodas.

If you are still a smoker, calcium D-glucarate is a very  appropriate supplement for you. It is not a cure for a body  loaded with toxins, but it could give your body the support it  needs to remain healthier longer.  
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Common Plant Substance Prevents Cancer

Momma always said, “Eat your vegetables.” Now another new study  suggests she was right. Residents of Qidong Province in China  have a very high rate of liver cancer, presumably from the high  prevalence of aflatoxin in their food. Aflatoxin, a product of  mold often found in peanuts, is known to be a promoter of liver  cancer (one good reason not to consume any old peanuts).

In the Chinese study, researchers used a semisynthetic  derivative of chlorophyll, which gives plants their green color,  to study its effects in reducing the high incidence of liver  cancer. The product used was chlorophyllin, marketed as the drug  Deferil to control body and fecal odor, because of prior studies  documenting its effectiveness in blocking the action of  carcinogens in the liver of rodents.

In the study, which looked at DNA damage caused by aflatoxin,  180 people were given 100 mg chlorophyllin or a placebo three  times a day. The study demonstrated a very significant 55  percent reduction in the DNA marker, indicating a substantial  DNA protection of aflatoxin- induced damage. The authors  concluded, “Thus, prophylactic interventions with chlorophyllin  or supplementation of diets with foods rich in chlorophylls may  represent practical means to prevent the development of  hepatocellular carcinoma or other environmentally induced  cancers.”

Action to take: This study adds fuel to the fire that  more plant-based foods in our diet is good for us. However,  considering the significant amount of research already out on  natural chlorophyll, I don’t believe it’s necessary to run out  and buy a synthetic version of it. You’ll find plenty of  chlorophyll in green leafy vegetables. I’ve observed for years  that people whose diets are rich in high-quality vegetable  material have much less body odor.

I don’t think supplementation is necessary when all the  chlorophylls you would ever want are sitting there at the  vegetable counter, just waiting to be eaten. Liver cancer is  already claiming thousands of lives in the U.S. We also know  that an even more frequent cancer, that of the colon, is  significantly cut by a plant-based diet. Perhaps chlorophylls  are working there as well.
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This Free Nutrient Works Wonders! 
 
Living in Alaska provided me with many medical opportunities,  both political and clinical. The biggest negatives, though, were  obviously the weather and the very short days during the winter  months.In the coldest months, we suffered through prolonged  periods with the sun very low on the horizon. Adding insult to  injury, the weather during low sun months necessitated lots of  clothes, eliminating the skin’s exposure to the sun.

Interestingly, osteoporosis was rampant among the Alaskan female  population in the elderly (just the population that would be  least likely to be outdoors even on a good day). Often on  routine blood tests, I saw calcium levels below nine. While in  the normal range (the average physician would not bat an eye at  that level), it was indeed low by my stricter standards.  Strangely, I rarely, if ever, saw a vitamin D level drawn on any  of these patients, and shockingly, my African-American patients  likewise were never checked.

Spectacular new appreciation for this “free” nutrient is  emerging from recent research and, with winter approaching,  there are facts you need to know.

Vitamin D is not actually a vitamin, but a hormone. Vitamins  work as co-factors for enzymes. Hormones (like vitamin D) work  directly on the DNA of the cell. Vitamin D is called a vitamin  because it can be obtained from your diet. However, the sun is a  far more efficient source and it’s free!

The vitamin D story begins with cholesterol, which you know by  now is not your enemy. Ultraviolet B, penetrating the  capillaries of the skin, converts a form of cholesterol into  vitamin D3 (calciferol). However, calciferol is not itself  active and must be converted by the liver into calcidiol, the  main form of circulating vitamin D and the form that is most  measured. However, calcidiol is not active either (confused  yet?). It gets converted by the kidney into calcitriol, which is  the active hormone. The last step is critical, and is closely  regulated by the body. The body strives to hold calcium in tight  balance in the blood at all times. Low calcium activates the  parathyroid gland to make its hormone PTH. PTH pulls calcium  from the most available reservoir — the bones — to maintain  balance, while stimulating the kidney to make the biologically  active calcitriol, which will help with gut absorption of  calcium. However, high levels of phosphate, commonly found in  the American diet (soft drinks, red meat), depress PTH  activation of vitamin D.

Vitamin D is critical for the small intestine to absorb calcium,  and it participates with PTH in salvaging calcium from passing  through kidneys into the urine. But this is only the start of  the vitamin D story.

Vitamin D receptors are now being found in many tissues besides  those that regulate calcium (intestine, bone, and kidney). The  brain, stomach, pancreas, skin, gonads, breast, colon, and  immune cells (all sites of some of the most common cancers) also  have receptors, and have the capability of converting calcidiol  to active calcitriol. This capability is not accidental. Vitamin  D is one of the strongest inducers of cell differentiation and  reducers of wanton cell proliferation. Cancer is a process in  which cells have lost their specialized differentiation and  control over division. Hence, it is not surprising to find  strong associations between low sunlight and/or low levels of  vitamin D and higher rates of colorectal, breast, ovarian, and  prostate cancers. In fact, vitamin D has induced included cell  death in prostate and breast cancer cell lines.

The highest rates of multiple sclerosis, insulin dependent  diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis are in areas where vitamin D  availability is lowest (either lack of sunlight or low dietary  intake). These are in the family of so-called autoimmune  diseases. Further, fibromyalgia (which may be a form  of “autoimmune disease”) has altered calcium metabolism and may  also have ties to vitamin D.

Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with Syndrome X, the  insulin-resistance disorder I continually update you on in these  pages. This connects low vitamin D levels to a mydiad of  circulatory, aging, obesity, lipid, and other medical  conditions. A recent study following a group of women for a  average of nearly 11 years, found that the risk of heart disease  death was 31 percent lower in those who were taking vitamin D at  the time of the study, with calcium alone having no effect.

Low levels of vitamin D are clearly associated with tinning  bones. Supplementation reduces bone loss and fractures. If  discontinued, the benefits of this gradually wane and are  largely lost within two years. Thus, vitamin D supplements must  be continued for lasting effects, and research also points to  the need of sufficient calcium, magnesium, other nutrients, and  especially exercise for best effect. You see, low vitamin D  reduces intestinal calcium absorption into the body. Lower  levels mean increased PTH activity to sustain critical blood  levels, which will grab calcium from the most convenient source,  its storage in bones.

How do we get vitamin D aside from the sun? It’s difficult! Oily  fish is the best source, with a serving providing from 225 IU  (sardines) to 765 IU (herring). Cod liver oil is a wonderful  source, with one tablespoon providing 1,360 IU. Carlson’s lemon- flavored cold liver oil is my favorite.

Vitamin D fortified foods are what our society has come to rely  on, however, they have huge problems. Such foods are usually  processed, meaning the foods themselves will contribute to all  the degenerative medical conditions we are trying prevent.  Hence, fortified pasteurized homogenized milk with added vitamin  D may actually add to your risk of osteoporosis and heart  disease since its good properties have been destroyed in the  processing (aside from its high phosphate content).  Additionally, the vitamin D used in fortification is vitamin D2,  found to be substantially inferior to vitamin D3, which is made  in our skin or naturally found in fish.

The unknown story is the astronomical prevalence of vitamin D  deficiency. A recently published study (AJCN, 2002; 76:187-92)  looked at the prevalence of deficiency in adult women aged 15- 49. The study team measured calcidiol as the determining test.  Although previous studies have shown PTH levels rising when  calcidiol falls below a range of 30-78, this group set a minimum  level of calcidiol at 37, below which they called deficiency.  (Remember that rising PTH is the body’s means of pulling calcium  from bone, and raising vitamin D levels, in response to a need  for calcium.) Alarmingly, for most standard clinicians, these  levels are well above the laboratory “normal” lower limit of 20,  strongly suggesting even the conventionally acceptable levels of  vitamin D are woefully inadequate.

As a result, I believe the ideal amount of vitamin D is not in  the paltry 200-400 IU per day range, but more like 4,000-6,000  IU per day. This level seems to be required for optimal  functioning of all vitamin D-dependent systems. The good news  is, you don’t have to take supplements if you can spend several  hours outdoors. The sun helps your body produce up to 10,000 IU,  especially in the spring, summer, and fall. Supplementation may  be warranted in the winter months, though, when the body doesn’t  produce much vitamin D.

I recommend a calcidiol measurement in all of my patients with  any chronic disease, and will encourage you to get a screening  calcidiol measurement yearly. Take it during the winter, when  the sun exposure is low. That’s when you’re most at risk.

It is possible our chronic deficiency of vitamin D could be  significantly responsible for the epidemics of osteoporosis,  cancers, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, mood disorders, and  more? You bet, but follow these guidelines and you could avoid  them altogether.   ---

Selenium Prevents Prostate Cancer      It hasn’t been that many years since the naysayers of  complementary medicine kept saying that supplements were  worthless. Times are quickly changing. The premier authority on  urological publications, the Journal of Urology, in December  2001, published a convincing study on selenium levels and the  risk of the number one cancer in men.

Looking at selenium levels in blood almost four years prior to  the diagnoses of prostate cancer in 52 cases and 96 controls,  researchers compared quartile selenium concentration and risk of  getting prostate cancer. Corrections were made for body-mass  index, smoking, and alcohol use. The risk of prostate cancer  increased as the level of selenium decreased. In fact, the risk  in the lowest quartile was three to four times higher.  Additionally, the authors noted that selenium levels fall  significantly with age. The conclusion was that supplemental  selenium might reduce the risk of developing this cancer,  especially in older men.

This study confirms prior studies suggesting up to a 60-percent  decrease in prostate cancer risk by taking selenium. Here we see  an incredible 80-percent risk reduction of prostate cancer  development with abundant selenium. Selenium operates with the  critical glutathione antioxidant enzyme system and in  cooperation with vitamin E. It’s another supplement you need to  take on a regular basis. Too much of this mineral can be toxic.  However, there seems to be no reported problems in supplemental  selenium up to 200 mcg per day. I will often use more in  patients with mercury toxicity, since selenium is bound by  mercury. (However, the selenium neutralizes the toxicity of  mercury. So if you have a mouth full of amalgam fillings, I  would definitely consider long-term use of selenium.)

Men, please note this information. I’m excited that a single  nutrient may reduce development of this terrible disease so  effectively. And I’m sure if studied, we will find many other  cancers likewise reduced by this remarkable mineral.

Omega-3 oils, vitamin E, lycopene (from tomatoes), and  progesterone are also great preventives of prostate cancer.

Finally, another recent article in a major urology journal links  obesity to younger age of prostate cancer development and  aggressiveness of the tumor. No surprise here. Fat tissue  converts available male hormones (androgens) into estrogen,  which is likely the causal factor in prostate cancer, as it is  in uterine cancer. Obesity is associated with higher levels of  insulin, the pro-aging, pro-atherosclerosis, and pro-cancer  hormone when in excess.   ---

Q: What can I use a microwave for? You said some foods from  microwaves can kill you. Which ones? Is it okay to heat water with  a microwave? — Angie S., Shawnee, KS

A. I believe microwaving anything is very dangerous. Microwaves  disrupt the three-dimensional structure of many compounds. This can  convert beneficial fatty acids into the dangerous trans-fatty  acids, and some naturally occurring left-handed amino acids into  the abnormal and potentially dangerous right-handed form.

Microwaves likely also destroy the three-dimensional structure of  water. I’ve seen credible reports suggesting ill health in animals  fed food subjected to microwaves. It’s surprising to me that these  devices can even be sold with the very significant negative  research regarding microwave effects. I guess the huge corporations  have more need for profit than society does for prevention.
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Meat eaters can obtain ample and a superior omega 3 than ALA in the form of both EPA and DHA from  fish or fish oil. Studies clearly indicate fish oils are  protective against prostate cancer. Healthy Resolve’s Max Plus  includes a soft gel that contains an excellent blend of omega  3s, as well as direct sources of DHA and EPA.

Further, you should make high-quality flaxseeds (ground and  whole) and flax oil (such as Barleans) a regular part of your  diet. Flax is the most available (and most safely processed)  source of omega 3 for vegetarians.

For those who do not eat fish, I have some great news. A product  called Neuromins was recently developed, and it contains DHA, a  major omega-3 oil found in fish like the better known EPA.  However, fish do not manufacture DHA themselves. They have to  obtain and accumulate it from micro algae and other sources  lower in the food chain. Neuromins is extracted from the  vegetable algae source! DHA is essential for structural  integrity of brain cells and a deficiency can be associated with  a wide range of symptoms including: ADD, hyperactivity,  depression, agitation, visual impairment, senility, memory loss,  and more.

DHA seems to work on the brain, while EPA works more on  circulation and general suppression of inflammation, the  contributor of vascular disease and cancer. Neuromins does not  include EPA, but for vegetarians, it’s a terrific supplement  and may well have far superior benefits to ALA, which the body  must struggle to convert to the more sophisticated and active  EPA and DHA. It will be a while before we know if DHA  contributes significantly to the other biochemical actions  attributed to EPA. But with all its known and potential  benefits, it’s great for those who need omega 3 from non-fish  sources. Look on the Internet for convenient sources. 

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Artemesia Continues to Impress in Cancer Treatment

You first heard about Artemisinin’s great promise in fighting  cancer in these pages in May 2002. Since then, I’ve received  unsolicited reports from around the country about its effectiveness  in various cancer cases. One individual with colon cancer called  the office to inform us that his tumor marker had fallen from over  200 to normal. (If he’s reading this, I hope he’ll call us back for  continued feedback.)

Now comes information from China on two artemesia derivatives  called dihydroartemisinin (DHA) and artesunate (ART). These are  semisynthetic forms, which must be sold as drugs, but I’m certain  that similar effectiveness can be obtained with the parent compound  artemisinin.

Both DHA and ART have been found to suppress angiogenesis in  several cancer cell lines. Angiogenesis is the process by which  tumor cells manufacture a new blood supply for the rapidly growing  disease cells. These blood vessels are quite different from the  normal vessels that developed during our fetal growth.

The authors testing the agents, which were used for decades as  antimalarials with little toxicity to humans, concluded: “These  results and the known low toxicity are clues that ART and  dihydroartemisin may be promising novel candidates for cancer  chemotherapy.” My first article reported on the ability of  artemisinin to kill cancer cells by generating free radicals within  cells rich in free iron, as are malarial parasites and cancer cells.

Artemisinin is definitely a wonderful chemotherapy agent, because  it carries very little downside. I have had one report of  significant liver irritation in a man with prostate cancer, but  it’s not clear if the culprit was artemisinin or other factors in  his self-treatment protocol. However, if you or a loved one intends  to use it, I strongly suggest supervision by a medical professional  familiar with its use. Please have your blood count and liver  function monitored while on the therapy to be as safe as possible. ---

High PSA? You May Not Have to Suffer Through a Biopsy      Have you ever had a painful biopsy of your prostate only to  learn you don’t have cancer? Your first thought, naturally, is a  sigh of relief. But chances are you should have never suffered  through the procedure in the first place.

Men all over the U.S. are having more biopsies — and a very  large percentage of them come back negative — thanks largely to  the ineffectiveness of the industry’s standard test: the PSA.  The good news is there’s now a simple way your doctor can  determine if a high PSA score means prostate cancer without  forcing you to have a painful biopsy.

I’ve long held that the PSA test is worthless, as it has an  extremely high rate of false positives (and false negatives). It  also causes thousands of men to undergo  a needle biopsy unnecessarily.

As you know, biopsies are not without risk and there are  significant odds of missing a small tumor. Experts admit that 75  percent of the one million prostate biopsies done annually in  the U.S. are unnecessary, meaning the person is free of cancer.  The most common reason for PSA elevation is benign enlargement,  a condition considered “normal” as men age. A PSA less than  three is considered normal, but even that level will miss many  cancers, and higher levels may be benign.

Problem is, when your PSA is elevated, you get hustled directly  into the biopsy mill and biopsies are not pleasant.

I’m repeatedly asked about the AMAS test as an alternative to  the PSA test. It’s vigorously promoted by other newsletter  writers as a way to avoid biopsies. I’ve even attended several  lectures given by the AMAS test’s developer and I have to admit  his materials are impressive and convincing.

However, I’m in the trenches with live patients, not just  attending lectures, scanning the Internet, and reading theory.  In my experience, I’ve observed too many cases of documented  cancer in all stages with negative AMAS tests. The lab maintains  that false negatives happen most in those with advanced cancers  where the late stages mask the antibodies detected by the test.

Thinking it was just me, I discussed the issue with some of my  colleagues. All of them responded that they, also, are  disappointed with too many false negatives and have largely  abandoned the test. Even if the test were reliable, it would  tell you only that a cancer is present somewhere. It does NOT  tell you the source.

Therefore, you would then have to undergo test after test to  find the source, which may or not be the prostate. And the only  way to confirm a cancer in the prostate is biopsy, which can  easily miss a cancer, since it’s done by blind needle  insertions. So the AMAS test does nothing to reduce the number  of biopsies we see and it’s unlikely to find your cancer any  earlier.

So just what can you do to lower your chances of having to  undergo a biopsy? It’s very simple: Mark Garzotto and colleagues  from the Oregon Health Institutes studied more than 1,200 men  with elevated PSA levels in the nebulous zone (from four to 10)  and who had biopsies. Their findings showed that the most  important predictors for actual cancer were:

§ A manual exam of the prostate to feel for a  hardened area that could be cancerous. § An ultrasound performed through the rectum,  which could locate a suspicious area. § Age over 65, since 90 percent of prostate cancers  fall in that age group. § PSA score compared to the volume of the prostate  gland. (If your gland is large, it’s more likely to  have benign elevations of PSA.)

Factoring all these into an equation, Garzotto says 200,000  biopsies could safely be eliminated each year.

There’s concern that newer biopsy procedures, which can sample  much more of the gland, will make such equations unnecessary.  However, Garzotto said his findings included a subgroup of men  in which up to 12 biopsies were taken, suggesting that his non- invasive evaluations might make more invasion of the prostate  less necessary to accomplish the same end.

Anything that will reduce a man’s need for invasive biopsies is  most welcome. If you choose to have a PSA test (which I’m not  recommending), make sure your doctor is aware of Mark Garzotto’s  method to reduce the likelihood of needing a biopsy.

Preventing prostate cancer and needless biopsies is far easier  than treating the disease once it sets in. That’s why I strongly  encourage you to practice prostate cancer prevention. Here’s  where it starts: Take selenium (200 mcg daily); eat shallots or  other vegetables of this family (onions, garlic) on a regular  basis; make sure your diet is rich in omega-3 oils, ground  flaxseeds, and lycopene; get adequate sunlight and vitamin D; reduce your heavy metal burdens; eat less red meat; and make sure you exercise (moderately -- too much or intensely increases free radicals).
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500mg Curcumin (Jarrow) + 500mg Quercetin with Bromelain (Swanson) well-mixed in purified fish or EV olive oil 3 times a day help with cancer.
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DIM again!

I’ve told you in the past about diindolylmethane, or DIM for  short (pronounced “dime”), which helps suppress breast and  uterus cancers. Now there’s hope that you can use DIM to  suppress prostate cancer.

A journal article has found that DIM is quite effective at  suppressing the growth of male-hormone (androgen) dependent  prostate-cancer cells.

In fact, DIM reduced their growth 70 percent when compared to a  placebo. DIM works by suppressing the action of DHT (a dangerous  form of testosterone) on the prostate. DHT stimulates the level  of PSA, a growth predicator of prostate cancer cells. DIM  significantly reduced levels of PSA in androgen-dependent cancer  cells.

Action to take: I believe in prevention. The best way to  get DIM is by eating plenty of vegetables. DIM is produced when  stomach acid hydrolyzes indole-3-carbinole (I-3-C), which is  richest in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower,  kale, and Brussels sprouts, etc. It’s even richer in broccoli  sprouts. I recommend you grow your own broccoli, so you can get  broccoli sprouts fresh from your own garden (they’re tough to  find otherwise). Organic broccoli seeds can be obtained from  Johnny’s at 207-861-3901, so that you can easily get DIM from  the source, and right at your own home.

Those who cannot add cruciferous vegetables or broccoli sprouts  to their diets can supplement with DIM or I-3-C. I prefer the  DIM supplement to I-3-C since it’s the active form in the body.

Here’s my prescription for preventing prostate cancer (in  addition to lots of veggies): Take DIM (100 mg) along with  selenium (200-400 mcg), increased omega-3 fatty acids in your  diet, sunlight and/or vitamin D (1,000 units daily), freshly  ground flaxseeds (one to two tablespoons daily), lots of tomato  products (for lycopene), and resveratrol as an excellent overall  protection for prostate and other cancers.
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Are You Getting Too Much Vitamin D?

It’s not likely, but it’s possible. In fact, most people are  severely deficient in vitamin D. But new research warns that  blood levels that are too high can increase your risk of  prostate cancer.

In a study on 200,000 banked blood samples of Nordic men,  researchers found that the lowest risk of prostate cancer was  found with blood levels of 25(OH) vitamin D between 40-60nmol/l.  Above 80 and the curve starts going up. The researchers believe  this is because extremely high levels may actually deactivate  the vitamin within the prostate. Cell division, a prerequisite  for cancer, is slowed by adequate levels of D.

In the tropics on a sunny day, you would receive about 10,000  units a day of D from sun exposure. I believe that to be on par  with human needs. The RDA of D is embarrassingly low — at 400 IU  per day. I’m sure it will be raised soon to 2,000-4,000 IU/day.  I routinely recommend Carlson’s cod liver oil, one tablespoon  (about 1,500 IU) daily. Normal activity in full sun will give  you more than seven times that amount. Two tablespoons might be  valuable if you have osteoporosis.

Action to take:Vitamin D (cholecalciferol) ought to be a  routine screen. If your levels are lower than 40, consider  supplementing with cod liver oil, unless you can guarantee  significant sun exposure. For most Americans in mid to upper  latitudes, this is impossible in the winter months. The sun is  too low in the sky for five months a year to make any D at all  in Boston. I’m not concerned about too much vitamin D unless you  live in southern coastal states (including Southern California)  and are outside a good bit. If that describes you, then you may  not need any supplementation unless you have osteoporosis.
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Great News for Prostate Cancer Prevention

The prestigious Journal of the National Cancer Institute has just  reported that you can protect yourself from prostate cancer by  taking selenium. This corroborates previous studies.

In this study, 586 men with prostate cancer from the Physician’s  Health Study had blood samples taken in 1982 and followed for 13  years, compared to a control group of 577 men without the cancer.

Pre-diagnostic selenium levels were associated inversely with the  later development of advanced prostate cancer. In other words, the  less selenium in the blood, the greater the risk of cancer — about  50 percent greater in those with the lowest selenium. The greatest  benefit was seen in men with higher PSA levels. High PSA does not  always mean cancer, as I have previously reported.

Action to take:I believe that PSA testing has not been  proven to do anything but cause worry and lead to invasive  biopsies. I’ve elected to not have mine tested. What would I do  anyway? Submit to biopsy with a high risk of missing it, or perhaps  creating a tract for it to spread faster?

Instead, I focus on prevention. I recommend 200 mg of selenium  every day, which is the amount contained in Max Plus (800-728-2288).
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Sexercise and Prostate Cancer

There is now excellent evidence that frequent sexual activity  protects the prostate as well as some of your favorite nutrients. A  large study following 30,000 men over eight years showed one-third  less risk of developing prostate cancer in men with the highest  monthly frequency of ejaculations (at least 21). Each increase of  three ejaculations per week (from zero) resulted in a 15 percent  decrease in developing the cancer. (Too much or too little increases risk of cancer).

The uterus in females sheds monthly until menopause. This gives  women an edge over men in eliminating toxins. The only form of  release of prostatic fluids is ejaculation. Limited frequency may  allow accumulation of carcinogens that might otherwise be  eliminated. It also may reduce microcalcifications associated with  prostate cancer. Sexercise might just give you an additional edge.

Ref: New Scientist, July 2003; J. Amer. Med. Assoc., vol. 291, p.
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Prostate Health
From August 2007 Alternatives by Dr. David Williams

The prostate gland is about the size of a walnut, and lies just  below the urinary bladder. It completely surrounds the urethra,  which carries urine from the bladder and semen from the sex glands  through the penis. The primary function of the prostate gland is the  secretion of a milky, slightly alkaline fluid (the primary component of semen). This fluid helps nourish, protect, and move the sperm out  of the body during ejaculation.

Like all glands, the prostate needs good circulation from both the  blood vessels and the lymphatic system. Any blockage of fluids going  to or leaving the prostate can cause it to enlarge. Since it  surrounds the urethra, prostate enlargement can constrict this tube  and make urinating difficult and painful. Other symptoms associated  with enlargement of the prostate (known as BPH) include:  intermittency of the urinary stream, decreased size and force of the  urinary stream, and almost constant overflow or dribbling.

Your best course of action is to prevent prostate problems before  they begin.

Exercise! Walking is especially beneficial to the prostate. The  movement of muscles and organs in the pelvic cavity during walking  help circulation to and from the gland. Constant sitting during  most of your childhood and adult life only adds to your chances of  having prostate problems.

Avoid intense sexual excitement without a natural conclusion of  ejaculation. Continued excitement without ejaculation causes  engorgement of the gland; if this continues, it can lead to  structural and functional damage. Develop regularity in sexual  habits if possible.

A diet rich in meats (either beef or poultry) can cause problems.  Many of the hormones used in cattle production have been outlawed;  however, many poultry producers still feed hormones to chickens  and turkeys to speed their growth period and get them to market  sooner. These hormones can be found later in your grocery store  meats and cause havoc with your system.

Include lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, and juices in the diet.  These foods have a cleansing effect on the urinary tract as well  as the rest of the body.

Drink a minimum of eight glasses of water a day.  Minimize your coffee and alcohol consumption. Over-indulgence of  either predisposes you to prostate troubles.

If you already have some of the signs of prostate trouble, then you  will need to add some elements to the suggestions above: Start supplementing your diet with one of the nutritional products  made specifically for the prostate. There are many good ones on  the market now. If you’re not already getting this much from your  multi, you should look for a product that provides you with  vitamin A (10,000–15,000 IU), vitamin E (400–800 IU), zinc (15–20  mg), and selenium (200–400 mcg). Some herbs beneficial for the  prostate include saw palmetto (240–­320 mg), turmeric (100–200  mg), and lycopene—which you should get from your diet in the form  of cooked tomato products or red foods such as watermelon.  Raw nuts and seeds such as almonds, pumpkin, sunflower, squash,  and sesame are great sources of unsaturated fatty acids and zinc.  A handful of pumpkin seeds a day from your local health food store  is highly recommended.

An exercise that helps the prostate specifically is “bicycling”  while lying on your back. Try 5–10 minutes every day.

If your prostatic problem is accompanied by lower back or sciatic  pain, seek help from a knowledgeable chiropractor. The pain may  indicate the nerve supply to the prostate is irritated due to a  spinal or pelvic subluxation or misalignment.

Getting the Massage

One final suggestion that seems to have fallen out of favor is  prostate massage. I don’t know of any supplement—or medication for  that matter—that can achieve the results obtained by directly  massaging the prostate. Unfortunately, few doctors have any training  in this procedure, and some may feel the procedure is unbecoming to  their “reputation” as a doctor.

Before drugs became the accepted first line of treatment for  prostate problems, massage was used successfully, without  hesitation, by practically all doctors. Massaging the prostate to  remove congestion and improve circulation is in keeping with many of  the known activities that promote prostate health. Exercises like  walking cause a subtle shifting of the internal organs, which has  been shown to be beneficial. Many aspects of yoga utilize  positioning and movements of the diaphragm to massage different  organs. And sitting for long periods of time and lack of exercise  are two factors that contribute to prostate stagnation and problems. Dr. Antonio Feliciano, with the Manila Genitourinary Clinic,  continues to obtain outstanding results by combining repetitive  prostate massages (sometimes called prostate stripping) with  antibiotics, when necessary, in the treatment of BPH and  inflammation of the prostate (prostatitis). His program consists of  completely draining the prostate through increasingly more vigorous  massages performed as often as three times weekly.

Massage is done only in the direction in which the gland drains.  Pressure is applied from the sides toward the midline. Care is taken  to drain every reachable area of the prostate. Dr. Feliciano has  reported no harmful or adverse effects in his patients; in fact, he  reports complete resolution in prostate patients where no other  therapies had worked. (Tech Urol 99 5(3):146–51) (Clinical Remission  of Chronic Refractory Pelvic Symptoms in Three Men, an original  report to be published in Digital Urology Journal)

Although prostate massage fell out of favor, particularly in the  early 1970s when antibiotics and other medications became the  favored treatment for prostatitis and BPH, its effectiveness was  never the deciding issue. The problem probably had more to do with  the location of the prostate.

The prostate gland resides deep inside the pelvic cavity. Short of  surgical removal, the only effective method of examining the gland  is through the wall of the rectum (which is also the only route  through which the prostate can be massaged). The massage generally  involves the insertion of a gloved finger, which has unfortunately  spurred numerous jokes and has also given a distorted image of the  actual benefits of the procedure.

At present, it might be more difficult to find doctors willing to  perform prostate massages, particularly among younger doctors.  Hopefully, that will start to change as more research is published.  Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem much interest or incentive to  perform this type of research, particularly in this country. I’m sure there are still some doctors around the country utilizing  prostate massage, and even following the work and research of  doctors like Dr. Feliciano. However, locating them might be a  problem.

Fortunately, there is a very helpful device called the Pro-State  Massager. It can be a lifesaver to someone suffering from  prostatitis or BPH.

The Pro-State Massager is a somewhat odd-shaped device made from  FDA-approved nonporous plastic. With very little effort and  practice, it allows one to gently, yet effectively, self-massage the  prostate gland, hands-free, simply through contractions of the  rectal muscles. It promotes increased circulation to the gland and  helps reduce congestion, swelling, and inflammation. The  manufacturer offers three models that are all very similar, but the  recommended one is their “PS New” model. The massager, along with  the necessary lubricant, sells for about $55 and comes with complete  instructions.

The device is made by a company called High Island Health, P.O. Box  55427, Houston, Texas 77255. They have a Web site that helps explain  its use, benefits, and how to order at www.HighIsland.com. They can  also be reached by phone for orders at 713-680-8840.

How often a man has to use the technique varies from individual to  individual. During the initial phases, when inflammation is more  severe, it’s not unusual to start with 20- to 30-minute sessions  three times a week. (Some individuals experience their best results  with sessions as long as an hour.) Again, the directions are pretty  simple, and a man can easily and safely adjust the self-treatment  program to his own needs.

I have recommended this simple device for some time now. I know of  dozens of individuals for whom it has been an absolute godsend, and  I would highly recommend it if you suffer from any type of prostate  problem, or as a way to help prevent future prostate problems.
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Prostate Massage = A Healthy Prostate

Prostate massage has long been used as a means of maintaining prostate health and to promote increased sexual health. In the Orient, prostate massage has been included in traditional medicine for centuries. In recent years, many medical articles have been published which advocate prostatic massage as a treatment for chronic prostatitis, infertility, and benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH).

Historically, prostate massage has been used for centuries as a part of Oriental & Ayurvedic holistic health practice. Prostate massage is once again becoming more widely recommended as researchers discover that prostate massage complements and increases the effectiveness of antibiotics, antimicrobials or herbal remedies by facilitating circulation to the prostate gland. In addition, many find that prostate massage itself is successful where other remedies have failed.

Excerpted from the The Prostate Sourcebook (Lowell House)
Steven Morganstern MD, Allen Abrahams Ph.D.

"For a healthy prostate, should you for any reason object to masturbation, having your prostate massaged periodically is an option. This procedure is normally used when your prostate is stroked during a digital rectal exam. Sometimes the massage may take longer because the object is to free the gland of congestion {that may lead to prostate problems such as blockage which can lead to prostatitis, cancer and other problems including sexual dysfunction}. How often you should have prostate massage depends on your individual condition.

In traditional Japanese families, wives often perform prostate massage to promote their partners' health. In general, Asian men tend to have lower rates of prostate enlargement and cancer than their American (counterparts)."

What is Acupressure?

Acupressure is an ancient Chinese healing art that uses pressure on points, not needles, to massage key points on the surface of the skin. It has been used in the Far East for thousands of years to treat disease, but this ancient science has only gained wider acceptance in the West in recent times. Acupressure stimulates the body's immune system to self heal, in addition to causing relief of muscular tension and the release of endorphins -- the body's own neurochemicals that relieve pain. Acupressure is based on the same points and meridians (patterns of energy flow) as acupuncture. This technique is an excellent way to balance the body and maintain good health by reducing tension, increasing endorphins, improving circulation and strengthening the body's resistance to illness.

How can a Pro-State prostate massager help you?

The Pro-State prostate massagers are specifically designed for effectiveness and ease of insertion. Once inserted into the rectum, the anal sphincter naturally pushes the Pro-State up toward the prostate gland and the external arm of the Pro-State pushes up against the perineum. Contraction and relaxation of the anal sphincter pivots the Pro-State massager up and down providing a hands free massage of the entire prostate. Prostate drainage is accomplished through the mechanical pressure of the Pro-State prostate massager, as well as from the induced ejaculation.

In addition to massage of the prostate, the Pro-State prostate massagers are the only prostate massagers that provide acupressure therapy on the specific prostate perineum point. According to the precepts of Oriental medicine, massage of this acupressure point is beneficial for optimal prostate health and sexual function. The Pro-State prostate massagers combine these massages into one sophisticated method simultaneously, thus providing an effective massage.
http://www.highisland.com/ourcompany.php
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Defeating Out-of-Control Cell Growth (Good article about prostate cancer):
http://www.tahoma-clinic.com/estrogen2.shtml

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How An Insect Eating Plant Can Cure Your Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases 
 
What if I told you that a plant that captivated your interest as a  child is a world-class healer?And what if I told you this plant  could heal cancer, chronic fatigue, Lyme disease, and a multitude  of other illnesses?

I know, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  But not in this case! I’ve used this product for many years and  I’ve seen firsthand how it works.

Dr. Dan Kenner of California also has personal and observational  experience of its power and he says it “staggers the imagination.”

Can you imagine a plant extract that could provide you with an oral  means to get a result similar to the expensive (IV) oxidation  therapy I so often talk about in these pages?

The amazing thing is, you probably played with this unique plant as  a child. I sure did. I marveled at the amazing properties of  Venus’s-flytrap as a kid, watching for hours as it baited insects  and, unlike any other plant, caught and digested them for its  food. “How on earth does a plant do that?” I wondered.

In the 1970s, German physician Helmut Keller was looking for  alternatives to the toxic chemicals produced by the drug companies.  He also marveled at Venus’s-flytrap and its ability to digest  protein (insects) without harming itself and without a digestive  system.

You know plants need nitrogen. But Venus’s-flytrap lives in  nitrogen-poor soils. It must get all its nitrogen from the insects  it captures. And without a digestive system, it totally dissolves  its prey! How? Dr. Keller believes that the compounds in Venus’s- flytrap work on primitive and unshielded protein, such as those  found in insects and microorganisms.

Well, cancer is also a primitive cell with lots of irregular  protein. And infected cells actually leak protein. Could Venus’s- flytrap also be a miracle for a wide variety of disorders?

Dr. Keller found that Venus’s-flytrap juices digest a wide variety  of primitive animal proteins (in insects) and malignant cells!  Normal cells of higher organisms were left unscathed, due to the  tight bundling of their more evolved proteins. In Germany, he shed  light on some key attributes of Venus’s-flytrap that make it an  awesome disease fighter.

Dr. Keller believes the key compounds are droserone (D), plumbagin  (P), and hydroplumbagin, also found in other carnivorous plants.  These remarkable and hard-to- make compounds are powerful oxidation  catalysts, not dissimilar to the famous Koch catalysts. In the  1930s,  Dr. William F. Koch was using catalysts to speed oxidation in  cells. He cured many dreaded diseases. His successes created  political problems forcing him to emigrate to Brazil to continue  his work.

D and P modulate the immune system. That is, they lift a weakened  immune system, or stimulate a proper balance of activation and  suppression. Too little of the former can lead to cancer and  infection. Too little of the latter can lead to “autoimmune”  disease. D and P also increase natural killer counts and function,  essential in the defense against chronic disease. These oxidation  catalysts are quite possibly able to induce many of the effects of  intravenous and more expensive oxidation therapies in your body.

Quercetin is one of the premier bioflavonoid-free radical  scavengers. It has enormous properties in modulating allergy by  stabilizing mast cells loaded with histamine. Otherwise, they could  dump it into your system with little provocation, resulting in a  whole host of allergic symptoms. Quercetin is a first-class heart  muscle and circulation protector, a natural chelator (like most  other bioflavonoids), and is an outstanding protector of liver  function. Quercetin is not completely absorbed when it’s taken  orally. Its presence in Venus’s-flytrap could increase its power  since Venus’s-flytrap can be used by injection. Myricetin, a  bioflavonoid similar in properties to quercetin, is also found in  Venus’s-flytrap.

Venus’s-flytrap juice provides ample amounts of antioxidants, plus  arginine, threonine, and other amino acids essential in  detoxification, immune system stimulation and regulation,  metabolism, liver function, collagen (your connective tissue)  maintenance, and more. Proteolytic enzymes, powerful modulators of  inflammation, are able to break down aberrant protein and are also  present in Venus’s-flytrap.

Today, Venus’s-flytrap is marketed as the herb Carnivora, for  obvious reasons. I began using Carnivora in Alaska to treat cancer.  Dr. Morton Walker, a medical journalist had detailed amazing cures  of life-threatening diseases with Carnivora from firsthand  interviews and travels to Dr. Keller’s clinic. Dr. Walker estimated  at least a 45 percent significant response rate to cancer with  Carnivora alone.  Dr. Keller said the results are much higher with integrated  approaches.

I had one patient, Jeff, a beloved retired Anchorage fire chief,  who came to me with late-stage terminal disease. His physicians  estimated a six-week life span. He was fortunately able to acquire  intravenous Carnivora from Germany. Jeff lived a full life for his  remaining nine months, traveling across Alaska and fishing, even up  to the end. His wife was most grateful for the quality of life  Carnivora extended him.

Second Opinion reader Brian Lecompte, MD consulted with me  on the use of artemisinin for his 81-year-old mother-in-law with  newly diagnosed inoperable lung cancer. I suggested a dose. He  added tincture of Carnivora and administered it to her by nebulizer  (inhaled). Within a few months, the tumor shrank to a scar, never  returned, and her astounded oncologist pronounced her cancer free!

Now the exciting thing about Carnivora for most people is not just  cancer but what it can do for very stubborn situations such as  chronic fatigue, Lyme disease, parasites, and inflammatory bowel  conditions.

Take the case of internationally known healer Theresa Dale, ND,  PhD (www.wellnesscenter.net). “I had a typical case of severe  parasites (confirmed Blastocystis and Giardia): bloating, loose  stools, much fatigue, and even skin breakouts around my colon area.  I could feel pockets in my colon. Carnivora was a Godsend for me. I  noticed a difference immediately. I took it for eight weeks three  to four times per week. I recovered completely with Carnivora alone  and confirmed myself free of parasites. I will admit I was prepared  for this healing because I had already detoxed myself. I have used  Carnivora on several other confirmed cases all with the same  results.”

Dr. Dale recommended three capsules, three times daily in addition  to the Carnivora tincture, one bottle for about two weeks. Folks,  parasites can be a very difficult condition to successfully treat.  This story is particularly impressive. Just one substance proved  successful where several other products, including drugs, might be  employed for the condition.

Dr. Keller states that promising therapeutic results have been  obtained in the treatment of: adult malignant tumors, ulcerative  colitis and Crohn’s disease, eczema, certain autoimmune disorders,  psoriasis arthropathica, immune deficiency diseases (AIDS), chronic  fatigue  syndrome, influenza, the common cold, and herpes infection. Dr.  Kenner emphasized the latter with a stunning story:

A woman, aged 46, with a three-year history of a continuous and  painful herpetic lesion was seen for treatment. She was given an  intramuscular injection. In 12 hours, the lesion of three years was  gone. Kenner was astounded. Continuing intermittent outbreaks in  different locations dwindled over time with oral treatment and  occasional shots. Still in communication with Dr. Kenner, she has  been free of herpes symptoms for three years now.

Dr. Ron Schmid (www.drrons.com), of Watertown, Conn., visited  Keller in the early ’90s. He also was most impressed with Dr.  Keller’s cancer and AIDS cases. Shortly after, Carnivora became  available in the U.S. in drop and capsule form. Dr. Schmid reports  several cases of breast and prostate cancer (PSA ranging from 10- 60) who have experienced no disease progression on a regimen over  two years on natural therapies and oral Carnivora.

But Dr. Schmid proved to be a dramatic case himself. He contracted  Lyme disease (proven with standard testing), which brought his  robust and athletic body to its knees, with fatigue and “horrible”  shooting pains, headache, and intermittent fevers. Diet (raw foods)  and herbs helped significantly, but when he added Carnivora, the  rest of the disease symptoms virtually disappeared promptly. He is  milking cows and running again. His ESR, a measure of inflammation,  dropped from a very high 60 to normal, meaning his inflammation was  gone. Low-grade infection is still likely present, with mild  symptoms occurring only every few months, which he promptly fixes  with Carnivora at the time of symptoms. His self-prescription was  two capsules, three times daily and 20 drops of tincture  sublingually, with one drop of DMSO under the tongue six to eight  times daily.

Another naturopathic doctor (ND) in Minnesota, (name withheld by  request) was bitten by a tick and developed a bull’s eye rash after  seven days. He took Carnivora (10 capsules daily). The rash was  gone in one-and-a-half days and he never went on to develop further  Lyme problems. He continued treatment for a month.

This same doctor relates an even more stunning case. A married  couple raising llamas on their 40 acres were both bitten by ticks  in a highly infested Lyme area. The husband tested positive for  Lyme and received antibiotics and his rash disappeared. His wife  had no rash and did not test positive, so her physician refused  antibiotics even though she went downhill fast. Within three  months, she had severe spinal pain and could barely walk. The ND  treated her with Carnivora tincture. She recovered sufficiently to  return to her medical doctor requesting another Lyme test. It was  positive for the Bannwarth variety of Lyme, the most serious form  that can quickly unravel your nervous system with symptoms ranging  from horrible neurological pain, to ALS symptoms, to schizophrenia.  Her MD then prescribed antibiotics. She didn’t reveal the Carnivora  therapy to protect the ND.

The wife made a full recovery to the astonishment of her MD, who  confided to her that he also had Bannwarth’s syndrome. He was  confused why she should make a full recovery and he was still ill  while he used the same antibiotic treatment on both. The only  difference in treatment was the Carnivora! The ND reports 100  percent success in his Lyme clients using Carnivora when they test  well for it by bioresonance testing.

Dr. Dan Kenner, LAc of Forestville, California is an expert on  botanical medicine, confirmed by his book: Botanical Medicine: a  European Professional Perspective. Hearing about Carnivora, he  traveled to Keller’s German clinic in 1990. He, too, observed  amazing cancer results. One woman in her late 50s was cured of  breast cancer, and is still cancer free to this day! “She is now  the picture of health and got the message to detox.”

Dr. Kenner’s own experience is with infection. “I had a woman who  had vaginal trichomonas (a parasite) continuously for months. It  failed every conventional and herbal treatment given. My jaw  dropped at the result. I gave her only the oral liquid extract and  within three days it totally cleared up. The product did miracles  for my female patients. It cleared other common vaginal infections  very quickly and became my number one treatment for vaginosis  (vaginal infections). Considering the miracles it did for already  formed cancer, I experimented with it topically (intravaginally) on  precancerous cervical lesions; I thought it might reverse them. In  fact, it reduced the grade (severity) of the dysplasia in every  case!

“I recommend one to two capsules daily for travel in the tropics.  None of my clients has ever become ill. It is the widest spectrum  antimicrobial, and one of the most versatile botanical substances  I’ve ever seen. In the case of viruses and protozoa, it is the most  powerful. A 45-year-old man had high titers of CMV and EBV (viral  infection) and massive brain fog. His viral titers shot down to  almost nothing three days after oral Carnivora was administered. In  bacterial infections, it’s synergistic with antibiotics. Dr. Keller  found that Carnivora extracts killed Lyme disease and even malaria  parasites.”

Folks, a plant juice that digests everything from insects and  cancers to parasites and Lyme, is an extremely powerful tool for a  variety of the most terrible scourges affecting mankind today. I  have heard of no toxic effects, although anyone can be allergic to  anything. I’ve already reviewed how stealth infections, especially  Lyme, can be behind over 300 different “maladies” encompassing  almost any neurological, psychological, immune or fatigue syndrome.  Samento, which I told you about in December, is a great start, but  the more natural weapons in our arsenal, the better!

Mild and moderate problems may respond to the capsules, anywhere  from six to nine per day in three divided doses. More is not  necessarily better. More serious cases should add the tincture as  well. For Lyme, most physicians are recommending the use of  sublingual drops as well — 20 drops, six to eight times daily with  one drop of DMSO to enhance its absorption. Hold these under the  tongue two minutes before swallowing.  I have not heard of any significant or unpleasant “die off”  reactions, which are so prevalent with antibiotics. That’s a great  encouragement.

Carnivora is the only brand of Venus’s-flytrap I recommend. Most  others are diluted with problematic solvents like propylene glycol,  alcohol, or have glycerin added. These additives dilute your  product, and can have negative effects on their own. Carnivora is  100 percent undiluted and uncut. It’s manufactured in a GMP  facility (good manufacturing plant, with government standards), and  is sterile.

You can get Carnivora directly from the company, Carnivora  Research, Inc., 866-836-8735, or visit www.carnivora.com on the  Internet. 
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Vietnamese Herb Reverses Prostate Cancer

Last year, I told you about Crinum, an herb from Vietnam that  fights prostate problems. If you have prostate or ovarian  cancer, Crinum could be the answer you’re looking for. Just ask  Colin Pham.

Colin is a 52-year-old contractor who told me, “I was diagnosed  with prostate cancer in 1999 with a PSA of 40 and my biopsy  confirmed prostate cancer. My doctor recommended surgery, anti- hormone therapy, and radiation.

“My brother’s daughter urged me to purchase Healthy  Prostate/Ovary formula. My symptoms were frequent nighttime  urination, and difficult and painful urination during the day. I  improved quickly within five days after the commencement of the  herbs, and my sleeping patterns became progressively better each  day.

“After three years of taking the herbs, I had a check-up with my  urologist and for my curiosity I requested a prostate biopsy. To  my surprise and my doctor’s, there were no cancer cells present  in all slices of my biopsies.

“During the three years of taking the herbs, my PSA fell to 12  and then rose to 20. I have no symptoms and I feel great.”

Colin is just one of many from whom I’ve received written  feedback.

Additionally, most of my personal clients report significant  reductions in nighttime urination using Crinum.

Even if Colin still has cancer missed by the biopsies, the  change in PSA over three years is insignificant. He’s had a  terrific quality of life, when with conventional methods, he  would likely be far less happy.

Can you expect Crinum to work for you?

Nothing works for everybody, but you might remember the result  of one Vietnamese clinical study I cited last year. The study  was conducted on patients with benign hypertrophy of the  prostate — 158 of these patients were given a Crinum-based  herbal preparation two times daily.

In 64 days, patients were evaluated by clinical and ultrasound  examination. Researchers found clinical symptoms resolving with  prostate size reducing to normal for 154 patients (97 percent).

The follow-up after three years confirmed a high rate of long- term success for those who finished the therapy.

Crinum appears to be living up to its promise. So if you’re  dissatisfied with conventional approaches to your prostate  problems, you might consider this herb.

Crinum is available in the formulation Healthy Prostate/Ovary  and can be purchased from Farmacopia (800-896-1484), NutriCology  (800-545-9960), and Get Well International (888-522-4372).

I’ll be reporting to you on another terrific breakthrough in the  management of prostate cancer in future issues.   ---

Throw the PSA Test Out the Window and Use This Test Instead      There’s a great way to determine the health of your prostate —  and fight prostate cancer at the same time. But it’s not the PSA  test.

I’ve told you for years that the PSA test is one of the worst  diagnostic tools you can use for prostate cancer. It’s downright  worthless at best, misleading and dangerous at worst. And now,  two major medical articles have proven me correct.

The first article appeared in the New England Journal of  Medicine (NEJM). And the PSA deathblow just arrived in the  October 2004 issue of Urology. This time, at last, bigwigs are  taking heed of the findings. If you have had or are considering  a PSA test, please read this carefully.

The NEJM article discussed a prevention trial of 18,882 men. Of  these men, 9,459 were randomly assigned to receive placebo and  undergo a yearly PSA test. During the study, 2,950 of those men  (aged 62-91) never had a PSA level above four ng/ml or a  positive rectal exam. In other words, they never had any  clinical or lab diagnosis of cancer.

These same men underwent biopsy after seven years in the  program. The results were shocking! Fifteen percent of the men  had positive biopsies and 15 percent of these had high-grade  cancer!

And that’s just the beginning. Prostate biopsies are taken by  random needle jabs into the gland. No matter how many sticks are  made, there’s no way to know if cancer lurks outside of the  tract of the needle. So the real incidence might be far higher.

And that brings us to the second article, which was written by  Dr. Thomas Stanley, the man who originally told us PSA could be  used to detect prostate cancer. The article, published in  Urology, completely debunks continued use of the PSA for cancer  screening. That’s right, the man who first promoted the test has  changed his mind!

He even went so far as to issue a press release saying, “The PSA  era is over in the United States.”

Wow, those are powerful words!

But there’s more. He said, “Our study raises a very serious  question of whether a man should even use the PSA for prostate  cancer screening anymore.... Our job now is to stop removing  every man’s prostate who has prostate cancer. We originally  thought we were doing the right thing, but we’re now figuring  out how we went wrong. Some men need prostate treatment, but  certainly not all of them.”

Check out those words, “how we went wrong.” I want to stress  them. Dr. Stanley deserves commendation for acknowledging his  error. This is rarely seen in medicine.

So what should you do about PSA? First, if using PSA at all, I  recommend the “free PSA” test. This test measures the percentage  of PSA that is not complexed (free floating) versus PSA, which  is complexed with other blood proteins. Prostate cancer tends to  have more complexed PSA. The higher your free PSA, the lower the  chances of cancer. I think this is a valuable test.

If you still decide to have a PSA test done, you need to use  your own good common sense. A single PSA level means little, no  matter how high it is (unless it’s over 15 or so). Follow it  over time. If it’s rising quickly and the free PSA percentage is  falling, chances are higher that cancer exists. Even then, I  wouldn’t rush off to biopsy.

My treatment plan wouldn’t change regardless of the pathology  report.

If you want to prevent prostate cancer, I strongly urge you to  have your vitamin D levels checked regularly. Doing so, and  correcting any deficiencies, will reduce your risk of cancer by  80 percent!

Vitamin D is crucial in preventing prostate cancer.  International vitamin D experts are now calling for a revision  in the RDA, as there’s no evidence of toxicity in daily intakes  up to at least 10,000 IU.

I routinely measure vitamin D as 25-hydroxyvitamin D. While most  folks are within the reference range, they are far from my ideal  levels of 45-50 ng/ml or 115-128 nmol/l. I currently have  almost all of my male patients on a D3 supplement or cod liver  oil (4,000 IU daily). I also suggest common sense exposure to  sunlight. That doesn’t include burning your skin.

This isn’t all I do to treat the prostate, but it’s a far better  way to test for prostate cancer risk than the PSA test. In  future issues, I’ll have more treatments you and your doctor can  use to successfully treat prostate cancer.

One final note: Several of you have asked about the AMAS test  after seeing endorsements for it from other doctors. AMAS, which  stands for Anti-Malignin Antibody in Serum, is an FDA-approved  test that allegedly detects non-specific cancer antigen  (protein). This means that even if it does work, and is  positive, that you already have cancer. But the test cannot  tell you where or in what organ.

I admit, it sounds great to have a cancer screen, even if it’s  non-specific. However, those of us with hands-on experience with  AMAS don’t have a positive view of the test. The Orthomolecular  Society meetings in San Francisco attract some of the brightest  physicians in alternative medicine. We had an engaging  discussion of our AMAS experiences and none of us were pleased.

In particular, we repeatedly found negative tests when cancer was present, and in all stages (early, intermediate, and  advanced). If the test is positive, it means you may have cancer  somewhere in your body. But if negative, it would tell me  nothing. What good is either reading? I abandoned the test many  years ago, and many of my colleagues have told me they have done likewise. 
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Redesigned Supplement Fights Breast and Prostate Cancer 
 
I showed you last month how a fairly popular supplement, indole-3-carbinole (I3C), is coming under scrutiny because of concerns about its safety. The evidence that this supplement may encourage cancer is really beginning to stack up. You may remember from last month's article that some estrogen byproducts are good (2-hydroxy estrogen) and some are bad (16-hydroxy estrogen and 4-hydroxy estrogen).

The manufacturers of I3C say the product helps your body produce more of the good estrogen byproducts. This is true. But what was not known, until recently, is that I3C also produces 4-hydroxy estrogen - definitely one of the bad guys. This estrogen byproduct is a major producer of inflammation and toxic free radicals. And it can lead to cancer, heart problems, and many inflammatory diseases, including arthritis.

What we need is a product that can help the body create more good estrogen byproducts and reduce the number of all the bad byproducts. The good news is there's a dietary supplement that can do all this, and so much more.

In fact, there's strong evidence this supplement can help prevent all hormone-related cancers, including breast, prostate, and uterine cancers.

The supplement is a nutrient commonly found in broccoli and cauliflower. You know I love vegetables, and cruciferous vegetables are strong medicinal plants. Well, our old friend DIM (diindolylmethane) is one reason these veggies are such powerful healers.

DIM is a supplement I've long supported and used. It works by preventing the unwanted damage caused by excess estrogen and man-made poisons (called xenobiotics). When your body detects these toxins, it responds by increasing the production of a chemical receptor in your cells called AhR (aryl hydrocarbon receptor). When AhR reacts with the excess estrogen or xenobiotics, it creates the dangerous 4-hydroxy estrogen.

Your body constantly fights against toxins, so it's creating these estrogen byproducts daily. When your body creates too many bad estrogen byproducts (due to an overload of estrogen or xenobiotics), it causes inflammation - the cause of many diseases.

Unlike I3C, which is considered unstable and reactive in your body, DIM is a stable byproduct of I3C. Because it's the favorable end product of I3C, it has more specific and limited effects on estrogen. DIM produces a more modest increase in the beneficial 2-hydroxy estrogen. And it decreases 4-hydroxy estrogen by 20% or more.

But, most importantly, DIM does all this without activating AhR! In fact, it does the opposite, which sets DIM apart from I3C.

Just How Effective Is DIM?

In a landmark study published in 2004, Harvard researchers followed DIM into the nucleus of the cell and showed that it shut down the AhR system. They found that DIM actually binds the AhR receptor protein and hauls it into the nucleus. That process turns down (or off) the trouble-causing AhR. With AhR activity reduced, carcinogens become less dangerous (they do far less damage when left alone). This is a protective mechanism against xenobiotics never before described.

When study participants were given DIM, just 100 mg daily increased the ratio of 2/16 by 40%. When given 300 mg daily, the ratio increased by 100%.

Now remember, women with the lowest 2/16 ratio have the highest subsequent risk of developing breast cancer. So increasing the ratio by 40-100% greatly decreases their risk of getting breast cancer.

Not All DIM Is the Same

While the research behind DIM is pretty amazing, there's a new form of DIM that is even more spectacular. In fact, new studies show that the typical crystalline DIM doesn't have as strong of an impact on the ratio of 2-hydroxy estrogen to 16-hydroxy estrogen as a newly redesigned form. Why? Because DIM is not very soluble. Solubility is a key factor in nutrient absorption.

The new form, which was designed for high absorption, significantly increases the 2/16 ratio and fights disease. Just look at what it did for colleague Roger Servin:

It's a Powerful Prostate Protector

Roger is a holistic health practitioner from Naples, Florida. At 75, his PSA was 4.7. So he started taking 150 mg, two times daily of the new DIM. Within six weeks, his PSA fell to 4.1. Six months later, it was 4.0. "My body fat has gone down as well, from 14% to 10% and my stomach has hardened up. I have the body of a young man," he told me.

And this isn't a one-time occurrence. In a pilot clinical study, using the new form of DIM, 11 of 12 men saw a statistically significant fall in their PSA.

Dr. Michael Zelig, who performed the study (and manufactures the product), said, "In at least two of these men, the use of this supplement has resulted in the disappearance of abnormal prostate cells on repeat biopsy, after preliminary biopsy showed prostate intra-epithelial neoplasia (PIN). PIN is a precursor lesion to prostate cancer with similarities to cervical cancer." PIN is equivalent to cancer before it has invaded tissue. DIM appears to enhance the cell death of abnormal prostate cells.

These are results we've not seen with traditional DIM products.

What About Breast Cancer?

Remember the results of the Harvard study on regular DIM and breast cancer? They were pretty impressive. However, the new DIM significantly outperformed its older cousin. This time, researchers studied breast cancer survivors. The subjects were treated with 300 mg of the new micro-encapsulated DIM formulation, which contains 75 mg of absorbable DIM. In these women with a history of breast cancer, their 2/16 ratio increased by 60% compared to 0% change in the control group.

This, along with the Harvard study, proves that the 2/16 ratio can be modified in those who get cancer. And it also proves that women who are at higher risk can reduce their risk even more by using the new form of DIM. (The study also showed that recurrent breast pain, called cyclical mastalgia, could be dramatically improved with DIM, by about 66%.)

Proof That DIM Lowers Your Risk

Fortunately, we now have the technology to further prove how effective DIM is.

You know I'm a fan of breast thermography, the scanning technology that looks at heat emissions within the breast. The more heat that shows up on the scan, the more likely you are to get cancer. I've seen two documented cases where abnormal breast thermograms were reversed on a program that included using the new formulation of DIM.

One went from a moderate risk to a low risk. Additionally, this woman reported more stable moods, increased energy levels, less abdominal girth, and an easier time losing weight.

I've seen evidence that uterine fibroid tumor size can be reduced over months with DIM. Fibroid tissue is estrogen sensitive.

I've also heard plenty of anecdotal evidence. One woman I spoke with, Barbara Rogers, told me an incredible story. Barbara was having monthly breast pain so bad that it was difficult for her to sleep or even have her children sit on her lap. Anything touching her breasts, no matter how light, caused severe pain.

A doctor suggested the new form of DIM. Within a few months, the pain vanished! She continued it for two years. Then she stopped. "I did not understand the name 'DIM' and was a little afraid of it. So I began natural progesterone, after reading of its benefits. Within a few months, the pain returned, nearly in full. I stayed on the progesterone for one-and-a-half years. The pain remained. Then I went to another integrative physician who recommended restarting the DIM and stopped the progesterone. Within a few months, my breast pain was all gone again."

Action to Take

I strongly suggest you begin taking a high-quality DIM product. I now consider it the most important supplement for both men and women. My preference is a patented formulation of DIM found in the product BioResponse DIM. While I'd like to see more independent research on this formulation, what I have seen is impressive. This unique formulation combines DIM with vitamin E and phosphatidyl choline in a process with a starch matrix. This makes it absorbable.

Just two 150 mg capsules provide absorbable DIM equivalent to eating about two pounds of raw broccoli. I recommend one per day for prevention, and two per day (one twice daily) for sustained continuous benefits if you have any inflammatory disease (especially cancer).

I don't know of any studies evaluating DIM's effects on invasive cancer. But this information strongly suggests a powerful role in its ability to fight hormone-related cancers. It's safe, relatively inexpensive, and a natural substance with no known risk. I know of no downside to DIM.

You can find "BioResponse DIM" - containing DIM products in many health food stores. Or search online for "BioResponse DIM." Shop for the best price.

I also recommend the book All About DIM by Dr. Michael Zelig, who was a big source of information for this article. The book is available from Vitality Fit (888-485-5851) and through most bookstores.
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Another Simple Way to Get More Glutathione

Last month, I showed you how inhaled glutathione can greatly help COPD patients. We're delighted to use this method in our office. But glutathione is a wonderful nutrient that helps a lot more than just your lungs. So it's important to increase your body's store of the peptide.

As I mentioned in the last issue, the digestive tract usually breaks down glutathione that's ingested, making it difficult to supplement the nutrient. However, inhaling glutathione isn't the only way to get glutathione into your system.

Way back in medical school, I remember we were giving a mysterious drug called Mucomyst by nebulized inhalation to emphysema patients to help break up secretions. It was observed that this "stuff" also protected livers from destruction due to acetaminophen (Tylenol) overdose.

What was the secret of Mucomyst? It was a potent antioxidant called acetyl cysteine, but more commonly known to us as the very common nutritional supplement - N-acetyl cysteine (NAC). NAC is a super nutrient. It encourages the synthesis of glutathione right in your own cells. More glutathione means more resistance to just about everything.

NAC provides the most important raw material - the amino acid cysteine. Cysteine can be irritating if taken in its natural form. In its acetyl form (NAC), this problem is resolved. However, there's a limiting biochemical step in going from cysteine to glutathione. It must be linked with another amino acid called glutamine.

This difficult step can be bypassed by taking undenatured whey protein, which has lots of cysteine-glutamic acid amino acid linkages (peptides). You can buy NAC and undenatured whey protein at most health food stores. (I also take Source Naturals Sublingual Glutathione).
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How DIM Fights Cancer and Boosts Libido

I told you a couple months ago about the wonder benefits of DIM on prostate, breast, and uterine cancers. This month, I've got more information for you on how DIM fights these cancers and also increases your sex drive.

For a long time, researchers thought testosterone was the culprit in all prostate problems. But that has changed. Researchers have found that higher estrogen levels are common in men with both an enlarged prostate and prostate cancer. And they've also found out that testosterone isn't the bad guy once believed!

In fact, both sexes need testosterone. It's an anabolic (tissue building) hormone. For seniors whose levels have fallen considerably since youth, extra testosterone is very important for quality of life, especially sex life. Less testosterone in your brain means less libido.

In my original letter about DIM, I told you that this wonderful supplement improves estrogen metabolism, which is great for the prostate. But it does even more than that. DIM can increase circulating levels of testosterone. So it helps modulate estrogen and increases testosterone levels.

If you can restore your blood levels of testosterone, you can improve your sexual function and gain all of testosterone's other anti-aging effects.

And, for an aging man whose waistline is increasing, the extra fat leads to increased estrogen and reduced testosterone. So DIM becomes an even more important supplement for those who have gained weight with age.

While your body clears DIM in seven hours, its benefits on estrogen metabolism last 24 hours. So if you're taking DIM every day, which you should be, then you're getting continuous beneficial effects. This breakthrough information on DIM has pushed it to a top position on my short list of recommended supplements for everyone.

More Trouble From Plastic

I've warned you in the past about plasticizers, the chemicals in plastic that provide softness and flexibility. Phthalates (toxic chemicals found in plastic) can leak out of the plastic and into your food and water. Now comes more startling information on their dangers.

Previous studies have shown that these chemicals can lead to sexual disturbances in male animals. Seems the plasticizers have powerful estrogen-like effects. Now these chemicals have been found to do the same in humans.

Researchers in Sweden studied 85 baby boys and their mothers. They found a shortening of the distance from the anus to the base of their penis in the boys whose mothers had the highest levels of phthalates. Additionally, they had a smaller than average penile volume, scrotal development, and a 150% increased chance of having undescended testicles. Of course, the chemical manufacturers dispute the findings, claiming defects in the study.

Action to take: There may well be some defects in the study. However, there's enough incriminating evidence against phthalates and other manmade chemicals that it should be a no-brainer to avoid them.

Phthalates may have behavioral effects on feminizing the developing fetus. Their powerful estrogen-like effects may increase your risk of developing prostate, breast, or other cancers. Perhaps they can also damage your virility. Look for alternatives to commonly used petroleum products. These include paint, plastics, perfumes, nail polish, deodorants, cleaners, carpet backing, and, yes, even your cosmetics. Finding products without phthalates is tough, but they are available in most cases. Check with your local health food store.
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The Three Most Important Nutrients for Treating and Preventing Prostate Cancer

Up to 30,000 men in the USA will die from prostate cancer every year. If you're concerned about prostate cancer, there are three nutrients you must include in your daily supplement regimen.

The first nutrient I told you about a couple months ago is DIM. It's so powerful in preventing and treating prostate problems, including cancer, that it's now on my list of must-take nutrients.

Dr. Michael Zelig says, "The use of this supplement has resulted in the disappearance of abnormal prostate cells on repeat biopsy...." DIM actually enhances the death rate of prostate cancer cells.

The second nutrient you need to fight prostate cancer is vitamin D. This one is becoming so well accepted that even conventional medicine is using it. A synthetic form of vitamin D (DN-101) has been found to increase the survival in men with prostate cancer by two years. Medical pundits are raving about this "big step forward" in that two years is the "highest ever seen in a randomized study." The drug was administered simultaneously with a chemotherapy drug, docetaxel.

However, you don't need an imitation vitamin D to fight prostate cancer. Take the real thing - and lots of it. If you were in the tropics undressed, your body would use the sun to manufacture up to 10,000 units of vitamin D in one day. So the current RDA of 400 IU is ridiculously inadequate. If you can't get out in the sun enough, consider cod liver oil. Next to the sun, it's the best source of the vitamin.

I recommend you take 4,000-5,000 IU per day of vitamin D in supplemental form. I know of no risk to this amount of vitamin D. As an aside, your bones and arteries will love you for it as well. Vitamin D can protect against hypertension and bone loss.

And, finally, the last nutrient you must take is green tea. In a recent study, 62 volunteers aged 45-75 were divided into two groups. The experimental group received 200 mg three times daily of green tea catechins (GTC). These are the incredible antioxidants in green tea. The other group received a placebo.

The men had prostate biopsies at six months and again at one year. The GTC group had one case of prostate cancer. Nine cases were found in the untreated group - a rate of 30%. That's consistent with what would be expected. The green tea extract group had a 90% reduced risk in this small study. There were no significant side effects or adverse reactions with the use of green tea.

The amount of green tea extract (600 mg) in this study was between one and two times the amounts regularly consumed in China. There, the population averages 10-20 cups daily of the complete tea rather than encapsulated extracts.

A fourth nutrient to consider is selenium, repeatedly reported here as a strong preventer of prostate cancer.
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The Popular Fruit That Prevents Pancreatic Cancer 
 
Want to have your cake and eat it, too? When it comes to the miracle nutrient lycopene, it appears that you can. 

Lycopene is the red pigment that gives tomatoes and some other foods their rich red color. Food pigments are flavonoids, which have enormous free-radical scavenging ability. Plants manufacture them to protect themselves from the free-radical inducing effects of the sun’s rays.

Most men are already aware of the great benefits of lycopene, as it’s been shown to significantly reduce the risk of prostate cancer. But the cancer-fighting benefits of lycopene don’t stop there.

A new study shows that another type of cancer — pancreatic cancer – is vulnerable to lycopene. Pancreatic cancer is a tough cookie because its symptoms are well hidden, usually until late in the disease process. Prevention here is worth a million treatments.

A Canadian research team has found that people with the highest intake of lycopene had a striking 31% lower risk of this terrible cancer. The researchers noted that the lycopene in these diets came mostly from tomato products.

You can be sure that the cancer prevention list will not end here. If research is done, I predict it will find lycopene, and other colored plant pigments reduce not only other cancers, but other chronic diseases as well. The average American diet is very deficient in these compounds.

Now here’s the rub. You know I’m a fan of living foods. But research has shown that lycopene in tomatoes is absorbed better when the tomatoes are cooked. So you get the lycopene, which is heat stable, but lose the vitamin C and other nutrients, which are less heat tolerant. So what should you do?

First, feel free to eat cooked tomato products. Even as a proponent of living foods, I still love tomato products, cooked or uncooked. I just prefer foods that are not denatured by heat.

However, I have to tell you about some interesting information I found on another lycopene source — watermelon. Yes, the red pigment in watermelon is our friend lycopene!

But you don’t want to cook watermelon, do you? I sure don’t. So, can your body absorb the lycopene? Usually, you have to cook a vegetable to make the lycopene more available. However, this isn’t true with watermelon!

A trio of scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (part of the USDA) set out to examine the lycopene in watermelons. Using a simple metering device that measures color, they examined the lycopene content of various types of watermelons.
“Lycopene content varied widely among cultivars and types, but the seedless ones tended to have more. Results showed that watermelon has as much or more lycopene as raw tomatoes and that the amount depends on both variety and growing conditions.” But as mentioned, the lycopene in tomatoes is more bioavailable with cooking.

In late summer 2000, two ARS researchers conducted a 19-week study on 23 healthy adults to assess the absorption of watermelon lycopene. Watermelon was juiced and frozen immediately without pasteurization. It was defrosted just before it was consumed, and the lycopene content analyzed. Participants were given a random regimen of supplemental lycopene from watermelon juice or tomato juice compared to the control group, which received no juice. All were on a lycopene-restricted diet otherwise.

The researchers were surprised to find that lycopene bioavailability from unheated watermelon juice was the same as from pasteurized tomato juice. What wonderful news, bioavailable lycopene from an uncooked source with all its other nutrients intact.

Watermelon is a great source of vitamins A, B6, C, and thiamin. Studies have shown that a cup and a half of watermelon contains about 9 to 13 milligrams of lycopene. That’s about 40% more lycopene on average than raw tomatoes. The riper (not overripe), the richer it is in lycopene.

I know winter is upon us, but watermelon is even available in winter. It’s grown in desert areas. So enrich your diet with live watermelon, a lycopene source carrying all the other benefits of uncooked food.
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Beat Prostate Cancer With This One-Two Punch 
 
I’ve known for years that the curry spice turmeric inhibits prostate cancer. In India, where curry is a staple, prostate cancer is uncommon. I’ve traveled to India many times and I’ve seen firsthand how effective this spice is. But I’ve just learned that there’s a way to make this spice even more effective.

A group of scientists from Rutgers University in New Jersey was well aware that the active chemical curcumin gave curry its cancer-fighting qualities. The scientists also knew that phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), a naturally occurring compound in cruciferous vegetables, also has anti-cancer qualities. So they wanted to find out how effective the combination of curcumin and PEITC would be in fighting cancer.

The researchers conducted the study in two parts. First, they injected mice with curcumin or PEITC, alone or in combination. The injections were given three times a week for four weeks. The day after the very first injection, they also injected prostate cancer cells.

They found curcumin or PEITC significantly slowed the growth of cancerous tumors. Using PEITC and curcumin together produced even stronger effects.

The second step was to see if the combination would help mice with well-established tumors. Their results showed that PEITC or curcumin alone had little effect. However, when they used both chemicals together, the combination significantly slowed tumor growth.

The cocktail appeared to inhibit tumor cell division. It also induced apoptosis (programmed cell death of abnormal cells).

The researchers’ conclusions were remarkable: “Our results show that PEITC and curcumin alone or in combination possess significant cancer-preventive activities.... Furthermore, we found that combination of PEITC and curcumin could be effective in the cancer-therapeutic treatment of prostate cancers.”

Wow! What have I been telling you for years about the power of plants? Imagine if this report were about a cocktail of patented chemotherapy drugs. It would have been on the front cover of every newspaper in the country. But you can’t patent a head of broccoli — so this wasn’t newsworthy.

Right now, you can’t get PEITC in supplement form. And it’s not yet available as a doctor-administered injection. While I expect that to change before too long, you can get plenty simply by eating cruciferous vegetables every day.

These chemicals are more available when the vegetables are heated. But heat also causes a protein to be released that binds to sulfur compounds (PEITC). That reduces the chemicals’ effectiveness at fighting cancer.

But there’s a simple way to overcome this problem. A researcher at the University of Illinois has discovered a method to maximize the benefit from these cancer-fighting chemicals of broccoli, while preventing the release of the sulfur-reducing protein.

Dr. Elizabeth Jeffery found that heating broccoli to 140 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes maximizes the effectiveness of these cancer-fighting chemicals.

You can approximate this by lightly steaming your broccoli for three or four minutes until they’re between tough and tender in consistency (this is especially effective with broccoli). You can also do this with other cruciferous veggies, such as watercress, cabbage, winter cress, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and turnips. (Note: I include a moderate amount of these in my juice in their raw form).

Curry’s compound, curcumin, is available at any health food store as a supplement. I’ve suggested 500 mg twice daily for most people. And now I suggest you take the supplement when you eat your cruciferous vegetables. (I also take Broccoli extract from Swanson, and use a Vitamix with specific fresh vegetables)
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DIM has been shown in studies to be quite helpful in prostate cancer by reducing DHT and estrogen. DIM is oil-soluble, so you cannot just take a capsule containing dry powder, or a tablet (bioperine increases absorption somewhat, but I open and mix my curcumin, quercetin and dim capsules into purified fish or EV olive oil. When I had DIM tablets, I put them in some food containing oil (actually, about 1-2 TBS of plain, unsweetened goat yogurt to which I had added quite a bit of EV olive oil and a little Stevia sweetener) and chewed the tablet into the oil and food prior to swallowing.

I have experienced a great improvement in my BPH (enlarged prostate) in reduced frequency of urination at night myself with this protocol. In addition, my hair on my head is growing back -- DHT (bound testosterone) is a factor in hair loss, BPH and prostate cancer, and the protocol I'm on reduces DHT.
 
Bananas -- even unripened ones -- are high in starch, which gets converted to sugar in the body, so I'd avoid fruit if I had active cancer. Dr. Blaylock says with active cancer to eat no fruit, but to take concentrated berry extracts. Avocado  is high in mono-unsaturated fat (omega-9), as is olive oil. They are good for you, but I wouldn't say that they are particularly strong against cancer. Pomegranate/ellagic acid extract is much stronger against cancer, as are plenty of enzymes, along with curcumin + quercetin well-mixed in olive or purified fish oil, and Boswellia, and Zyflamend (if not available, see the ingredients for it and try to get them individually.
 
I wouldn't eat walnuts because they're high in ALA, like flax seed oil, and can cause problems with the prostate in cancer patients because the body often lacks enough of the enzyme to convert ALA to EPA/DHA (fish oil); I take purified (molecularly-distilled) fish oil instead. We add a little water (just enough so that it can be blended and form a thick juice), and a couple tablespoonfuls of Cold-Pressed Extra Virgin olive oil -- not "Virgin olive oil", which is extracted using heat and chemicals after all of the good phytonutrients are extracted into the Extra Virgin oil that the manufacturer is making. See my Metabolic Typing pages for some quick tests to determine your metabolic type and how much fat you need. I'm a protein type, so I need a lot of healthy fats (4 TBS/d EV olive, 1TBS/d EV coconut, 4 capsules/d GLA/Borage, 3TBS/d fish oil, small handful of raw pumpkin seeds (particularly good for prostate), some raw Brazil nuts, (I don't eat almonds any more, since the government's poisoned them here in the U.S. with propylene oxide, a carcinogen, and has permitted manufacturers to still label them as "raw" and not mention the cancer-causing ingredient), some line-caught cannded wild salmon (it costs a lot less than fresh wild salmon -- not "farmed", which is low in omega-3 oils and high in mercury and pesticides!). Besides the olive oil in my juice, I add it to my steel-cut raw oatmeal and other foods (see my "Regimen" on the website).
 
Because kale, broccoli and Brussels sprouts can contain chemicals that inhibit the thyroid gland in their raw state, I suggest lightly steaming them before blenderizing to neutralize the chemicals (Note: I include a moderate amount of these in my juice in their raw form).
 
Dr. Elizabeth Jeffery found that heating broccoli to 140 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes maximizes the effectiveness of cruciferous vegetables' cancer-fighting chemicals (PEITC). You can approximate this by lightly steaming your broccoli for three or four minutes until they’re between tough and tender in consistency (this is especially effective with broccoli). You can also do this with other cruciferous veggies, such as watercress, cabbage, winter cress, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and turnips. I also take Broccoli extract from Swanson, and use a Vitamix with specific fresh vegetables.
 
I use only raw vegetables in my juice. My Cancer&RawFood page tells what vegetables should be included -- oxalic acid in spinach, chard and beet greens is not really a concern, because I eat a variety of the recommended vegetables, not just large amounts of raw spinach. I'm not sure if you can freeze the specific vegetables that are higher in oxalic acid and cruciferous vegetables, but you needn't freeze all vegetables prior to blenderizing them. You might see: http://growingtaste.com/oxalicacid.shtml for reference amounts of oxalic acid -- but, I don't consider it a problem (unless someone was eating large amounts of the ones highest in oxalic acid and had kidney disease, perhaps). I also take 3 drops of Tri-Quench potassium iodide solution (a concentrated source of iodine) that counteracts the iodine-binding of goitrogen vegetables (cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, bind iodine and make it unavailable to the thyroid, and can cause hypothyroidism if you don't take additional iodine. Dr. Rowen's information above about lightly steaming your cruciferous vegetables prior to blenderizing, in addition to taking the Tri-Quench would probably be the best idea, along with also including a moderate amount of raw cruciferous vegetables in your blenderized juice (Note: all non-cruciferous vegetables should be raw so that the enzymes and phytonutrients aren't destroyed). You might research if freezing the cruciferous vegetables and the vegetables highest in oxalic acid would counteract the side effects as well as lightly steaming them.

I take 3 capsules/day of Dandelion; it helps support the liver and remove toxins.
 
I don't particularly recommend Acai as additional supplement: it's a "current fad" tropical fruit that is overpriced and overhyped and not as good as pomegranate/ellagic acid extract. Note: pomegranate juice is not a good replacement, because it's high in sugar.
 
To blend flax seed, I use this grinder: http://www.goldflaxseed.com/site/1411640/product/grd001  Flax seeds are not absorbed if they're not ground (you cannot completely chew them into as small pieces as a grinder can). Note that you need to add water to them & stir, and eat within 15 minutes or the oil in them starts to go rancid.
 
Is blending worth the effort? Definitely -- it's a crucial part of the cancer protocol! When we chew our food, we get about 10% of the phytonutrients from them; blenderizing (with VitaMix 5000, which is variable-speed) lets you absorb about 90% of the nutrition from them, but you also need to be careful to choose certain vegetables each day, too. Note that we do not blend the vegetables in to a mushy, fine pulp, but rather into a coarse, thick juice eaten with a spoon that needs to be chewed somewhat. We use the variable speed on lower settings, because the surface heat of the blades of a high speed blender destroys the enzymes and damages the phytonutrients. Blenderizing releases the anti-cancer flavonoids and phytonutrients so that each cup of the mix is equal to eating five servings of vegetables -- 2 eight ounce cups equals 12 servings of chewed vegetables.

Do Omega-3 Fatty Acids Prevent Cancer?

In last month’s issue, I told you aspirin doesn’t work to fight off cancer. I also told you that aspirin is a worthless product and shouldn’t be used for anything. I know a lot of people use aspirin to fight inflammation, so I suggested using omega-3 fatty acids instead. Now scientists want to know if omega-3 fatty acids will fight cancer (cancer is an inflammatory disease).

There’s a good bit of research indicating omega-3s are effective in controlling malignancies. But in a recent study, researchers found that eating fish and other foods high in omega-3s doesn’t ward off malignancies. What gives?

The authors admitted their results seem to conflict with earlier studies that suggest a protective effect from omega-3s. But they shrugged off those studies to inadequacies in the studies and/or differences in omega-3 from foods or dietary supplements.

In this study, the authors evaluated already published studies to reach a consensus. They evaluated 65 studies. They state that only eight were statistically significant and that there was conflicting evidence for an association with cancer risk across many of the studies.

For example, they found one study indicating that for breast cancer there was actually an increased risk for cancer associated with omega-3. But there were three other studies suggesting a decreased risk. And yet seven other studies showed no significant association between breast cancer risk and omega-3 consumption.

For lung cancer and omega-3s, one study showed a triple increased risk and another showed a two-thirds decreased risk. Four others showed no significant associations.

In the case of advanced prostate cancer, again, one study showed a nearly double increased risk and one estimated a nearly 60% decreased risk and 15 others found no association. Now, if omega-3s were a drug, you can be sure the FDA would have thrown out the negative studies and gone with the positive ones.

Recent scandals have shown that medical research is rife with researchers setting up studies to give them the results they want, not necessarily the truth. In this study, the authors depended upon previously done studies that were based on dietary questionnaires. That tells me little. How do we know the surveys were accurate? How do we know the entire picture of the studied population? Did the studies evaluate for the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6? I seriously doubt it.

All of the studies were deficient in that they had no way to evaluate the level of antioxidants taken in by the studied groups. Why is that important? Because if your diet is rich in highly unsaturated fatty acids, the lack of antioxidants may allow them to become dangerously oxidized, negating any beneficial effects.

Finally, the studies I like best when it comes to this subject are those that actually measure the amount of fatty acids in blood or target tissue. In the case of prostate cancer, for instance, researchers have shown that there is a lack of omega-3 fatty acids as compared to non-cancerous prostates.

I am more convinced than ever that omega 3 is essential to your health. The work of Dr. Patricia Kane and others proves there’s much more to this story than conventional medicine understands.
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Q: My father has prostate cancer.  He is currently taking artemisinin (thanks to your newsletter). His cancer appears to be in remission and he has gained 25 pounds! Thank you! — Liz A., Rhode Island

A: I’m ecstatic that I was able to help your father. Thanks for the feedback. It’s always nice to hear about your experiences with alternative medicine.
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IPT Gets Even Better 
 
I recently received the following letter. The answer is so important that it required more space than I could give it on page 8, so we’re running it in this space instead. In the letter, Harold asks: Dr. Rowen, a few years ago you wrote about IPT, insulin potentiation therapy, as a novel treatment for cancer. You have not addressed the topic again. Can you give me an update? There is a new case of cancer in my family.

IPT is a method to enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy on cancer cells. Cancer cells burn sugar. They have a ton of insulin receptors on their membranes (a lot more than normal cells). That allows them to suck up sugar. But insulin also makes their membranes more porous. So when you give chemotherapy with insulin, the chemo preferentially moves into the cancer cells. Because the treatment targets cancer cells better than usual chemotherapy treatments, you need much less than the usual dose. This spares you much of the toxicity you would normally get from chemo.

The news was good then, but it’s much better now. I regularly talk with brilliant doctors who are using the treatment. They’ve taken IPT management of cancer to new levels. The theory is that cancer arises in people awash in infections, toxins, and deficiencies (especially minerals). They maintain that there’s little room to recover unless the body’s drainage systems (kidneys and liver) are optimally functioning. In other words, what good is it if you kill the cancer only to die of its breakdown poisons that you can’t eliminate?

I have investigated programs combining a vigorous detox, complete with oral herbs and daily coffee enemas (the latter for liver detox). Minerals are administered both orally and by infusion. Then, IPT is administered. High-dose vitamin C follows shortly after.

I have reviewed several incredible cases, combining these methods, including those from a Mexican facility. There are some awesome results. In one stack of records over a 16-month period, I found only one death (I’m excluding those patients who arrived at the clinic virtually at death’s door). And that one death wasn’t even from the cancer. There were dramatic reversals from moderately advanced prostate, breast, colon, and other cancers.

One 59-year-old woman had advanced chronic leukemia. Her white cell count topped over 122,000 (normal is usually under 10,000). She suffered from anemia and low platelets. She received chemo by IPT, together with the complete program I just described. In the face of chemo, her red cell count was restored. Her platelets jumped from 30,000 (low) to 122,000 (acceptable). That’s unheard of in conventional chemo. The cancerous white cells dropped to about 30,000. These numbers have been stable for months. She’s suffered no toxicity!

I interviewed a New Mexico woman who had far advanced breast cancer and was not expected to live. She did receive modified IPT from a cooperating oncologist while receiving a home IV metabolic program prescribed by her naturopath. The latter was administered by her husband. Now four years later, she is free of known disease after having 37 documented metastases.

A 74-year-old man with stage-4 prostate cancer is now virtually free of tumor. His metabolic program (including IPT and a vaccine) cleared his distant metastases, confirmed by scans. A urethral surgery in Mexico scraped out what little remained of his local tumor.

Mexican physician Donato Perez Garcia discovered IPT. His son and grandson (same name) have continued it. IPT practitioners worldwide are developing their own methods to enhance the effectiveness of this kinder, gentler approach to cancer. This very month, IPT physicians from around the world are meeting in Atlanta to share their experiences. For more information, please visit www.iptforcancer.com , sponsored by the Elka Best foundation. I’ll have more to report on IPT after the conference.
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Simple test reveals How Your Body Causes Cancer to Grow Faster — And How You Can Stop It 
 
Many years ago, this newsletter showed you how drugs can actually fuel cancer and cause it to grow. But now there’s evidence that drugs aren’t the only fuel that feeds cancer. Your body actually creates a fuel that’s far more dangerous than drugs. In fact, the amount of this fuel your body creates determines how fast your cancer will grow.

And while this sounds terrible, there’s some great news to go along with it. Because your body creates this fuel, and because we already know why your body creates it, we now have a lot more power over cancer than ever before.

In fact, if you already have cancer, we can now determine how aggressive that cancer will be. But, more importantly, we can put a clamp on cancer’s feeding tube. That means you can stop feeding your cancer and let it go hungry.

On the other hand, if you don’t have cancer, we now have a pretty good idea of how to predict your cancer risk. And we also have the ability to prevent it from ever growing in the first place.

All of this means you and you alone can control your major risk of invasive cancer. Not your doctor. Not your pharmacist. Just you!

The fuel I’ve referred to is insulin. You might remember that I’ve repeatedly referred to insulin as the hormone of aging and death. With this report, you’ll understand much more of that statement.

Insulin, as you know, is the hormone that controls your blood glucose (sugar). Your pancreas makes more insulin when you ingest carbohydrates, especially simple or refined carbs. Your body knows that too much sugar is bad for your circulation, eyes, kidneys, and just about every part of your body. When blood sugar is too high,  can reduce the blood flow to your capillaries (smallest blood vessels). You don’t want that. So your body’s control mechanism is insulin.

But too much insulin carries its own problems. Insulin converts the excess carbs into fat for storage. It stuffs the fat into your arteries, increases your abdominal fat, and raises your cholesterol, uric acid, lipids and blood pressure. This results in what is now called metabolic syndrome.

Now, how does insulin relate to cancer? Jan Hammarsten, MD, PhD, a urological surgeon in a Swedish hospital, has the answer. He’s been at the forefront of research into the connection of insulin and prostate cancer. While most of his research is on prostate cancer, it applies to most, if not all, other cancers.

Dr. Hammarsten says there’s no evidence that insulin actually causes cancer. However, several medical studies report that insulin is a stimulus for prostate cancer (and other cancers) to grow and become more aggressive. And now Dr. Hammarsten’s team has made the definitive connection. In a study conducted between 1995 and 2003, they studied 320 patients with biopsy-proven prostate cancer. They also measured the size of the prostate with ultrasound. And they did lab tests for insulin and all the parameters of the metabolic syndrome of high insulin (cholesterol, triglycerides, and uric acid).

His team found that insulin caused disease to become more aggressive. In fact, the men who died had a faster rate of benign prostate tissue growth, and they had more aggressive scores on their cancer biopsy samples.

But perhaps their most important finding was that blood levels of insulin (as measured after an eight-hour fast) were directly associated with lethal clinical prostate cancer. This confirmed that your fasting plasma insulin is linked to your ability to survive prostate cancer. The higher your scores, the more aggressive the cancer, and the less likely you’ll survive.

What all this means is that fasting insulin levels can predict not only how aggressive your cancer is going to grow, but also what your prognosis is. And this measurement is more accurate than the stage of the cancer or your PSA level. So, in my book, the fasting insulin level is now your most important marker for your ultimate risk of dying from the disease. That’s the bad news.

Now for the good news. These findings suggest that even if you already have cancer, you can still change your risk. All you have to do is reduce the amount of insulin your body produces.

But does it work? Indeed, it does! Low-fat guru Dr. Dean Ornish found that cancer markers in men on his plant-based program actually decreased over a year. But men on the control diet (the standard American diet) saw their tumors march on.

So what should you do? In light of this news, I now think most everyone should change their diet to a low-fat, low-refined-carb diet. That’s the only way to keep your cancer risk low. It’s the diet I’ve followed for years and my risk is very low.

Beyond that, ask your doctor for a fasting insulin test at least once a year. It’s the best way to determine how fertile your body is for cancer.  Your fasting insulin level should be less than 5 mU/L according to the lab. But the closer to zero you can get, the better. The last time I checked my fasting insulin, it was not detectable. That’s because I eat almost no sugar or refined carbs. If you don’t have a sugar (carb) demand on your pancreas, it will not have to make insulin.

You may have to go to an integrative physician to get the test done. And even some of them may resist. One of my colleagues was disciplined 10 years ago by a state board for daring to order the test. The negligent board was only 15 years behind the eight ball. But please persist. And if he tells you that your level is in the “reference range,” remember that many who are sick or at risk are within that range. Ask for the specific number. You now know how to interpret it. The closer to zero, the better.

By the way, you don’t have to be heavy to have high insulin levels. Many people are able to keep relatively trim due to exercise and other factors, while their insulin is higher than it should be. Unless your diet is pristine, the lab test makes sense.

Ref: Hyperinsulinaemia: a Prospective Risk Factor for Lethal Clinical Prostate Cancer,” Eur J Cancer, 2005 December;41(18):2887-95; Epub 2005, October 20. 44412 (5/2006); Ornish, D. et al. J. Urol. 2005; 174(3):1065-9.
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Is Water Robbing You of Your Manhood?

Did you know that drinking water can change the gender of a fish? It does in Washington DC. And while it won’t have the same impact on humans, it could have serious consequences.

Scientists have found abnormal “intersex” fish in the Potomac River and its tributaries. The researchers recently found that more than 80% of the male bass tested in those waters were growing eggs. Add these finding to the worldwide discoveries that animals as diverse as frogs to polar bears are developing sexual abnormalities.

We’re dumping horrific chemicals into the environment. These chemicals are “endocrine disruptors.” That is, they act as powerful estrogens, feminizing the male fish.

Of course, officials are telling water customers that tap water from the river is safe to drink. While men may not carry eggs, we all still suffer.

These are the same chemicals that can lead to breast and prostate cancer. And up to 25% of young American couples have fertility problems. And we’re told not to worry?

Please don’t trust municipal water supplies. At the least, get a combination activated charcoal and reverse osmosis water system. You can find them at many home improvement stores and on the Internet.
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The Only Safe Way to Burn Cancer Out of Your Body 
 
For years, doctors and medical science believed the only way to effectively burn cancer out of your body was with radiation. Of course, they still hold to that dogma. But you don’t have to. There’s another way to burn cancer out of your body. And this method is completely safe to the surrounding tissues and the rest of your body.

You may know that conventional medicine’s cancer management system does anything but protect your healthy tissues. Surgery will often expose healthy cells surrounding the tumor to the cancer cells. This makes
it much easier for the cancer to spread. Standard chemotherapy poisons your entire body, not just the cancer cells. And radiation can burn everything in its path, whether it’s healthy or not.

The thinking behind these treatments does have merit. Even many alternative-minded doctors will use these treatments as appropriate. I’ve occasionally used chemotherapy as part of my cancer treatment regimen. But usually at 1/10th the dose, with insulin (IPT).

So the idea of burning your cancer out is a good idea. We just need to be able to do it without damaging the healthy tissues. And now there’s a way to do it.

Researchers in two separate studies have found a way to burn your cancer cells with capsaicin rather than radiation. Capsaicin is the very hot extract of red peppers.

In the first study, scientists evaluated the herbal extract’s effect on mice implanted with human prostate cancer cells. The extract killed 80% of the wayward cells. How? It induced them to commit apoptosis. Apoptosis is preprogrammed cell death (cell suicide) for when cells turn abnormal. In cancer, the mechanism of apoptosis is turned off and the cells become immortal (until something kills them or the host dies). Turning on that mechanism in cancer cells would be a major breakthrough.

Capsaicin also had a profound effect on the cancer cells’ ability to multiply. In addition to killing 80% of the cancer cells, it dramatically slowed the development of tumors from the remaining 20%. That’s enough to allow other treatments to step in and successfully kill these cells.

This study’s researchers found that capsaicin affected a protein called NF-kappa B. This protein protects cells from apoptosis and is involved in inflammation. Capsaicin may inhibit its action both in apoptosis protection and promoting inflammation.

The hot stuff also affected androgen (male hormone) receptors. By doing so, it caused many hormone dependent cells to freeze in time. That doesn’t mean a cold freeze. The cells merely entered a cell cycle of no growth and stayed there. That’s what hormone therapy does for men who choose to take hormone blockers. However, with capsaicin, you aren’t likely to suffer breast growth, impotence, or other signs of male hormone wipe out, or estrogen excess (as you would with hormone therapy).

But the news gets far better. A British study led by Dr. Timothy Bates has found that capsaicin directly attacks the mitochondria (energy furnaces) of cancer cells. But it leaves the mitochondria of normal cells untouched. The team found that lung and pancreatic cancer cells incubated with the hot extract died from the direct assault on their energy furnaces. Pancreatic cancer cells are particularly hard to kill, so this is great news.

Study after study is showing the incredible healing power of spices and herbs such as red pepper and turmeric. I have already suggested to some people battling cancer to try capsaicin. Cayenne extracts can be extraordinarily hot and very uncomfortable. So I have asked Farmacopia (800-896-1484) to carry a dried extract in capsules (40,000 heat units each). I suggest you take seven capsules three times per day, but only for three days a week. If you find that this dose is too uncomfortable for you, please contact Farmacopia and let them know.

I will definitely report back to you on the progress of those who try the nontoxic cancer burn of hot pepper extract. And I certainly would rely on this more than a petrochemical synthetic version.
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The Best Way to Lower Your Risk of Cancer

You may have heard recently that breast cancer rates are down. That’s great news. I strongly believe alternative/preventive medicine, diet, and exercise have more to do with that than anything conventional medicine is doing. After all, conventional medicine only knows how to treat with drugs. But there’s still more work to do. And you can start by greatly reducing your own risk of breast cancer (and for men, prostate cancer).

Here’s how:  Breast cancer and other hormone-induced cancers, such as prostate, are known to be more common in the obese. Fat tissue generates excess estrogen, which causes cancer when there’s too much of it. Excess pounds also reflect higher insulin levels and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1). These encourage cancer as well.

A study took 38 overweight/obese postmenopausal women and got them to change their lifestyle. They went on a low fat (10-15 %) high-fiber diet, (30-40 grams per 1,000 calories per day) and did daily exercise over a two-week period. The researchers studied estrogen levels, weight changes, insulin levels, and IGF-1. In addition, they collected blood samples to see how chemicals within the blood might stimulate growth or death (apoptosis) of breast cancer cells.

With the lifestyle changes, all the women had reduced estrogen, insulin levels, and IGF-1. Additionally, their blood reduced breast cancer cell growth by 6.6-18.5% and apoptosis increased by 20-30% in different cell lines.

It’s not surprising that the improved diet would reduce insulin levels and IGF-1 (Avoid cow's milk: Monsanto's BGH hormone greatly increases the IGF-1 in the milk, which accelerates cancer signficantly). These increase when calories are higher, especially when those calories come in the form of fat and processed foods. What was most poignant was that in two weeks, these changes improved their blood’s ability to kill cancer and reduce tumor growth. Just two weeks! I assure you that this effect isn’t just limited to breast cancer.

I’ve always told you that it’s never too late to make changes to your lifestyle. Here’s proof. Please adopt a low-fat, high-fiber, and zero processed foods diet. Add exercise. Yes, we will all die one day. But why knowingly speed it up?
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Is Soy Good for a Man’s Prostate?

If you’re avoiding soy because of some  of the reports that say it’s bad for you, here’s another reason to reconsider. It could help you prevent – and even reduce – prostate cancer.

A Japanese study on 43,509 men aged 45-74 looked at their risk of getting localized prostate cancer. The researchers found that the soy compounds genistein, daidzein, and miso and soy foods can help reduce your risk for the disease. Those men over the age of 60 had the strongest reduction in risk.

Men in the highest quartile of genistein intake showed a 48% reduced risk of localized prostate cancer. They also found this reduced risk for those with the highest intakes of daidzein and soy foods.

I’m not convinced that soy is the demon that many people are making it out to be. I don’t see any problem with eating FERMENTED soy in moderation. Please be absolutely sure that any soy you eat is organic. Otherwise, you will likely be eating a Monsanto genetically engineered Frankenfood. And fermented soy products (such as miso, tempeh and natto) are likely the best overall soy products.
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Are Your Pots and Pans Killing You?

I told you several months ago to avoid Teflon-coated pots and pans. And now there’s even more evidence that you should avoid kitchen utensils made of Teflon.

Teflon’s makers designed it to be indestructible. And it is. The chemicals they used to make it are fluorinated. Fluorine bonds are the strongest there are. No natural process can break them down.

However, two chemicals used in Teflon, perflurooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate, cause cancers in the pancreas, testicles, thyroid, and mammary glands of lab animals. Other studies show that workers in Teflon plants are three times as likely to die of prostate cancer as the general population.

Teflon is tough to avoid. But you can do it. I recommend using glass or stainless steel pots and pans. I prefer the former. Stainless steel is very heat efficient and fairly resistant to acids and food chemicals. But it does contain nickel, a potentially toxic metal. If you use it, make sure you’re taking an oral chelation product to protect yourself from the nickel. Otherwise, stick with glass.
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While I’m not a big fan of the PSA test, it should be done before starting testosterone replacement. I had a patient insist on using testosterone to treat his prostate cancer. He read bad information on testosterone and progesterone recommended by a supposed hormone “guru.” He got his testosterone, after my stern warnings. He signed away his life in waivers from the prescribing physician. And his PSA shot through the roof. He accepted his fate well. If you have a high PSA, please be sure to rule out a prostate cancer before beginning testosterone therapy.
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Why You Should Avoid These "Healthy" Foods 
 
It’s no secret that organic foods are gaining in popularity. Even the corporate behemoth Wal-Mart is making big news with its new organic products. But have you ever thought about the reason organics are becoming so popular?

Obviously, the word is getting out about pesticides and herbicides. The American people have said enough is enough and demanded cleaner, healthier foods. But the problem is much greater than just pesticides and
herbicides.

The Big Chemical companies and Big Agriculture companies have joined together to genetically modify plants to be disease and insect resistant.

Genetic modification means the insertion of genes into an organism. Genes are the hard drive of a cell’s computer. They tell your cells what to do, and what compounds to manufacture.

There are some very good purposes to genetic engineering (GE). For example, scientists inserted the human gene to make insulin into a bacterium. Now we have a ready and reliable source of human insulin that we simply harvest by growing the bacteria.

But when it comes to genetically modifying food products, it’s a different story. I’ve told you in the past about genetically modified foods and the health trouble some of them cause. Now we’re finding out that ALL genetically modified foods are potentially hazardous to your health.

For instance, the chemical company Monsanto took a gene from a plant that makes the pesticide Bacillus thuringiensisA0toxin — or Bt — to protect itself. The company then stuck this gene into corn. So now, most corn sold in the U.S. has this gene in it. While this means most corn crops can ward off predatory insects, it also means we are all eating genetically modified corn.

What’s wrong with that? Consider this: A recent study found that people in the Philippines now have antibodies to Bt toxin in their blood. That means they must be eating Bt. Connect the dots!

Researchers also have tested people who eat genetically engineered foods. In the participants, they found Roundup Ready and Bt genes, along with ampicillin–resistant marker genes in human gut bacteria. Roundup Ready is the gene inserted into soy to make those plants more resistant to Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup. This is extremely frightening. That means your gut bacteria pick up the genes intact.

The researchers even found that these people had a resistance marker for the antibiotic ampicillin. Why ampicillin resistance? Monsanto doesn’t know if the genes they shoot into their targets actually take hold. So they also insert carrier marker genes, which are easy to measure. It’s quite easy to measure ampicillin resistance-marker genes compared to Bt. So they inject the plant seed with the gene for Bt together with the gene for ampicillin resistance.

This research shows that when you eat the food grown from these genes, the genes are actually leaching out of the genetically modified plant into your body. They enter your gut in free form. Your gut bacteria pick them up. Now bacteria in your gut become resistant to an antibiotic that could save your life, and they can begin making Bt pesticide! You now can die of an ampicillin-resistant infection from your own genetically modified bacteria, even if you never took ampicillin.

Obviously, genetically modified food carries unknown risks we can’t even imagine. And the FDA isn’t doing anything to stop. In fact, the government agency is promoting it. Here’s how:

Most U.S. milk is made with cows treated with genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. The dairy industry claims it’s a great way to increase milk production. But this milk has 2-10 times the levels of a hormone called IGF-1. This hormone is linked to prostate, breast, colon, and lung cancers. Animals injected with the hormone suffer terrible teat and infection problems. The result? They need to be fed more antibiotics, which you end up drinking (or eating).

The FDA, instead of stopping the use of the hormone, raised the allowable limit of antibiotics in your milk. So not only are you drinking genetically engineered hormones, but also much higher levels of antibiotics. Imagine what that’s going to do to the bacteria in your gut.

In every FDA decision involving genetically modified foods, those making the decision were either former or future employees of the genetic-engineering companies. To determine the safety of these foods, the FDA typically just takes the word of the company.

Further, the FDA has increased the allowable residue of Roundup on crops by 330%. So Monsanto can make genetically engineered crops resistant to their toxic chemicals and sell more chemical as well as seeds. You
get to eat both the genetically altered “food” and the added chemicals. What a scheme. Monsanto is making a killing on these seeds and chemicals.

These corporations have lots of products for you in the pipeline. Here are just a few: Aluminum tolerance in papaya, tobacco, rice, and corn (so they can grow the plants in soil contaminated with aluminum). Growth-enhanced farm-raised salmon. Monosexed fish. Altering carnivorous fish to starch-based digestion. Antifreeze gene in warm-water fish to raise them in cold climates.

Do you really want to eat plants resistant to aluminum? I don’t think your brain would like that!

How about fish with antifreeze?

And, if these companies have their way, their products will be labeled as organic if grown without the addition of chemicals.

In addition, if your organic cornfield is next to a genetically modified cornfield, their pollen might blow over to your field. Now your corn seeds are also genetically altered. Monsanto can successfully sue you for patent violation of their GMO if you use those seeds next year, even though you grew them. It’s already happened.

What can you do? First, read Seeds of Deception by Jeffrey Smith, and see his video. He’s done an awesome job of uncovering corporate deceit and the imminent horrific danger of genetically modified organisms. It’s available at 641-209-1765 or online at www.seedsofdeception.com. In it you will learn that these seeds are like a Pandora’s Box. DNA is self-replicating and spreads. Already, escaping pollen from GMO plants have contaminated wild grasses and plants. And will likely infect every crop in the country before long. You just thought you were eating organic.

Second, please immediately call your elected officials. Demand that all genetically altered foods be labeled. You have the absolute right to know if you are eating a God-made food or a “Frankenfood.” Industry has successfully resisted labeling these products. Labeling must be on both whole foods and processed foods.

Buy organic only, especially soy and corn products. I won’t eat any corn or soy (tofu) in restaurants if I’m not certain it’s organic.

I have always told you that prevention is the best way to beat disease. There’s no way to know what your exposure to these foods could do to you in the short or long run. But I am convinced that these Frankenfoods could be the ultimate undoing of your health.
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Beta sitosterol promotes normal urine flow—so you don’t feel like you still have to go

Beta sitosterol is a plant compound that’s found in things like peanut butter, wheat germ, and corn oil.  It’s good for your heart.  But the biggest news is that it can help promote healthy urine flow—which as you know can be a real issue for some people.

In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial, participants who were given 20 mg of beta sitosterol three times a day had better urine flow.  In plain English, it means they were able to empty their bladders—so they didn’t feel like they still had to go.  

Then, 18 months later in a follow-up trial, they found that the benefits were still working, which is huge news.  In Healthy Prostate, I’ve included 60 mg of beta sitosterol, the total daily research amount.
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Clinically-proven breakthrough supports prostate health, breast health, lung health, and more

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http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA326161
Q: Treating Prostate Cancer?
Is prostate cancer an epidemic? It would seem to be just by the number of public figures affected, most recently Colin Powell and before that Sen. John Kerry and Rudolph Giuliani - and many more. Anything new in treatment or prevention? 

A: Answer (Published 2/3/2004)
Actually, the rate of occurrence of prostate cancer is declining after a spike in the late 1980s following the introduction of the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test. This test led to the detection of more early cases. Now both incidence and mortality rates are declining. Still, this year about 29,000 men will die from prostate cancer, making the disease the second most common cancer killer (after lung cancer) in men.

Treatment today includes the type of surgery Colin Powell had: removal of the prostate gland and nearby lymph nodes in the pelvis, a procedure usually performed when disease is detected early. Other options include radiation treatment to kill off cancer cells (risks include damage to nerves that control erection and urination and, sometimes, rectal problems); hormone therapy to block production of the male sex hormones that stimulate growth of prostate cancer cells; and implants of radioactive "seeds" to kill prostate tumors (urinary problems may be more severe with this treatment).

Some men with early and slow-growing prostate cancer can forego treatment and opt for watchful waiting, although a study published in the November, 2003 issue of the Journal of Urology suggests that this choice isn't very popular: the number of men choosing watchful waiting declined from a high of 9.5 percent in 1994 to 5.5 percent between 1998 and 2000.

Meanwhile, a number of clinical trials are in progress to evaluate preventive strategies. One of the strategies considered is to take a mixed multivitamin-mineral supplement. Another, the 12-year Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT), is aimed at determining if these two supplements are protective. Results won't be known until 2013.

We already know that the antioxidant lycopene that gives tomatoes their red color protects against prostate cancer. A new study of its effects published in the Nov. 5, 2003, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggests that you get better protection by eating tomatoes (best when cooked in sauce) than by taking supplements. Lycopene is also found in watermelon and pink grapefruit. (Avoid sweet fruit if you have cancer -- berry extracts are better then.)

To reduce your risk I also recommend drinking lots of water (dehydration stresses the prostate), and eating less fat if you're a carb or mixed metabolic type (high-fat diets stimulate production of sex hormones -- but calcium d-glucarate and DIM offset that). Be sure to eat the right kinds of fat such as cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, avocados and raw nuts that are not "pasteurized" with carcinogens such as propylene oxide (like almonds now are, thanks to the USDA). Also, avoid red meat and stay away from hydrogenated oils, processed foods and other sources of trans-fats. I would avoid coffee, decaffeinated coffee, alcohol, and tobacco - all are prostate irritants.

And incidentally, new research suggests that men who ejaculate more frequently between the ages of 20 and 50 are less likely to develop prostate cancer. The protective effect seems greatest for those in their 20s. Results from the study published in the August, 2003 issue of BJU International showed that men who ejaculated more than five times per week were one-third less likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer in their later years. The result contradicts an older belief that high frequency of sexual activity increases the incidence of prostate cancer.

Andrew Weil, M.D.

Meat 'ups prostate cancer risk'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7655405.stm
2008/10/07

Eating meat and dairy products may increase the risk of prostate cancer, research suggests.

Such a diet raises levels of a hormone called Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) which promotes cell growth. (Note: Cows fed Monsanto's Bovine Growth Hormone produce 4 times as much IGF-1 as normal, which makes meat, milk, cheese, etc. from rBGH cows even worse. Taking or increasing -- by taking certain supplements -- your body's production of Human Growth Hormone also elevates IGF-1.)

A University of Oxford team examined the results of 12 studies, featuring a total of nearly 9,000 men.

They found men with high blood levels of IGF-1 were up to 40% more likely to develop prostate cancer than those with low levels.

The study appears in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

IGF-1 plays a key role in the growth and development of children and adolescents.

In adults it continues to regulate cell growth and death, but it can also inhibit the death of cells which have come to the end of their natural life cycle.

Extent unclear

Lead researcher Dr Andrew Roddam said the degree to which diet influenced IGF-1 levels was unclear.

But he said levels could be up to 15% higher in people who ate a lot of meat and dairy products.

Dr Roddam said: "There is a need to identify risk factors for prostate cancer, especially those which can be targeted by therapy and/or lifestyle changes.

"Now we know this factor is associated with the disease we can start to examine how diet and lifestyle factors can affect its levels and whether changes could reduce a man's risk."

Dr Roddam said raised levels of IGF-1 were likely not only to increase the risk of developing prostate cancer, but also to aid the spread of tumours.

Research shows that cells fed IGF-1 grow much more quickly.

However, Dr Roddam said there was no evidence to suggest that measuring IGF-1 levels could be used to develop a new test to screen for prostate cancer.

Each year in the UK more than 34,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and around 10,000 die of the disease.

Dr Lesley Walker, of the charity Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, said: "While there are established risk factors associated with prostate cancer of age, family history, and ethnicity, there are no clear data on modifiable risk factors."

And Debbie Clayton, of the Prostate Cancer Charity, agreed such areas of research could be useful.

But she added: "More research is needed, however, before this can be translated into useful advice for men on which foods may need to be modified in their diet."

Alternative Approaches to Prostate Cancer Care
Mark Stengler, ND
La Jolla Whole Health Clinic

Over the course of a lifetime, one man in six eventually will be diagnosed with prostate cancer... one in 35 will die from it. Despite how common the disease is, the treatment path for prostate cancer is seldom clear. Even conventional doctors who specialize in prostate cancer frequently disagree about the best course of action.

Surgery to remove the prostate gland and perhaps the nearby lymph nodes often is recommended, yet it can have onerous side effects -- including incontinence that lasts for months or years and lifelong erectile dysfunction. What's more, statistics show that surgery does not necessarily increase a man's life span.

For these reasons, many doctors now recommend a "watch and wait" approach rather than surgery. Prostate cancer usually is slow-growing, and more than 70% of the men who develop it are over age 65. The older a man is, the more likely he is to die of some other condition before his prostate cancer becomes a real threat. The American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) states, "At this time, watchful waiting is a reasonable option for some men with slow-growing cancers because it is not known whether active treatment, such as surgery, radiation therapy and hormone therapy, prolongs survival."

The holistic view: For prostate cancer patients age 65 and older, as well as for some younger men whose cancer does not appear to be fast-growing, I support the decision to watch and wait before pursuing aggressive conventional treatment -- with one important caveat. Instead of waiting passively and doing nothing, I recommend a proactive approach using natural therapies that may slow or halt cancer growth or even cause the cancer to diminish.

My regimen includes various nutritional supplements -- including two new ones being researched at major university medical centers. Several of my patients with localized prostate cancer are using these natural therapies under my care -- and now, up to 12 years after diagnosis, they continue to do well.

Unless noted otherwise, all supplements described below are available at health-food stores, generally are safe to take indefinitely and cause no significant side effects. Important: It is vital that men who have prostate cancer be monitored by an oncologist. Show your doctor this article, and discuss your desire to incorporate these natural therapies.

CUTTING-EDGE PROSTATE CARE

Aaron E. Katz, MD, associate professor of clinical urology and director of the Center of Holistic Urology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, is heading the research on two new supplements that are showing promise in the fight against prostate cancer. Studies are still in progress. Here is what we know so far...

 Zyflamend. This unique formula from New Chapter (800-543-7279, www.newchapter.com, about $50 for 120 capsules) combines phytochemicals (beneficial plant chemicals) with herbal extracts from turmeric, ginger, green tea, rosemary, hu zhang (Japanese knotweed), Chinese goldthread, barberry, oregano, baikal skullcap and holy basil.

Dr. Katz's laboratory study, published in 2005, found that Zyflamend reduced prostate cancer cell proliferation by up to 78% and may even have killed some existing prostate cancer cells. How it works: Chronic inflammation is linked to the formation of cancerous cells... and Zyflamend inhibits activity of two enzymes (COX-1 and COX-2) that promote inflammation.

Last year, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center published their own laboratory study showing that Zyflamend reduces activity of a family of proteins called NF-kappa B. When overactive, these proteins stimulate abnormal prostate cell growth.

Dr. Katz's team is now analyzing results of a clinical trial of Zyflamend among men at high risk for prostate cancer. Preliminary findings are encouraging. The trial included 23 men, ages 46 to 75, who were diagnosed via biopsy with a type of precancerous cell proliferation called high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) -- a marker suggesting an 80% chance that cancer will develop within 10 years. The men also had elevated levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) -- a substance produced by prostate gland cells and often elevated when cancer exists. Participants took one Zyflamend pill three times a day for 18 months. Blood tests and biopsies then showed...

The PIN disappeared in 62% of patients.

Half of the men had decreases in PSA levels -- some by more than 50% -- indicating a return to more normal prostate cell activity.

For all of the nine patients who did develop cancer, the disease was the slow-growing type and confined to a small area.

If you are at risk: Based on the evidence that Zyflamend can reverse PIN and reduce PSA, I recommend taking three Zyflamend capsules daily (with meals to avoid gastric upset), continuing indefinitely, if you have any of the following...

An enlarged prostate (as detected during a doctor's exam)

Any abnormal prostate PIN

PSA that is elevated for your age. PSA is considered elevated if it is at or above 2.5 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) in your 40s... 3.5 ng/ml in your 50s... 4.5 ng/ml in your 60s... or 6.5 ng/ml in your 70s.

An ultrasound or other imaging test showing prostate lesions

One or more immediate family members with a history of prostate cancer, if you are over age 50.

If you have high-grade PIN or prostate cancer: In addition to taking Zyflamend, consider taking a second new supplement, Prostabel, described below...

Prostabel. Available on-line from Natural Source International (888-308-7066, www.natural-source.com, $145 for 100 capsules), Prostabel combines extracts from the barks of the Amazonian Pao pereira tree and the sub-Saharan plant Rauwolfia vomitoria. In 1980, scientists from the Pasteur Institute in France identified the cancer-fighting properties of these substances.

Dr. Katz's team at Columbia is now conducting a clinical trial on Prostabel. The study currently has 25 men, ages 40 to 75, with negative biopsy reports but elevated PSA levels. Participants were assigned to take from two to eight capsules of Prostabel daily for 12 months.

Findings are preliminary -- eight men have completed the 12-month course of treatment to date. Prostabel significantly lowered PSA in five of the eight men. While four of the men have developed cancer, their cancers are small and slow-growing. Researchers are waiting to see if Prostabel suppresses cancer cell growth in the remaining 17 participants. Just one patient, who was on the highest dosage, developed liver enzyme problems as a side effect. Surprising: Patients experienced significant improvements in urination problems common among older men, such as frequent need to urinate and slowed stream.

To inquire about the clinical trial, call 212-305-3790.

Recommended dosage: Three Prostabel capsules daily. Take on an empty stomach to maximize absorption -- if it causes digestive upset, take with meals instead.

MORE CANCER FIGHTERS

In addition to taking Zyflamend and/or Prostabel, I recommend that men who have had a diagnosis of prostate cancer take all of the following, continuing indefinitely...

Zinc. The prostate gland is extremely sensitive to hormones, especially estrogen. Although estrogen is primarily a female hormone, as men age and their testosterone levels decrease, an enzyme called aromatase converts some of the remaining testosterone to estrogen, thereby increasing risk for prostate cancer. Zinc helps to slow the activity of aromatase. Dosage: 50 mg daily. Caution: Check with your doctor before taking zinc if you are undergoing chemotherapy -- zinc may not be compatible with some chemotherapy drugs.

Copper. Long-term zinc supplementation can lead to a copper deficiency, so also take 2 mg of copper daily. (This is in Jarrow Multi Easy multivitamin powder, so factor that in).

Selenium. This mineral appears to protect against prostate cancer, perhaps by providing antioxidants (chemical compounds that protect cells from free radicals that can damage cell DNA). Dosage: 200 micrograms (mcg) daily. Note: Although evidence is not conclusive, selenium has been linked to increased risk for diabetes -- so have your blood sugar monitored regularly. (Note: Jerry Brunetti and I advise taking several different forms of selenium -- 3 Brazil nuts, an SeMSC capsule, the selenium in Jarrow Multi Easy and a quarter (50mcg) of a yeast-based selenium tablet from Puritan's Pride each day.

Vitamin E. This provides antioxidants that guard against cell damage. Dosage: 200 international units (IU) daily of "mixed" (Full Spectrum) vitamin E (as indicated on label). (Note: you need more than 200mg with fish oil; I take 400iu twice a day).

Calcium limit. Take no more than 500 mg of supplemental calcium daily. Some evidence links high doses to increased prostate cancer risk. (Note: 500-1500mg based upon metabolic type. One size does not fit all! Also, vitamins D3 and K2 so that the calcium ends up in the bone -- not soft tissues and arteries).

Men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer and who want a more aggressive approach can add the following and continue taking them indefinitely...

Indole 3-carbinol. Supplementing with this plant chemical found in cruciferous vegetables helps the liver metabolize and excrete estrogen. Dosage: 400 mg daily. (Note: I prefer DIM, which is safer, as I3C can generate cancer cells in the stomach).

Maitake mushroom extract. This enhances immune function. Use capsules or tincture labeled "standardized MD-fraction." Dosage: 1 mg per day for every 2.2 pounds of body weight (for instance, a 165-pound man would take 75 mg daily... a 200-pound man would take 90 mg daily). Take in two divided doses on an empty stomach. (Note: I prefer Immune Assist Critical Care, which is a hot water extract of 6 medical mushrooms).

Beta glucan. Beta glucan is a complex sugar. The most beneficial form is derived from baker's yeast and sold under the brand name WPG 3-6. It boosts the immune system's effectiveness against cancer and other diseases. (Note: I prefer Epicor). Dosage: 500 mg twice daily. The brand I recommend is ImmunotiX 3-6, the potent and purified WGP 3-6 product from Xymogen (800-647-6100, www.xymogen.com).

Life Extension responds to misleading Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Article about Prostate Cancer Supplements
Dec 11, 2008

A problem facing researchers today is that by the time human clinical trials are designed, funded, and conducted over multi-year periods, the primary reason for doing the study often turns out to be obsolete.

Based on a number of favorable reports, the U.S. Government decided to spend over $114 million dollars to see if alpha-tocopherol and/or selenium supplements prevent prostate cancer. Data collected after five years found no reduction in prostate cancer incidence in men taking these supplements.

We have known for over ten years that when alpha-tocopherol is taken by itself, it displaces critically important gamma-tocopherol in our cells. An abundance of evidence points to the gamma-tocopherol form of vitamin E as the most protective against prostate cancer.

By supplementing aging men with only alpha-tocopherol, scientists may have unwittingly increased these men’s prostate cancer risk by depriving prostate cells of critical gamma-tocopherol. This is only a tiny part of the real story behind this terribly flawed study.

The American Medical Association is now using this study to discredit vitamin E and selenium supplements. An AMA editorial concludes by advising:

“…. physicians should not recommend selenium or vitamin E — or any other antioxidant supplements — to their patients for preventing prostate cancer.”

What follows are some succinct facts to rebut the AMA’s misleading assertions, along with links to more detailed discussions about what aging men need to do to reduce prostate cancer risk.

Alpha-Tocopherol, Selenium and Prostate Cancer … An Overview

A JAMA study released December 9, 2008, suggests that nutritional intervention (selenium and synthetic vitamin E) does not reduce prostate cancer risk (the SELECT study): http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/2008.864

In January, 2008, as part of our article “ Merv Griffin’s Tragic Death from Prostate Cancer,” Life Extension predicted that the SELECT trial would fail (http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2008/jan2008_awsi_01.htm). We also knew that this flawed trial would be misused by the mainstream medical establishment to “prove” to the lay public that low-cost nutrients like vitamin E and selenium do not reduce prostate cancer risk, and by extrapolation, to impugn other low-cost, efficacious nutrients like vitamin D, fish oil, and soy as having no benefit.

In fact, Life Extension’s members were made aware of a fundamental fact 8 years ago that all but guaranteed trial failure of this most recent attack against dietary supplements.

In the current JAMA trial, men supplemented with synthetic alpha-tocopherol experienced significant gamma-tocopherol depletion. Men supplemented with alpha-tocopherol and alpha-tocopherol plus selenium experienced a 45%–48% depletion in gamma-tocopherol levels by 6 months that was sustained during the course of this 5-year trial.

In March 2001, in an article titled “ Avoiding Prostate Cancer,” (http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2001/mar2001_awsi.html) Life Extension identified the phenomenon of gamma-tocopherol depletion associated with excess alpha-tocopherol. Furthermore, Life Extension identified the critical importance of gamma- tocopherol supplementation in dramatically lowering the risk of developing prostate cancer — in fact, a study of 10,456 men showed that men who had the highest blood levels of gamma-tocopherol were five times less likely to get prostate cancer.

In addition, Life Extension reported in the landmark article “ Eating Your Way to Prostate Cancer,” (http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2007/feb2007_cover_prostate_01.htm) published February 2007, about the importance of controlling dietary intake of arachidonic acid and the grave consequences of failing to mitigate up-regulation of the 5-LOX enzyme by poor dietary choices.

To review a draft review of what aging men really need to do to protect against prostate cancer, click here: http://www.lef.org/pdf/selvitepros.pdf

To review an in-depth draft of a highly technical rebuttal to this most recent attack against dietary supplements by the American Medical Association, click here: http://www.lef.org/featured-articles/Response-to-Selenium-Vitamin-E-Cancer-Prevention-Trial-study.htm

For longer life,

William Faloon