Prostate Cancer
September is "Prostate Cancer Awareness Month".So, I'd like to offer my take on the prevention of prostate cancer.
A hormonal imbalance - excess of the male hormone testosterone or of its metabolites - seem to be the major causal factors in both a benign enlargement of the prostate as well as prostate cancer. Research, however, has highlighted the significant role diet plays in problems associated with the prostate. Studies have shown the value of following a mediterranean diet in reducing the risk of prostate cancer. Other studies have underscored the negative effects of both red meat and dairy products in increasing the risk of prostate cancer. In the case of dairy, however, calcium intake seems to be a greater culprit than fat intake. Indeed according to the Harvard School of Public Health's long term study, a study involving more than 51 000 men, "The men who took more than 2,000 mg of calcium a day were almost three times as likely to develop metastatic prostate cancer as men who got less than 500 mg per day." On the other hand, consuming adequate selenium and zinc, both trace-elements and lycopene, the red vegetable pigment found in tomatoes, has been shown to help prevent prostate cancer. If you are interested in learning more, do a search on our website. While you're at it, you can also take a look at Harvard University's information on preventing prostate cancer and diet : http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Preventing_prostate_cancer_and_diet.htm
And you can read my article « Herbal Support for the Prostate »