Prostate cancer is the second most deadly cancer in men (lung cancer is the number one killer). It caused the death of nearly 31,000 men in 2002¹, with 234, 460 new cases and over 27,000 deaths in 2006.  If prostate cancer is found early and has not spread, the 5-year survival rate is 100%.  But if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, that survival rate plummets to 34%².

 

While annual prostate cancer screenings after age 50 for men with a family history of prostate cancer are still a recommended method of prevention³, the importance of nutrition continues to get attention.  Research has shown there are a number of ways to help improve prostate health through nutrition, including green tea⁴, flaxseed⁵, soy⁶, and vitamin E⁷.  Even other lifestyle choices, such as getting more exercise⁸ and minimizing starchy food intake⁹ may help improve prostate health.

 

Now a new study¹⁰ has found that vitamin D, known to help bone health¹¹, immune system health¹², blood sugar health¹³ and overall health¹⁴ may also help improve prostate health.  In the study, researchers exposed both normal (BPH-1 and RWPE-1 cell lines) and cancerous prostate cancer cells (CWR22R and DU 145 cell lines) to 100 nanomoles (.04 mg) of vitamin D for 24 hours and exposed them to hydrogen peroxide to stimulate oxidation in the cells.

 

The prostate cancer cells showed no change in survivability between the vitamin D and placebo groups after hydrogen peroxide exposure.  However, the healthy cells in the vitamin D group had a survival rate 27% higher in the BPH-1 group and 64% higher in the RWPE-1 group, compared to placebo.  They found that vitamin D’s protective role in the healthy prostate cells was due to its ability to increase the activity of an antioxidant enzyme called Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), known to protect red blood cells against oxidative damage¹⁵ but which may now offer protection for healthy prostate cells.

 

For the researchers, “The [antioxidant properties] of vitamin D strengthens its roles in cancer chemoprevention and adds to a growing list of beneficial effects of vitamin D against cancer.”

 

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at mailto:PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com

 

Reference:

 

¹  National Vital Statistics Report Volume 53, Number 5, released October 12, 2004

 

²  “What Are The Key Statistics For Prostate Cancer?” posted on the American Cancer Society Website  www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_1X_What_are_the_key_statistics_for_prostate_cancer_36.asp?sitearea=

 

³  Zoorob, R., R. Anderson, et al. (2001). "Cancer screening guidelines." Am Fam Physician 63(6): 1101-12

  

⁴  “Green tea shown to prevent prostate cancer” posted on www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/23190.php

 

⁵  Demark-Wahnefried W.  Pilot study of dietary fat restriction and flaxseed supplementation in men with prostate cancer before surgery: exploring the effects on hormonal levels, prostate-specific antigen, and histopathologic features.  Urology 2001 Jul;58(1):47-52

 

⁶  Hedelin M.  Dietary Phytoestrogen, Serum Enterolactone and Risk of Prostate Cancer: The Cancer Prostate Sweden Study.  Cancer Causes and Control 2006; 17(2): 169-180

 

⁷  Srivastava  JK.  Tocotrienol-rich fraction of palm oil induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis selectively in human prostate cancer cells.  Biochm Biophys Res Comm 2006; 346(2): 447-453

 

⁸  Giovannucci, E. L., Y. Liu, et al. (2005). "A prospective study of physical activity and incident and fatal prostate cancer." Arch Intern Med 165(9): 1005-10

  

⁹  Bidoli, E., R. Talamini, et al. (2005). "Macronutrients, fatty acids, cholesterol and prostate cancer risk." Ann Oncol 16(1): 152-7

  

¹⁰  Bao BY.  Protective role of 1, alpha-25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 against oxidative stress in nonmalignant human prostate epithelial cells.  International Journal of Cancer 2008; 122(12): 2699-2706

 

¹¹  Talwar SA.  Dose response to vitamin D supplementation among postmenopausal African American women.  Amer Jou Clin Nutr 2007; 86: 1657-1662

 

¹²  Martineau AR.  A Single Dose of Vitamin D Enhances Immunity to Mycobacteria.  Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 176: 208-213. First published online as doi:10.1164/rccm.200701-007OC

 

¹³  Hu FB.  Vitamin D and Calcium Intake in Relation to Type 2 Diabetes in Women.  Diabetes Care 29: 650-656

 

¹⁴  Autier P, Gandini S. Arch Intern Med. 2007;167(16):1730-1737

 

¹⁵  Beutler E. Study of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase: history and molecular biology. Am J Hematol 1993; 42: 53-8