Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Sterols are a supplement that come from plants that have been used for cholesterol for years. New data from major academic institutions show that sterols have many more benefits for heart health.
On today’s episode, we are going to discuss additional changes you should implement throughout your life – especially dietary – that can help to reduce your risk of prostate cancer.
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey. Ph
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In the 1970’s when I started studying Pharmacy and the 1980’s when I started studying nutrition, scientists at leading academic research institutions were already trying to sort out what increases the risk for common cancers and what decreases the risk. And we’ve come a long way with that research; you can definitely point at lifestyle habits and nutrients that reduce your risk for prostate, breast, colon or pancreatic cancer and others that increase your risk. Now, prevention is different than treatment. It’s interesting to mention that may of the things that reduce the risk of prostate cancer, also improve the treatment. You will see this frequently in research. On today’s episode we will discuss things that men do every day that can increase their risk of developing prostate cancer and the lifestyle habits, foods and nutrients that may help to reduce that risk. Each part of this discussion is based on the results of multiple human studies.
Being Overweight or Obese
One of the risks for many cancers is being overweight, especially being obese. About 40% of Americans can be categorized as obese. In other words, they have an awful lot of fat. So many American adults are overweight, but a serious number of people are obese. Being obese is extremely dangerous; this increases your risk of sleep apnea, atrial fibrillation, snoring, back aches, knee pain, arthritis, and of course cancer.
An American Cancer Society Study showed that, for men who were overweight (not obese), the extra risk of developing prostate cancer was 8%. Now, that may not sound huge to you but prostate cancer and being overweight is so common, that this percentage does translate into quite a few men developing cancer. Now, obese men had a 20% increased risk of developing prostate cancer, according to the study. Being severely obese showed a 34% increased risk of developing prostate cancer.
According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by The American Cancer Society in Atlanta, researchers wanted to know what happens to men who are overweight if they develop prostate cancer. This study highlights that there are connections between prevention and treatment. After diagnosis of prostate cancer in obese men, results showed that there was a prostate cancer specific mortality trend. In other words, these men were more likely to die from the cancer and have advanced stages of it. But they also had a much higher risk of dying from heart disease and all-cause mortality.
It is important to understand that excess weight not only increase the risk of prostate cancer, but it also makes it more dangerous. Part of the reason why this happens is that there is fatty tissue lining the prostate. This fatty tissue can contribute to the prognosis of prostate cancer. Science has found that, in obese men, this fatty tissue releases cytokines. These are chemical messengers that inflame the cancer and make it grow and spread more easily.
Diet and Prostate Health
The Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics published a systematic review on what increases the risk of prostate cancer and what reduces it. In this review, researchers noted that red meat slightly increased the risk and found that processed meats was even more dangerous. Processed meats include hot dogs, spam, salami, bologna, bacon and sausage. Also to note when it comes to meat consumption, it seems to be worse if the meat is barbecued, smoked, fried or grilled.
Lycopene is what makes tomato sauce red. When you cook down tomatoes, you are releasing this red-pigment called Lycopene. So whenever you use Lycopene as a supplement, you want those tomato ollio resins in it and you want it to be natural Lycopene. A systematic review has found, if you have tomato sauce – or Lycopene (5mg or more, 2x a week or more) – it may help reduce your risk of developing prostate cancer. Also found, the amount of Lycopene in your blood is connected to a reduced risk of prostate cancer, an advanced prostate cancer or progression of prostate cancer in three recent-case controlled studies. In other words for men who had prostate cancer, if they had higher levels of lycopene in their blood, it was less likely to become dangerous or advance. A meta-analysis of other case-controlled studies (21 studies) and 10 cohort studies found an association between Lycopene and a decreased risk of prostate cancer. The research concluded that, “Lycopene – even when looking at Lyopene in the blood – was associated with a lower risk.”†
A very large perspective cohort study in Japan found that Green Tea reduced the risk of prostate cancer, and it was dose-dependent. This simply means that the study found that the more Green tea, the better. Now, you should never have eight-ten green tea cups per day. But these researchers found that five cups per day was beneficial for reducing the risk of prostate cancer. Separately, in the journal Medicine, a systematic review and meta-analysis of ten studies studied Green tea and prostate cancer risk. This research found that more cups of Green tea daily reduced the risk; they found that seven cups per day reduced the relative risk by 62%, and it was a linear trend. In the archives of the Italian Journal of Urology and Andrology from Gint University and the University of Insubula in Italy, performed a meta-analysis of four human clinical trials where they studied men with an increased risk of prostate cancer, or high-grade PIN. Not every man has the same risk of developing prostate cancer. Some men have a condition called high-grade PIN, which stands for prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (when the cells in your prostate are damaged). And, if this converts to something called ASAP (atypical small acinar proliferation, when some of the cells may actually be prostate cancer), that creates an even bigger risk of prostate cancer. The research found, for the men in the Green tea group, 8% developed prostate cancer. But for the men in the placebo group, 22% of them went on to develop prostate cancer. Researchers noted that, there was a significant – 59% – reduction in the risk of developing prostate cancer. The H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center (also a research institute) in Tampa, Florida published a study in the journal Cancer Prevention Research that reports in the incidence of prostate cancer, especially the death rates, is much lower in parts of Asia where they consume a lot of green tea. Researchers go on to say that, “Men who move from countries like Japan and stop drinking green tea, their incidence of prostate cancer increases and it becoming a risk increases to that of men who have grown up in the United States.”†
Thank you for tuning in to the Invite Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Invite Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the Invite Health Podcast.
In Part 2, we are going to talk about the last two specific B Vitamins – Vitamin B9 (Folate) and Vitamin B12 (Cobalman) for your brain, along with important amino acids that require these B complex vitamins to function properly.
B Complex Vitamins are involved with everything that occurs in your body, but are extremely important for our brain. Lacking B Vitamins in the brain is connected with depression, shrinkage of the brain and memory loss with aging.
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey. Ph
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On today’s episode we are going to discuss additional instances where protein would be beneficial. How do you know which – Whey Protein or Collagen – is beneficial based off of your specific needs? If you missed Part 1, click here to listen now!
What exactly is Whey Protein?
Whey protein is a mixture of proteins isolated from whey, the liquid material released during cheese production. An authoritative review published in 2010 concluded that for muscle growth, whey is better compared to other types, such as casein or soy. This is likely because whey is more like the protein in mother’s milk.
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The protein in cow’s milk is 20% whey and 80% casein. The protein in human milk is 60% whey and 40% casein and the evidence also shows that whey is better absorbed than casein or soy protein. Studies have shown;
Choosing Between Whey and Collagen
Protein can be used after an injury but it depends on what tissue is injured. If it is muscle or a digestive concern, you may want to turn to Whey. If it is your skin, joint tissue or bone concerns, Collagen may be your best option. It may also help for surgery – pre and post; L-Glutamine, L-Arginine, or Whey might be beneficial.†
For obese individuals, especially those who are dieting, you want to make sure you are losing fat, not muscle. In order to do this, you may want to use Whey Protein, as it helps keep you satiated (feeling full), preserves muscle and creates glutathione (levels drop when dieting).
Whey Protein and the individual amino acid NAC is important during a detox. These are used to remove toxins from the body. Again, it creates glutathione and supplies amino acids for phase 2 of the detoxification process.
For sports and muscle accretion in active people and physically active people, Whey is a better option. For diabetics and pre-diabetics, one scoop after a meal has been shown to help balance blood sugar.†
Why is Protein So Important?
Protein is important to every cell in our body – skin, hair, and nails. The foundation of our bone – the organic matrix – that calcium adheres to is made out of it. Our joints, ligaments and tendons and all other tissues incorporate it. We use it to make all of the enzymes that allow our body to function and to form the enzymes that digest our food. Our blood uses it to move things around and our hemoglobin that carries oxygen needs protein to be made.
Antibodies that give us resistance to viruses and bacteria are made out of protein, which is very important for our immune system. We make many hormones out of it, including our thyroid hormones used for energy and metabolism, our insulin for blood sugar control, and our related growth factors such as IGF-1 and IGF-2 for building and healing tissues. The cartilage in our joints, the lining of our blood vessels, lungs and intestines, our organs and all other tissues use protein to build and repair.
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Emergency Energy
Protein isn’t your body’s first — or even second — choice for getting energy. That role is reserved for carbohydrates and fats. But when you’re running low on calories, or if you’re a serious athlete, thank protein for keeping you going past the point of the normal amount of energy your body stores.†
Muscle Builder
You need protein to keep up the size and shape of your muscles. As you lose weight, it prevents you from losing muscle at the same time. If you lift weights for strength, it is the key to building more muscle.†
Bone Strengthener
Studies show that getting the right amount of protein in your diet improves your bone health. The core of bone is made out of it, and this is what calcium and other nutrients adhere to, to create bone. It lowers your chance of osteoporosis (bone loss) by helping you hold on to your bone density, and it helps prevent fractures as you age also.†
Boosts Your Immune System
Proteins are made of amino acids. These compounds help turn key players in your immune system — T cells, B cells, and antibodies — into germ fighters that spot and kill harmful microbes that enter your body before they can start an infection.†
Cuts Cravings
Cravings are different than a true need for food. They come from your brain, not your stomach. Research shows that getting more can help curb these cravings, even late-night fridge raids.†
Burns Fat
A high enough level of protein in your diet boosts your metabolism (the rate at which your body uses calories). This means you burn more calories a day — even at rest — than you would on a lower-protein diet.†
Heart Helper
Studies on protein show that some can support healthy blood pressure. It can also decrease your LDL or bad cholesterol levels, which lowers your risk of heart disease.†
Moves Nutrients
If you think of your blood stream as a canal, proteins are the barges that carry vitamins, minerals, sugars, cholesterol, and oxygen through it and into cells and tissues that need them to work. Some even store certain nutrients, like iron, so you have a backup supply when you need it.†
Do you currently use either Whey Protein or Collagen? Leave us a comment below and tell us what benefits you’ve seen!
Thank you for tuning in to the Invite Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Invite Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the Invite Health Podcast.