Natural defense from Prostate cancer

A case control study was conducted in the Curtin University of Technology in Australia. In this case, a control study involving 130 prostate cancer patients and 274 control patients, habitual drinking of green tea and consumption of fruits and vegetables rich in lycopene were found to express a protective effect against prostate cancer. Additionally, these protective effects from the intake of green tea and lycopene were found to be synergistic. An inverse relationship was observed between green tea consumption and risk of prostate cancer. The highest intake of green tea was associated with an 86% reduced risk of prostate cancer compared to the lowest intake. Similarly, an inverse relation was also observed between the intake of fruits and vegetables rich in lycopene and the risk of prostate cancer where the highest intake of lycopene was associated with 82% reduced risk of prostate cancer as compared to the lowest intake. Additionally, interaction analysis showed that the protective effect of green tea and dietary lycopene intake against prostate cancer was synergistic. This study suggests that the regular consumption of green tea along with a diet containing lycopene-rich fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. The authors of this study concluded that consuming both green tea and lycopene rich foods have stronger preventive effects than the consumption of either ingredient on its own.

A study measuring the effects of vitamins C on the development of prostate cancer was conducted in the University of Western Australia. The study involved 1985 men exposed to asbestos who had participated in a cancer prevention program. The participants were supplemented with beta-carotene as well as increased dietary intakes of vegetables rich in vitamin C such as broccoli and bell peppers. The participants were observed to demonstrate a reduced risk of prostate cancer. Moreover, intake of fruits, vegetables and vitamin C did not appear to be associated with the development of prostate cancer. These results have suggested that the consumption of vitamin C rich vegetables may reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer. Additional research in this matter is warranted.

Another study involved the relationship between vitamin D levels, metabolic syndrome factors, and prostate cancer development. Low levels of vitamin D associated with Metabolic Syndrome X were found to increase the risk of prostate cancer. This study was conducted in the University of Tampere at the Department of Clinical Chemistry in Finland. This longitudinal case controlled study involved 132 individuals with prostate cancer and 456 control subjects. Prostate cancer was strongly associated with Metabolic Syndrome factors and low level of vitamin D. Factors of Metabolic Syndrome X analyzed in this study included body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and HDL cholesterol. The interaction between Metabolic Syndrome risk factors and levels of vitamin D and risk of prostate cancer were studied. The results found that when subjects had a combination of low HDL cholesterol levels, elevated body mass index and elevated systolic blood pressure, a significantly increased risk of prostate cancer was observed. When these three factors were present along with low level of vitamin D below 40 nmol/liter the cancer risk increased significantly as compared with subjects without these factors. When these factors were analyzed independently, low HDL cholesterol was not associated with increased prostate cancer risk, although high BMI was associated with increased risk along with high systolic blood pressure. This study showed that there is an interaction between vitamin D and metabolic syndrome factors, so that clustering of these factors entailed a high risk of prostate cancer, but only if vitamin D level was low. The results of this study suggest that the risks that factors of metabolic syndrome pose for prostate cancer are strongly conditioned by levels of vitamin D. Additional research is needed to assess the impact of supplementation with vitamin D in such persons.