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Prostate Cancer Defined Anatomy of the Prostate How Does Flax Help Prostate Cancer Patients? Misperceptions About Flaxseed Oil and Prostate Cancer Global Reasons To Ponder Shrink Prostate Cancer With Flax & Exercise
******************************************************************** As defined by the Prostate Cancer Foundation, cancer occurs when abnormal cells of the prostate begin to grow uncontrollably. When caught and treated early, prostate cancer has a cure rate of over 90%.More than 218,000 men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, and each and every one of them will need to make very personal and individualized decisions about treatment options and diet and lifestyle changes. Understanding what happens when prostate cancer begins to grow also helps explain how each of the different treatment options for prostate cancer is utilized. http://www.cancerfoundation.org/
Sitting just above the prostate are the seminal vesicles, two little glands that secrete about 60% of the substances that makes up semen; running alongside and attached to the sides of the prostate are the nerves that control erectile function. According to William Fisher’s book ‘How To Fight Cancer & Win’, it was Dr. Johanna Budwig who discovered that the right combination of essential fatty acids and sulfur-based proteins is the magic formula for conquering cancer and the other diseases of fatty degeneration. Dr. Budwig began collecting and meticulously analyzing literally thousands of blood samples, both from healthy specimens and from the seriously ill. The data that she tabulated showed that blood of the seriously ill (including cancer patients, diabetics, and those with precancerous conditions of the liver) was always, without exception, deficient in one of the important essential fatty acids (linoleic acid). Other deficiencies became apparent as well. Also missing were phosphatides (required for normal cell division) and albumin (a blood-producing lipoprotein). Without the normalizing phosphatide, cancer cells (an abnormality) grow wild and proliferate. Without albumin (a combination of linoleic acid and sulphur-based protein), blood analysis shows a strange chartreuse (greenish-yellow) substance in place of the healthy red oxygen-carrying hemoglobin that belongs there. This fact explains why cancer patients are weakened and anemic. Without linoleic acid, the body can’t produce hemoglobin. Without hemoglobin, the blood is unable to carry vital oxygen to the suffocating cells and tissues. Energy production suffers; the cancer victim becomes progressively more and more anemic, sinks into lethargy, and finally dies. The blood of a healthy person always contains sufficient quality protein and the essential fatty acids. Progressing from this point of fact, Dr. Budwig reasoned that the victims of the diseases of fatty degeneration could be restored to health by a diet high in essential fatty acids and sulfur-based proteins. To test her theory, she determined to begin with the highest quality oil available in all nature, flax seed oil. With its rich content of linoleic and linolenic acids (both the essential fatty acids), the liquid of flax seed oil fit that description perfectly. For the sulfur-based proteins, Dr. Budwig selected skim milk. Note (The latest formula uses low fat cottage cheese in place of skim milk. She fed seriously ill cancer patients a combination of 100 grams of skim-milk proteins with 40 grams of fresh flax seed oil. To make the mixture easier to swallow and blend, she added 25 grams of milk. During the period of these early experiments, she drew blood and analyzed the samples consistently, looking closely for the most minute changes. What she found was gratifying indeed. Over a period of approximately three months, tumors gradually receded. The strange greenish elements in the blood were replaced with healthy red blood cells as the phosphatides and lipoproteins almost miraculously reappeared. The anemia disappeared and energy was restored. Symptoms of cancer, liver dysfunction, and diabetes were completely alleviated. Today, after 10 years of solid clinical application, Dr. Budwig’s cottage-cheese and linseed oil formula has been proven successful where many orthodox remedies have failed. ‘How To Fight Cancer & Win’ – Fischer - pg 133-134.
Misperceptions About Flaxseed Oil and Prostate Cancer
Statements have been made that flax seed oil is a contributor to prostate cancer. In fact, the studies quoted do not cite flax seed oil but the primary constituent thereof, alpha-linolenic acid. Despite this, ALA has proved to be a powerful anticancer agent in numerous studies of other types of cancer. So, why the confusion? A close inspection of the studies reveals that ALA has been ruled guilty by association. Take for example, the following study in the August 1999 issue of Clinical Biochemistry. The study, entitled “Comparison of Fatty Acid Profiles in Serum of Patients with Prostate Cancer and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia,” shows the amount of ALA in the blood of the cases represented 0.2 percent of total fatty acids, or approximately 2.65 milligrams. The amount of ALA in the blood of the controls represented 0.1 percent of total fatty acids, or approximately 1.32 milligrams. The difference between the cases and controls is a mere 1.33 milligrams. While perhaps statistically significant, the net result of 1.33 mg difference is not physiologically significant, especially in consideration of more dominant fatty acids found in the blood of these men. The Saturated fatty acid palmitic acid represented 27.9 percent of total fatty acids in the cases and 26.1 percent in the controls. The difference between the cases and controls is an apparently statistically insignificant 7 percent. However, these percentages represent approximately 766 mg of palmitic acid in the cases and only 345 mg in the controls, a difference of 421 milligrams! While perhaps not statistically significant, the actual milligram difference between the cases and the controls is physiologically significant. To summarize, there is only a 1.33mg difference between the cases and controls with respect to alpha-linolenic acid, as opposed to a 421mg difference in palmitic acid levels.All of the in-vivo (in living whole organisms, as opposed to isolated tissue) studies to date relating fatty acid ingestion to prostate cancer reveal that the greatest incidence is among men with the highest meat intake, correlated to specific saturated fatty acids, such as palmitic acid. Palmitic acid is a dominant saturated fatty acid in red meat. Even grain-fed livestock supply red meat containing a small amount of ALA. This ALA becomes incorporated into the cells of these animals, along with other fatty acids. We ingest these lipids when we eat red meat. This fact, in combination with the historically low ingestion of omega-3 fatty acids over the last 100 years, is why omnivores actually have higher tissue levels of ALA than vegetarians. Therefore, omnivores with a high-meat diet will have slightly more omega-3s in their tissues than moderate meat eaters and vegetarians. Some have misinterpreted this to associate ALA with prostate cancer risk. Yet, these cases may merely indicate that a diet with high-meat intake, providing a dominance of unhealthful saturated fat, as well as hormones used to accelerate livestock growth, might have adverse effects on prostate cancer. The cooking of meat adds another issue to be considered. In the process of cooking meat at high temperatures (for example, broiling or barbecuing), there is a strong possibility that ALA is transformed from its natural cis-isomer to the undesirable trans-isomer. Even conventional medical authorities are looking askance at trans-fatty acids. However, the ALA ingested in flaxseed oil, expeller-extracted under low heat or in carefully milled flaxseed, is not damaged in this way. Due to the abundance of unsaturated bonds in EPA and DHA, these fatty acids can also be damaged if their animal food sources (such as wild salmon) are cooked at high temperatures. 'Healing Power of Flax’ page 95-97 by Dr. Herb Joiner-Bey
There are more global reasons to ponder carefully the conclusions drawn by the studies on ALA and prostate cancer. ALA is the parent compound of the omega-3 family of polyunsaturated fatty acids. In green plants, ALA is found on the membranes of chloroplasts (plant cell organelles containing chlorophyll) and is the principal omega-3 fatty acid of green vegetation (comprising 80 percent of the fatty acids in green leaves). ALA is the foundation source material for EPA and DHA in animals. As the bedrock of the food chain, plants have supported all animal life on the planet since the dawn of time. Herbivores throughout history, from brontosaurus to gray whale to wildebeest, have individually consumed tons of green leaves containing massive amounts of ALA. If ALA is, in the context of whole food sources, problematic relative to inducing cancer in any form, massive numbers of herbivores would have keeled over and died of rampant malignancies in each generation over eons of time. This phenomenon would have threatened the survival of all animal species on Earth. The fact that we have not seen this happening during the time humans have walked the Earth strongly suggests that ALA, in its natural state, is not a cause of cancer. Moreover, it seems unfathomable that the Divine plan of Nature would be so distorted and self-destructive as to allow such a phyto-compound, so essential for the sustenance of all life, to be a major contributor to its termination. Flax seed oil is not known to increase the incidence of prostate cancer and has not been studied in such cases. It has not been clearly demonstrated that ALA, in and of itself, increases prostate cancer incidence. It may be an innocent bystander in the presence of dominant dietary and environmental factors that do increase prostate cancer risk. It is possible that ALA in certain foods, once excessively heated or otherwise damaged, may be harmful in these cases. ALA in flax oil processed under low-heat conditions would not be harmed in this way.This information goes far to reinforce the recommendation of a plant-based diet; but it does not necessarily implicate alpha-linolenic acid. In fact, there are numerous studies related to the anti-carcinogenic qualities of ALA elsewhere in the body. In the meantime, men concerned about prostate health are advised to optimize hydration, prefer organic food sources, reduce intake of red meat, reduce total fat intake to 20 percent of calories or less, while increasing intake of a broad range of fresh, organic whole plant foods. Be sure to take a high-potency vitamin/mineral supplement with zinc daily and use ground flax seed in food preparation. ‘Healing Power of Flax’ page 95-97 by Dr. Herb Joiner-BeyShrink Prostate Cancer With Flax & Exercise
University of California at Los Angeles scientists reported January 14, 2003 that 11 days of daily exercise and a low-fat, high-fiber diet can induce prostate cancer cells to die. This is important news for men with prostate cancer or for those men who desire to remain free from prostate cancer. ‘Doctors’ Prescription for Healthy living’, 2003:7.6:16-17.
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