Chemopreventive Properties of Pomegranate Juice Against Prostate Cancer
September 24, 2007 by ruth
Filed under Food & Nutrition
I’ve already blogged about it before, but here’s another new study touting the beneficial effects of pomegranate juice on prostate cancer. Men, listen up!
Prostate cancer patients whose PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels increase over a short period of time have a bad prognosis, i.e. they’re more likely to die from their cancer. In an animal study published recently in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, pomegranate juice consumption increased this doubling time by about four times.
In the new study, they researchers discovered evidence in laboratory experiments that pomegranate works in a “seek and destroy” fashion. On consumption, ellagitannins (ET), antioxidants abundant in pomegranate juice, break down to metabolites known as urolithins. The researchers showed that the urolithins concentrate at high levels in prostate tissue after being given orally and by injection to mice with prostate cancer. They also showed that urolithins inhibited the growth of human prostate cancer cells in cell culture.
I guess the next question –and thus the subject of further research– would be: How much pomegranate juice does one have to drink to reap it’s anti-cancer effects?
Pomegranate juice seems to be winning the title of another Super Food, from what I’ve been reading about it.
One of the most important strategies for preventing prostate cancer is a diet free of animal fat (dark meat chicken and turkey, fatty red meat and red meat injected with hormones, pork, milk, cream, ice cream cheese low or high fat, butter, eggs, mayonnaise/salad dressing unless vegan, chicken/turkey skin, lamb, yogurt low or high fat, oils other than olive oil, deep fried foods, saturated fats found in processed baked goods. No matter how many antioxidants you take, these foods will cancel them out and your PSA will rise. The most effective foods for prostate cancer are of course vegetables. However, vegetable juice is much more effective because it is better absorbed by the body. If you don’t have time to juice, try Trader Joe’s Low Sodium Garden Patch Juice. Try drinking 8 oz before each meal. Try eating seafood as much as possible–broiled, steamed or stir fried in little olive oil. Avoid yeast which can lead to yeast infection which may promote the growth of cancer cells. Buy multigrain breads–the harder the bread is to the touch the better. Use raw brown sugar and raw honey. Use brown rice and pasta made with rice or spinache. Pomegranate juice is a good idea since studies show some promise. I was diagnosed with prostate cancer 4 years ago with a PSA of 3.85. My PSA has ranged from 1.7 to 3 depending on how strict I am with my eating. It can work for you as well. It is my belief that cancer will recur following surgery and other treatments if one does not eat cancer-fighting foods.