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 outd