The prostate gland is about the size of a walnut and is located at the base of the bladder, surrounding both the urethra and the ejaculatory duct. This duct connects into the urethra and opens up into it. The prostate acts as a valve that permits both sperm and urine to flow in the proper direction. It is an accessory sex gland that assists in the reproductive process by secreting an ejaculatory fluid that enhances the delivery and fertility of sperm. Secretion from the prostate gland constitutes about 80 percent of the fluid volume of semen. The prostate receives sperm from the testicles, produces nutrients that nourish it, and assists in the passage of that sperm. It also serves to protect the genitourinary system against infection.

Prostate problems stem from genetic, hormonal, and dietary factors. While you may have no control over your genes, you do have control over your diet, which directly affects hormonal factors. When it comes to problems with the prostate, choosing “watchful waiting” and proper nutrition over aggressive medical treatments may be the best medicine of all. We’ve already seen some of the ways in which hormonal output can be influenced by food. Prostate problems, brought on by a lifetime of bad eating, can be turned around by dietary changes that support the gland by re-establishing hormonal balance.

Adequate intake of essential fatty acids, which you learned about in Chapter 2, is absolutely critical for the good health of the prostate. By increasing the right fats in your diet, from nuts, seeds, and supplemental oils, you can significantly support and nourish your prostate gland, decreasing your chances of developing any of the problems outlined in this chapter. The best initial medicine may be the essential fats, and avoidance of the nonessential, harmful trans fats from margarine, vegetable shortenings, fried foods, and processed vegetable oils. (For more information on trans fats, refer to Chapter 3.)

The increase in trans-fat consumption over the past several decades can be correlated with a dramatic increase in prostate disorders. Harvard researchers Walter Willett and associates suggest there is a positive correlation between dietary intake of the trans fats and the rise of cancer. And it seems that the culprit is not as much animal fats as vegetable fats, because statistics show that the consumption of animal fats has decreased by 30 percent since the beginning of the century, while vegetable-fat consumption is up 30 percent. In addition, you’ve been told time and again that men whose diets are high in saturated fat—particularly red meat—run the greatest risk of developing prostate cancer. Well, that’s just part of the story, because what’s missing from this advice is recognition of the critical role of the EFAs in balancing and regulating saturated fats.

This chapter begins with a look at the most common prostate problem faced by today’s man—benign prostatic hyperplasia. We’ll then go on to discuss several other conditions that you should be aware of, including prostatitis and prostate cancer. You’ll also learn about a variety of natural and nutritional supplements that can help to keep your prostate gland healthy.

BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA

During childhood, the prostate gland is quite small—just a little larger than a pencil eraser. Its growth and functioning are controlled by the male hormone testosterone, which at puberty facilitates not only prostate growth, but growth of sex organs and body hair, as well as change of voice. By the time a man reaches age twenty, his prostate gland has achieved full size. However, after age forty it begins to enlarge. This growth is hormone induced.

While testosterone levels have begun to decline by this stage of life, production of one of its metabolites, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), increases. The enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT is testosterone 5-alpha reductase. DHT levels increase within prostate cells as a result of increased activity of this enzyme, as well as a greater uptake of testosterone and a lower rate of breakdown and excretion of DHT. This increase is associated not only with prostate enlargement, but also with male pattern baldness, because 5-alpha reductase is partly concentrated in the scalp. The enzyme is also found in scrotal skin and in the testicles. It appears that the aging process brings on both the decline of testosterone production and the increased conversion of testosterone to DHT. An increase in this conversion is what gives rise to growth of tissue in the prostate gland.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the nonmalignant enlargement of the prostate gland that primarily affects men over fifty. The incidence of the disorder increases with age. By age fifty, approximately 30 percent of all males in this country will begin to experience the symptoms of BPH. By age sixty, half will be affected. Beyond the age of seventy, almost 80 percent of all males will develop the disorder. And, by age eighty, almost every man in the United States will have BPH. It is the main problem treated by urologists. Some consider it to be a natural consequence of aging.

Prostate enlargement results in urethral constriction and the development of BPH symptoms, including weak stream of urine, dribbling, progressive frequency, urgency, hesitancy, and intermittence of urination. It’s a condition that can be painful. Men with prostate enlargement often have to get up three to five times a night to urinate. In 2 to 3 percent of BPH cases, urinary incontinence results from instability of the outer muscle layer of the bladder, known as the detrusor muscle. Any man experiencing these symptoms is strongly urged to consult a physician for a definitive diagnosis. If left untreated, the condition can result in complete blockage of the bladder outlet, causing uremia, or urine retention in the blood.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia can lead to cancer. An estimated 20 percent of those with BPH will develop prostate cancer. While prostate cancer was relatively rare before 1900, it is increasingly prevalent today. Like BPH, it is most common in later years. Only 2 percent of all prostate cancers occur in men under fifty. (Testicular cancer, on the other hand, is most common in the younger age groups, primarily affecting those men between fifteen and thirty-four years of age.) In 1994 alone, 200,000 cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed, with thirty-eight deaths resulting from it.

Conventional Treatments

Surgery is the most commonly recommended treatment for BPH. There are three different surgical procedures, but transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) is the surgery performed on 95 percent of all patients. Four hundred thousand of these procedures are done each year. In fact, it’s the most common surgery performed on men over sixty-five.

TURP involves removal of the central core of the gland to take pressure off the urethra. A significant complication in this surgery is excessive absorption of irrigating fluid that causes what is known as TURP syndrome, characterized by nausea, vomiting, and mental confusion. Left untreated, TURP syndrome can lead to high blood pressure, heart failure, and seizures.¹ The surgery claims a 90-percent success rate. However, according to Dr. John Weinberg of Dartmouth Medical School, the death rate has been as high as 1.8 percent (one death per fifty-six procedures), 8 percent are hospitalized within three months because of complications, 5 percent (one out of twenty) become impotent, and about 20 percent (one out of five) will need another resection.²

In addition to TURP syndrome, complications from this surgery include temporary and, more rarely, permanent incontinence and retrograde ejaculation, in which the man ejaculates backwards into the bladder instead of into the penis. Retrograde ejaculation affects one-half or more of TURP patients.

The drug considered to be most effective in controlling BPH symptoms acts by blocking the conversion of testosterone to DHT. The drug finasteride (Proscar) does this by inhibiting the enzyme testosterone 5-alpha reductase. Proscar has been on the market for only about three years. It works slowly, taking approximately three months to accomplish maximum shrinkage (about 28 percent). It must be taken indefinitely and, like most drugs, Proscar has undesirable side effects. These can include impotence and decreased libido. The medication is also costly—several dollars per day. Even so, annual sales are expected to top $1 billion dollars this year. The cost of hospital care and surgery for BPH in the United States is also over $1 billion dollars per year. Fortunately, a less expensive, less invasive, safer, and more effective approach to BPH management may be found in nature’s pharmacy.

Saw Palmetto Extract

Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) is a small palm tree that grows along the Atlantic coast from South Carolina to Florida. An extract from its berries has proved to be an effective remedy for prostate enlargement. This herb has been used for centuries by herbalists and Native Americans to treat urinary tract problems, and has also been considered by some to be a mild aphrodisiac.

The French pioneered research in the clinical use of saw palmetto for BPH, establishing that its mode of action is the same as Proscar—that is, it blocks the formation of DHT by inhibiting testosterone 5-alpha reductase. It has also been found to display other modes of action that prevent DHT uptake by the prostate cells and therefore is described by French scientists as a multi-site inhibitor.

One double-blind study involving 110 men with benign prostatic hyperplasia found after one month that the group using the herbal extract improved as follows: decreased nighttime urination (nocturia) of more than 45 percent; increased urinary flow rate over 50 percent; and reduced amount of urine retained in the bladder following urination (post-urination residual volume) by 42 percent. In contrast, the placebo group showed only slight reduction in nocturia, no improvement in urine flow, and increased post-urinary residual volume. Ratings of outcome by physicians and patients both showed “significant” improvement in the group treated with saw palmetto. This was not so for the placebo group.³

European research indicates that the greatest therapeutic benefits of saw palmetto are found in the fat and sterol portions of the plant. This finding has given rise to the production of a standardized extract of the fat-soluble, or liposterolic, fraction of saw palmetto berries. There are many types of preparations on the market and some are more potent than others, as Table 5.1 indicates.

Table 5.1. Potencies of Available Saw Palmetto Preparations

It is the last item, the liquid oil 20:1, that is used in the European clinical studies. It contains 85 to 95 percent sterols and fatty acids and, in the studies, was given in amounts averaging 320 milligrams per day. The program I have developed (see Appendix B) includes the most potent extract of saw palmetto.

Treating prostate disease with saw palmetto extract has not only been proven to be extremely effective, but it costs less than a third as much as prescription remedies, and it is safer. Between 1983 and 1992, nine double-blind studies conducted involving 528 benign prostatic hyperplasia patients have concluded that the extract of saw palmetto was effective. This conclusion was based upon both objective and subjective measurements of prostate enlargement. And all studies demonstrated no toxicity.

In addition to saw palmetto, natural progesterone cream for men may beneficial in preventing prostate enlargement. Dr. David Zava, a noted progesterone researcher, will be reporting on the use of natural progesterone in the treatment of both prostate enlargement and prostate cancer in his forthcoming book. Uni-Key Health Systems (1-800-888-4353) now carries the product Progesta Care for Men.

Nutritional and Herbal Support

Inadequate diet appears to be a primary factor in the development of BPH. For this reason, the condition usually responds to nutritional and herbal support, especially in the early stages. The extent of dietary advice that most doctors are likely to dispense is apt to be limited to the recommendation that spices, alcohol, caffeine, and other irritating foods be avoided and that the fluid intake be kept high. This is good advice, but there’s more to it.

Perhaps the most important element in a nutritional program to prevent or treat BPH is the trace mineral zinc. Zinc deficiency is common today because the soils of thirty-two states are deficient in the mineral. It is also removed in processing and is depleted by smoking, alcohol, coffee, infections, and medications. The ability to absorb zinc declines with age. A normal prostate gland contains more zinc than any other organ in the body. Because the prostate serves as a zinc storehouse, some believe that when zinc is needed elsewhere, the body robs the prostate, thus depriving it of this critically important trace element.

Zinc (as well as vitamin B₆) plays an important role in many aspects of hormonal metabolism. This may be why it’s effective in reducing prostate size and symptoms of prostate enlargement. Good sources of zinc include brewer’s yeast, eggs, meat, organ meats, seafood (especially oysters), seeds, and soybeans. Vitamin B₆ also plays an important role in nourishing the prostate gland.

Other nutrients important to prostate health include vitamins C and E and the mineral selenium. These are all antioxidant nutrients, needed to offset free radical-damage to cells and preserve oxygen, that are generally deficient in the SAD. Two other powerful antioxidants used for prostate problems are Pycnogenol from pine bark and grape-seed extract. These extracts are rich a source of substances called anthocyanidins and proanthocyanidins, both pigments known as flavonoids that have exceptionally powerful antioxidant effects.

Extra amounts of the B complex vitamins will help the body to deal with the stress of any illness, including benign prostatic hyperplasia. Stress increases the need for this family of vitamins. And an increased intake of vitamin A will help prevent and/or resolve infection. Beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, can be used as well.

Adding nuts and seeds to your diet, or increasing your current intake, is a tasty way to provide an extra source of both zinc and the essential fatty acids. A deficiency of these “good” fats seems to be a major factor in the development of BPH. So, increasing the intake of EFA-rich oils from various nuts, as well as flaxseed and evening primrose oils, has a regulating effect on the saturated animal fats in the diet. It’s not simply a matter of decreasing animal fat and protein, as has been generally recommended, but one of balancing total fat intake with good fat.

Prostatic and seminal lipid (fat) levels and ratios are often abnormal in people with BPH, and significant improvement can be attained by administering an EFA complex containing linoleic and linolenic acids.⁴ It would appear that a prostaglandin deficiency may be a cause of BPH. Since EFAs are precursors to Prostaglandins, they are vital to normal prostate function.

Pumpkin seeds are a rich source of both EFAs and zinc, so the folklore medicine remedy of eating ¼ to ½ cup of these seeds daily for prostate problems may indeed have value. Pumpkin seed oil, found in most health food stores, may also be used. In addition, remember that a high-carbohydrate diet should be avoided and all forms of sugar (including fruit, fruit juice, and sweeteners) should also be severely limited, because they stress the hormonal and immune systems.

If you suffer from BPH, you may also benefit from taking a glandular extract, or protomorphogen, of prostate tissue. These are produced from bovine (cow) and porcine (pig) sources. Raw glandular concentrates appear to provide the pattern from which the body can build new cells. Healthy bovine or porcine prostate extract ingested by a man with prostate enlargement is more beneficial, it seems, than actually eating the organ meat itself. After being refined, raw glandular tissue assumes an enzymelike action that improves assimilation by the target organ---in this case the prostate.

It has been found that exposure to cadmium from cigarette smoke, paints, contaminated drinking water, and shellfish found near industrial shores will stimulate the growth of human prostatic tissue, and that proper concentrations of the mineral selenium will inhibit that growth.⁵ Those men with BPH will want to rule out cadmium toxicity. This can be done through hair analysis.

Amino acids can also be used to treat BPH. One study indicates that supplementation with a combination of L-glutamic acid, lalanine, and glycine (two 6-grain caps taken three times daily for two weeks, followed by one cap taken three times daily) may be beneficial. The study, involving forty-five patients supplemented with this combination of amino acids, showed reduction or relief of nocturia in 95 percent of the cases, urgency reduced in 81 percent, frequency reduced in 73 percent, and delayed urination in 70 percent.⁶

Another factor to consider is lactobacillus deficiency in the body. Low levels of these “friendly” bacteria can result in prostate trouble, hair loss, and abnormal fat distribution. Supplements of acidophilus bacteria can therefore be helpful. Bear in mind, however, that these beneficial bacteria will not grow in the intestines unless the body pH is near perfect, and pH is regulated by our old friends, the electrolytes. So you’ll want to add these trace minerals to your supplemental regimen.

In addition to saw palmetto, the powdered bark of the Pygeum africanus tree has been useful in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. It has been used for centuries as a treatment for urinary disorders, and has also been found by French scientists to have anti-inflammatory properties and no toxic side-effects-even in large doses and with prolonged use. Clinical trials have proven its efficacy in alleviating symptoms. Another herb useful in this regard is Aletriusfamosa(star grass). And stinging nettle is also recommended by herbalists for BPH.

PROSTATITIS

Prostatitis, which involves inflammation or infection of the prostate gland, is most common in men under fifty. The infectious variety can be either acute or chronic and is caused by a pathogen such as a bacteria or chlamydia, which is a sexually transmitted parasite. When there is a deficiency of glandular elements such as zinc, vitamin C, and proteolytic enzymes that break down proteins, favorable conditions are established for infection to develop. The glandular elements can be depleted as a result of excessive consumption of caffeine, alcohol, and spicy foods, which leads to lowered immunity. Increased sexual activity can lead to the development of prostatitis, for it depletes the prostate gland of enzymes and zinc, nutrients that sterilize the urethra and protect the gland from infection.

Symptoms of acute prostatitis include difficulty urinating characterized by frequency, urgency, and a burning sensation during urination, as well as a discharge from the penis following bowel movements. Prostatic pain and tenderness, which can extend into the pelvis and back, are sometimes present at the outset of an acute infection, and may be followed by fever, chills, and generalized fatigue.

Symptoms of chronic infection are similar, but not as severe. Because these symptoms are somewhat mild, some men may ignore them. This is not wise because, left untreated, a chronic infection of the prostate can result in infection in the kidney or the tube along the back of the testicles known as the epididymis, as well as swollen, painful testicles (orchitis), bladder outlet obstruction, and prostate stones.

Nonbacterial prostatitis is the most common form of this condition. The symptoms are the same as for bacterial prostatitis, but no infectious agent is located, though white cells are present in prostatic fluid, a sign of inflammation. The cause of this condition is unknown. Both acute and chronic prostatitis are commonly treated with antibiotics—short-term for acute and long-term for chronic. The nonbacterial type may also be treated with prostate massage, hot baths, antispasmodics, tranquilizers, and anti-inflammatory medication.

Another type of prostatitis, known as prostatodynia, involves essentially the same symptoms as described above, but no abnormalities are found on examination or through urinalysis. This condition is thought to be due to muscle spasms and is generally treated with medication and hot baths.

Herbal Treatments

Herbal preparations may be useful in the treatment of prostatitis. An evergreen plant known as pipsissewa (Chimaphilia umbellata) is useful for chronic infectious prostatitis, as well as other urinary disorders. It contains a powerful antiseptic, arbutin, which helps nourish the urinary tract and prostate and increase blood flow to them. Arbutin is also the active ingredient in uva ursi, a diuretic herb that is beneficial to the urinary tract.

Horsetail, a rich source of the trace element silica, may be useful in the treatment of acute prostatic infection. An herb that assists in fighting any type of infection, including prostatitis, is Echinacea angustifolia. Garlic also has natural antibiotic properties. Other herbs that may be useful for decreasing pain, irritation, swelling, and impotence associated with prostatitis include: Delphinia staphysagria,Thujaoccidentalis, and Anemonepulsatilla.These herbs are frequently administered in homeopathic form. Homeopathy is a system of healing based on the use of very small amounts of substances, which in larger doses would cause illness in a healthy person, to treat illness. A homeopathic remedy is prepared through the dilution and potentiation of a small amount of the herb that becomes energized through the process.

Supplementation with vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids as outlined for benign prostatic hyperplasia is recommended, emphasizing increased intake of vitamins A and C where infection is present. Extra amounts of calcium and magnesium can help relax muscles.

PROSTATE CANCER

Prostate cancer is known as a “silent” cancer because few symptoms are usually felt initially. As the tumor grows it tends to constrict the urethra and present the same symptoms as BPH. It has been noted that BPH can lead to prostate cancer and that its onset generally occurs in the later years of life. In fact, the average age at diagnosis is seventy-three years old. One out of every eight men will develop prostate cancer in his lifetime.

The prostate is one of four sites in the body that accounts for more than half of all cancer deaths. The other three are lungs, colon, and breast. While breast cancer is infrequent in men, lung cancer is the number-one killer, prostate cancer is number two, and colon and rectum cancer run a close third.

Because its onset is usually late in life and because it is most often a slow-growing cancer, it has been argued that watchful waiting should take preference over aggressive treatment. Many men die of other causes before prostate cancer creates any real problem, and medical treatment, including surgery and radiation, can produce complications such as loss of bladder control, impotence, and rectal injury. According to autopsies, over half of all men over the age of fifty have cancerous prostate cells, but only 2.4 percent eventually die of the disease. Many men with prostate cancer, unaware of its existence, die of an unrelated cause. The cancer isn’t discovered until an autopsy reveals its presence.

For these reasons, some view early detection of this cancer as a questionable benefit. There are no studies showing that early screening for prostate cancer can actually save lives, and the death rate for the cancer has remained pretty much unchanged for decades, despite advances in medicine. Techniques used for diagnosis include digital rectal exam (DRE), blood tests, tissue biopsy, and a number of visualization techniques such as x-ray, MRI, ultrasound, and CT scan that provide an image of the structures inside the body.

In the DRE, the physician will perform a rectal exam, feeling the prostate through the wall of the rectum. Hardness indicates a possible cancer, though it may also be due to infection or stones. The DRE may be normal even when cancer is present, though this is unlikely. The American Cancer Society recommends annual DRE examination for all men over forty.

A common blood test for diagnosing cancer is the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. This test was developed in 1989. In its first year of use, it increased the number of diagnosed cases of prostate cancer by 16 percent. Even before that, diagnosis—and subsequently treatment—was increasing. From 1984 to 1990, surgical removal of cancerous prostates in men sixty-five and over increased 500 to 600 percent.

The PSA test is used to detect or confirm both BPH and cancer. Prostate-specific antigen is a protein substance unique to the prostate. It is slightly elevated in cases of BPH and greatly increased in men with prostate cancer. Infection can also cause elevation of PSA levels. The higher the PSA level, the greater the chance of metastasis, meaning that the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. When prostate cancer spreads, three-quarters of the time it spreads to bone. Some men do not seek medical attention until they experience symptoms of widespread disease, including fatigue, weight loss, and bone pain.

Nutritional advocate Julian Whitaker, M.D., voiced concern in the November 1994 edition of his newsletter, Health and Healing, that the increasing use of PSA screening will lead to increased use of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy—and they have. These treatments have the potential of doing harm. He points to a study done in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which concluded that neither early detection, nor conventional treatment of prostate cancer resulted in a significant extension of life span. They did, in fact, reduce the quality of the patient’s remaining years, due to side effects such as impotency.

Dr. Whitaker states that, in his own practice, he uses the PSA test in a different way—as a barometer of the success of nutritional treatment that includes saw palmetto and dietary changes. The power of conservative nutritional regimens is reflected in dropping PSA levels, witnessed many times by Dr. Whitaker.

I personally would suggest that more physicians take the Whitaker approach. I encourage all of my male patients in their early forties and fifties to start supplementing with saw palmetto as soon as possible, and banish trans fats from their lives forever.

You see, PSA results are not as clear-cut as one would hope. In 1993 it was reported that approximately 40 percent of men with prostate cancer show up negative; of those having no symptoms, but a positive PSA, only one out of 75 to 150 actually do have cancer, and false positives occur in one out of four men with symptoms. These statistics refer to the standard PSA test. A new PSA test has recently been developed that is said to be more reliable. A problem with false positives is that the suspicious results will generally prompt a biopsy, which carries with it some risk; therefore, it is desirable to reduce the number of low yield prostate biopsies being performed. Steps are being taken in this direction and a sixteen-year study designed to resolve the controversy as to whether early screening, detection, and treatment actually does extend the lives of men with prostate cancer is now underway.

Now there is a less invasive medical approach to treating early-stage prostate cancer. It involves a relatively new procedure in which radioactive pellets are implanted into the prostate gland. This procedure is done on an outpatient basis; it is therefore less costly than surgery and results in more rapid recovery and in fewer complications. One study, which involved 298 prostate cancer patients, found that 91 percent of those receiving the treatment were free of cancer five years later, compared with 82 to 89 percent of those treated surgically.

The American Cancer Society recommends annual PSA tests for all men fifty and over. They also recommend that high-risk men be tested annually beginning at age forty. High-risk men include African-Americans and men with a family history of prostate cancer. Based on new studies, we can add men who have had vasectomies to the list. The problem with vasectomies is that sperm builds up in the sealed-off vas deferens and is reabsorbed by the body, which reacts by launching an autoimmune response to its own tissue.

African-American men have the highest incidence of prostate cancer in the world. Their risk of developing it is 40 percent greater than it is for white American men. The interesting thing is that, while African Americans have a death rate from prostate cancer that is almost double that of white American men, the incidence of the cancer in black Nigerian men is only one-sixth that of black Americans. Another interesting fact is that, while prostate cancer death rate in Japan is only one-seventh of ours, when Japanese men relocate to America, their cancer rate rapidly increases.

The Dietary Connection

These statistics point to a cultural factor influencing the development of prostate cancer—one that overrides genetic influences. That factor involves lifestyle and diet. Our men typically lead a stressful, fast-paced life, are exposed to environmental toxins, and regularly consume a diet of devitalized, processed junk food. Please remember that prostate cancer was relatively rare before 1900—that is, before the advent of food processing, the widespread use of pesticides and other environmental toxins, and the fat-free, high-carbohydrate diet.

A major difference in diet with regard to the above referenced cultures is this: The Japanese and Nigerians eat much less animal fat and many more vegetables than we do. Numerous studies have indicated that the nutrients and anutrients—fiber, pigments, and phytochemicals—in vegetables have a protective effect against cancer and, of course, we’ve all heard of the link between heavy meat consumption and cancer. A 1993 Harvard School of Public Health Study found that men who eat red meat five times a week are 2.6 times more likely to develop advanced, often fatal, prostate cancer than are men who eat red meat one time or less weekly.⁷ The balanced use of essential fats in the diet would probably change this situation dramatically.

Though a source of saturated fat, meat in and of itself is not a bad food. Meat from organically raised animals can be an excellent source of vitally needed protein, eaten by a healthy man with an adequate intake of EFAs, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. However, a man with cancer is not healthy. For him, excessive consumption of meat—especially without the addition of omega-3 EFAs from such oils as fish and flaxseed—will create conditions of further imbalance. Being out of balance, his body lacks the trace minerals to form electrolytes that must be present to produce enzymes necessary for breakdown of protein into amino acids. Additionally, the hydrochloric acid needed for protein digestion declines with age and will, most likely, be inadequate in the middle-aged or older man with prostate cancer.

Supplements of HCl and proteolytic enzymes can be helpful to support the digestive process until it can be normalized by the restoration of electrolyte balance through the regular use of Trace-Lyte in combination with a balanced diet.

Environmental Risk Factors

There is an established link between pesticide use and cancer. Our crops are treated with 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides and herbicides yearly. Studies have shown that farmers run a higher risk of developing certain cancers, including cancer of the prostate.⁸ Over 600 pesticides are currently used in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency has identified sixty-four of them as potentially cancer-causing. The EPA sets tolerance levels for pesticides in raw and unprocessed foods. The FDA is responsible for enforcing the levels set by the EPA. However, they do not test for all pesticides and actually screen only a very small percentage of our food supply—probably less than one percent. In addition, foods that are found to exceed the legal limits of pesticide residues are not prevented from going to market!

Imported produce has perhaps twice the level of pesticide residue that domestic food has, and should therefore be avoided. Pesticides banned in this country are often exported to other countries that use them on their crops and then import them back to us! In addition to washing or soaking produce to remove pesticide residues, it is wise to assure a high intake of fiber, chiefly from vegetables, and antioxidants—such as vitamins A, C, and E, and the minerals selenium and zinc—in the diet to help eliminate pesticides from the body.

In addition to avoiding pesticide residues in food, you will also want to avoid environmental exposure to chemicals. Instead of using chemical pesticides to rid your home of roaches and fleas, use natural alternatives or call in a natural pest control service. And use organic fertilizers on your lawn, rather than chemical ones.

The man with prostate cancer will, of course, want to avoid smoking and avoid exposure to secondhand smoke, as well. Cigarette smoke is a major source of cadmium toxicity. Studies show that cadmium may promote cancer by replacing zinc in the prostate.⁹

Exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) appears to be another factor in the development of prostate cancer. Studies show that EMFs can suppress the pineal gland’s secretion of the hormone melatonin. It is the suppression of this function that has been implicated in the etiology of prostate cancer. Melatonin plays a key role in preventing and reversing cancer. It increases the cytotoxicity of the body’s natural killer lymphocytes, thereby inhibiting tumor growth. Clearly, it’s important to limit exposure to EMFs as much as possible by keeping electrical appliance use in your home to a minimum.^d

Another environmental factor that affects the likelihood of developing cancer has to do with exposure to sunlight. If you’re thinking that such exposure increases the risk, you’ve got it backwards. The sun converts cholesterol in our skin to vitamin D, a vitamin that Duke University researchers have found to be protective against prostate cancer. A University of North Carolina study showed that men living in the northern latitudes, with less exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun are at greater risk for developing prostate cancer.

John Ott has done a great deal of research on the beneficial effects of sunlight. To reap its benefits, we must take in the rays—all of them, including UV—through the retina of our eyes. Spending at least half an hour outside, even in the shade, without glasses or sunglasses to block UV rays, can therefore be an important part of a prevention or recovery program.

Preventing and Treating Prostate Cancer

Since prostate cancer symptoms are, for the most part, identical to BPH symptoms, all of the nutritional advice given for BPH applies to prostate cancer as well. Since those with BPH may later develop prostate cancer, they may want to incorporate some of the nutritional advice given in this chapter for that condition. While zinc levels are low in BPH patients, they’re even lower in those with prostate cancer. So, zinc supplementation becomes especially important for males with prostate cancer.

Nutritional and herbal therapies can help prevent and treat prostate problems. Avoidance of sugar, damaged fats, processed foods, and the use of key elements such as antioxidant nutrients and especially the mineral zinc and herbs such as saw palmetto and the food spice, cumin, can be particularly beneficial. Outlined in the next few pages are several other simple measures you can take to keep prostate problems at bay.

Eat Your Vegetables

Italian and Swiss researchers compared 8,077 people with nineteen different types of cancer with 6,147 people without cancer. The individuals were placed in one of three possible groups: those who ate less than seven vegetables per week, those who ate seven per week, and those who ate more than seven per week. They found that a man who eats seven servings of vegetables per week has 20 percent less risk of developing prostate cancer than one who eats fewer than seven. And, a man who eats more than seven servings has a 70-percent less chance than one who eats less than seven. Seven vegetables per week is only one per day, and yet, even that small amount confers some protection. We should at least triple that amount.

The National Cancer Institute recommends that Americans consume a minimum of three to five servings of vegetables daily. Most Americans, especially men, fall quite short of this, even though a serving is only half a cup. Vegetables provide a wide range of nutrients and anutrients. They are not only a source of vitamins and minerals, but also of carbohydrates and protein. Among plant pigments are carotenes, flavonoids, and chlorophyll. Beta-carotene is just one of over 400 carotenes. All have potent antioxidant and anticancer effects. One large, ten-year study involving 2,440 men, ages fifty and older, showed an inverse relationship between serum vitamin A and prostate cancer incidence. The men who developed the cancer had significantly lower vitamin A levels than those who did not develop it.¹⁰

Tissue-carotene content can be increased by juicing a wide variety of vegetables, a practice highly recommended for cancer patients. The nutrients in freshly prepared juices are concentrated and are easily used by the body. Flavonoids provide protection from free-radical damage. They are found largely in fruits and flowers. Pycnogenol and grape-seed extract are part of this group. They are extremely potent antioxidants. The green plant pigment chlorophyll has also been shown to have significant antioxidant and anticancer effects.

Vegetables are best consumed in their fresh state. Use frozen in preference to canned if fresh is not available, and select organic whenever possible. If commercially grown vegetables are used, wash or soak them first in a 3-percent hydrogen peroxide solution (preferably food grade) to remove pesticides, molds, and bacteria. A diluted Clorox solution may also be used, but only with purified water, as the pollutants in water will unite with chlorine to form potentially carcinogenic compounds. Using the Clorox bath has the added benefit of killing parasites (a growing health hazard discussed in Chapter 8). To prepare a Clorox bath, add a half teaspoon of bleach to a gallon of purified or distilled water. Soak the food for fifteen to thirty minutes, then soak in clear water for ten minutes.

Vegetables should not be overcooked, as this destroys important nutrients. The best cooking methods are light steaming, baking, or quick stir-frying. Never boil vegetables, unless they’re being made into soup.

One vegetable in particular, the Japanese maitake mushroom, has shown promise in treating prostate and other types of cancer. Naturopathic physician Peter D‘Adamo, editor of the Journal of NaturopathicMedicine, has reported success in his private practice in Greenwich, Connecticut, using maitake to treat men with prostate cancer in whom chemotherapy has been unsuccessful. The mushroom has also been used with success by Dr. D’Adamo in treating pulmonary metastasis, in which the cancer has spread through the lungs and circulatory system, and cancers of the liver, breast, and colon. Others have reported that maitake helps combat chronic fatigue syndrome, high blood pressure, diabetes, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS.

Abraham Ber, M.D., a homeopathic physician who practices orthomolecular medicine in Phoenix, Arizona, also reports success with using the maitake mushroom in his practice over a two-year period. He has treated at least a dozen prostate cancer patients with maitake tablets and obtained encouraging results, including improved urinary flow and decreased frequency.

These mushrooms have a powerful strengthening effect on the immune system. Maitake is considered to be an adaptogen.It assists the body in adapting to any form of stress and helps regulate endocrine activity and other body functions to achieve balance, or homeostasis. It has recently been found that maitake mushrooms taken by patients undergoing standard chemotherapy reduced the amount of chemotherapy drugs needed by 50 percent without compromising the anticancer results of the treatment.

Recent findings, based on a study conducted at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, indicate that men who regularly consumed the common spice cumin had a significantly lower rate of urological cancers, including prostate cancer, than those who consumed little of the spice.

Joe was a fifty-five-year-old contractor who sought my services after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. He had decided not to go the “traditional” route with chemotherapy and wanted to discuss the watchful waiting approach. After reviewing his chart and assessing his dietary history, we drew up a dietary regimen with herbal support.

My first recommendation was to eliminate all trans fats from his diet. Joe’s love affair with McDonald’s French fries was over. I strongly advised that he cut back on his meat consumption and only use sources that were organic. Increasing his zinc and essential-fatty-acid intake was accomplished with the addition of nuts and seeds—specifically pumpkin seeds—to his diet. I also recommended that he supplement with evening primrose and flax oils, as well as additional zinc. Supplemental saw palmetto and antioxidant nutrients, including Pycnogenol, vitamin C, vitamin E, and the mineral selenium were included in his treatment plan as well as maitake mushroom extract. Joe felt strongly that a nutritional regimen was his best bet, and he could always resort to chemotherapy if he needed it. So far, so good.

Enhance Your Immunity With Natural Supplements

When you use herbs for prostate cancer, keep in mind that they are not specific for the different types of tumors, but act rather as overall immune system stimulants. In addition to the herbs mentioned in the BPH section, the following can help treat prostate cancer: poke weed, mistletoe, meadow saffron, foxglove, poison hemlock, and burdock.

Other immune-enhancing herbs that may be useful include: pau d’arco, ginseng, licorice root, and goldenseal. Additionally, coenzyme Q₁₀ and Royal jelly will assist in building immunity and strength in both men with prostate cancer and those with BPH. (Chapter 6 discusses CoQ₁₀ in greater detail.) Royal jelly is a salivary secretion of honeybees that is rich in amino acids, B vitamins, and other nutrients. It has been used to support functioning of the sex organs and to treat sterility. Adding the cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cauliflower and other green and orange vegetables, to the diet can also help.

See Appendix B for specific supplement guidelines for treating and preventing cancer and other prostate problems.

Get Your Yearly Checkup

Remember to have a rectal exam yearly after the age of forty, as well as an annual PSA after age fifty, or age forty if you’re at high risk. And don’t forget that the PSA may not be definitive. Additionally, see your doctor if any of the following symptoms develop:

• Lumps in the prostate and testicles

• Painful, weak, or interrupted urination

• Thickening or excess fluid retention in the scrotum

• Unexplained persistent low back and leg pain

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

While genetics plays a role in the development of prostate cancer, diet and lifestyle appear to have more bearing. Fortunately, unlike genetics, these are factors that you can control. Research has shown that there’s a correlation between external influences—including trans fat consumption, nutritional deficiencies, and environmental toxins—and prostate problems such as BPH and prostate cancer. Preventing or treating these problems is as easy as modifying the way you live, including adding nutritional and herbal supplements, such as saw palmetto extract and vital antioxidants, to your daily regimen. In addition, try to cut sugar, damaged fats, and processed foods from your diet. Choose fresh, organically grown vegetables and whole foods that are rich in fiber and antioxidants, including vitamins A, C, and E, and the minerals selenium and zinc.