The GAIA Health Blog

Landmark UK Study:          “Food Pill”  Slows Prostate Cancer Growth

In June of 2013, the American Society of Clinical Oncology included in its program a report on a “food pill” that had a dramatic impact on men with prostate cancer. The study reported on the role of four polyphenol-rich foods with known anti-cancer properties.

They extensively scrutinized the clinical and laboratory data for foods that have a high chance of an anti-cancer effect.

The researchers recruited 203 men aged 53 to 89 years 

………with prostate cancer proven by biopsy.

The subjects were then randomly assigned to receive either a twice-daily oral capsule containing a blend of pomegranate seed, green tea, turmeric, and broccoli, or an identical placebo for 6 months.

The results were remarkable!!!

In addition, and importantly, 46% of men in the supplemented group had a stable or lower PSA by the end of the study, compared with just 14% of the placebo group….

…..again, this was a significant difference, and suggested that in nearly half of the treated men, their cancers had stopped growing or had even regressed.

Functional Foods as Powerful Combatants Against Prostate Cancer

But too many men with prostate cancer undergo needless and invasive surgery, chemo-, or radiation therapy.

A new pill containing concentrated forms of four functional foods has now been shown to significantly slow the rise of PSA, the major marker of prostate cancer progression.

The Fantastic Four:  Pomegranate, Green Tea, Turmeric, and Broccoli……

…….have all independently been shown to have protective effects on prostate tissue; a new study demonstrates that they can work together in concert to slow the disease in men who already have prostate cancer.

Each food component works by different, but powerful, epigenetic mechanisms to modify the way prostate cells regulate their growth and development. Using all four in one simple pill optimizes both prevention and treatment of prostate cancer, without significant side effects.

Fantastic Prostate Cancer Fighter # 1:    Pomegranate

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Pomegranate compounds suppress enzymes

……in the intestine and liver that convert certain molecules (procarcinogens) into cancer-causing agents .

As it relates to those with prostate cancer, the active constituents in pomegranate have proven to be potent inducers of malignant cell death through apoptosis.

Added prostate cancer-fighting benefits of pomegranate….

Include reduction of the inflammation that drives cancer progression, suppression of new blood vessel growth within a forming prostate tumor.

And increased expression of genes that keep cells clumped together normally, thereby inhibiting the invasive potential of prostate cancer.

Fantastic Prostate Cancer Fighter #2:        Green Tea

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Green Tea makes a unique contribution

……to the prostate-cancer-fighting pill as a result of a special combination of naturally occurring polyphenols called catechins.

Studies show that one of green tea’s catechins, EGCG, accumulates specifically in prostate tissue, where it selectively kills cancer cells (leaving healthy cells unaffected) and reduces serum PSA levels .

Green tea is already acknowledged as a cancer preventive

……..in Japan because of epidemiological studies documenting prostate cancer risk reduction of up to 86% in men who drink the most green tea.

Laboratory studies point to still other anti-cancer effects from green tea. Its components reduce genetic expression and activity of androgen receptors that most prostate cancers need to survive. And recent studies reveal polyphenols in brewed green tea shut off new blood vessel growth, important in slowing cancer development.

Fantastic Prostate Cancer Fighter # 3:          Turmeric

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Turmeric’s unique contribution…

……to the prostate-cancer-fighting pill is its extraordinary anti-inflammatory properties, provided chiefly by its natural primary component, curcumin.

Reducing inflammation with curcumin reduces the metastases that ultimately kill prostate cancer patients. Curcumin [turmeric’s active component that gives it its color] also down-regulates genes involved in adhesion, motility, and invasiveness that prostate cancer cells need to invade and spread.

Curcumin specifically inhibits prostate cancer cell production…….

……..of PSA by blocking its genetic expression. At the same time, it also reduces activation of the androgen receptors on cancer cells that trigger increased production of PSA.

But the whole turmeric root also contains important oils and other substances that enhance curcumin’s absorption and have health benefits of their own, including anti-cancer actions. Turmeric’s components also inhibit cancer cell proliferation, restore cancer cells’ ability to die normally by apoptosis.

.Fantastic Prostate Cancer Fighter #4:          Broccoli

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Broccoli’s unique contribution

…..to the prostate-cancer-fighting pill is its ability to up-regulate phase II detoxifying enzymes in gut and liver tissue, enabling the body to render harmless thousands of potentially carcinogenic molecules in our diet.

Men with high consumption of broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables have a 40% lower risk of invasive prostate cancer. And in animal studies, broccoli feeding reduced prostate tumor weight by 42% in prostate cancer-prone mice..

Broccoli compounds reduce PSA production

……….as a result of slowing prostate cancer cell replication in laboratory cell culture models.

They appear to inhibit expression of the androgen receptors that prostate cancer needs to survive. Broccoli’s other prostate cancer-fighting properties include restoration of normal tumor suppressor genes.

In Summary

Prostate cancer is a paradox: Its typically slow growth rate makes it possible to treat if discovered early, but once it has metastasized, it is often lethal.

The combination of four widely-recognized cancer-fighting foods, pomegranate, green tea, turmeric, and broccoli, in a single twice-daily pill has now been shown to significantly reduce the rate of rise of PSA, the tumor marker that indicates progression and invasion of prostate cancer.

If you or someone you know suffers from prostate cancer, or is interested in preventing it, this new functional food pill, OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CONSTITUENTS, should be part of their daily program.

For a more concise read, this article is stripped down to key points from a more detailed article I found on LifeExtensions.com

My Final Note:

I get the Fantastic Four in my daily Smoothies , (1) Pomegranate [Woodstock Frozen Pomegranate Kernels from Whole Foods ], (2) Organic Frozen Broccoli from Whole Foods (frozen bagged broccoli seems to have very little taste effect on my smoothie compared to fresh or cooked broccoli) (3) Numi Gunpowder Green Tea [brewed the day before and cooled in fridge, mixed with coconut water, as my liquid smoothie base] , plus (4) a Quality Liquid Turmeric Extract works well in the smoothie

Other Good Reads on this subject:

Elevated PSA levels not necessarily a predictor for Prostate Biopsy

My Top 10 Prostate Health Superfoods (Part 1)

My Top 10 Prostate Health Superfoods (Part 2)

Black Sesame Seeds Fight Prostate Cancer

Culinary Argan Oil Fights Prostate Cancer

Lycopene Unleashed (The Prostate Friendly Antioxidant)

The Gac Fruit, The Prostate’s Best Friend

Shows African American Men at high risk of “False Positives” in Prostate Cancer Screening

It’s Time to take control of your Prostate Health

The Importance of Gamma Tocopherol (Vitamin E) in Prostate Health

New Studies Reveal the importance of Zinc in Prostate Health

Prostate Cancer Risks Greatly Reduced by increasing Omega-3 vs. Omega-6 ratios in food

Why I’m Taking “A Knee” against the Medical Industry (The Kolin Kaepernick) Article

~stay healthy~

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