In Praise of Olive Oil & Avocados

BY RALPH BLUM

Nearly 2.5 million men in the United States currently live with prostate cancer, and a recent study led by UC San Francisco has found that these men may significantly improve their survival potential with a simple change in their diet.

The study, involving some 4,600 men who had been diagnosed with non-metastatic prostate cancer, found that by substituting healthy vegetable fats—olive and canola oils, nuts, seeds and avocados—for animal fats and carbohydrates, the majority of the men in the study lowered their risk of disease progression.

In the June 10, 2013 online issue of JAMA Internal Medicine, lead author Erin L. Richman, ScD, a post-doctoral scholar in the UCSF Department of Epidemiology  and Biostatistics wrote, “Consumption of healthy oils and nuts increases plasma antioxidants and reduces insulin and inflammation which may deter prostate cancer progression.”

In our book, Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers, Mark put the spotlight on insulin in a chapter entitled, The Insulin Connection. In it he explains that insulin deficiency inhibits the development and progression of cancer. However, even more significant, Mark pointed out that excess insulin in the blood acts as high-octane fuel for cancer growth, and is associated with the development of more aggressive forms of prostate cancer.

Dean Ornish, MD, of cardiac management fame, studied 93 men with prostate cancer.  Half of these men were randomly allocated to the Ornish diet program, while the remainder served as a non-treated comparison group. After twelve months, the men on the program had a statistically significant reduction in their PSA levels. Furthermore, extracting serum from the blood of men in both groups, Ornish fed it to prostate cancer cells kept alive in Petri dishes.  The cancer cells that were fed serum from the men not on his program grew eight times faster than those cells receiving serum from men who were on the program.

 

Returning to the “fat intake” study, the authors also uncovered a striking benefit: Men who replaced only 10 percent of their total daily calories from carbohydrates with healthy vegetable fats, had a 29 percent lower risk of developing lethal prostate cancer. Ornish’s dietary recommendations were simple enough: a diet that was vegan or vegetarian, non-diary, supplemented with anti-oxydents such as lycopene, selenium and vitamin E, supported by  moderate aerobic or other exercise.

Clearly further research is needed. There is rather too much “may improve,” and “may lower the risk” in many of the existing studies on the role of diet in the treatment of prostate cancer for my taste. However for now, guys, following a heart-healthy diet seems to be the safest way to go if you want to keep your cancer in check.

 So I say bring on the olive oil and avocados!

What Diet Can Do For You

BY RALPH BLUM

Since my latest scare, when my PSA spiked and a color Doppler MRI showed a small but discernable growth in my tumor, my immediate focus has been on whether or not to begin treatment with IMRT. At the same time my wife, Jeanne, has been drawing my attention, once again, to my diet, and to which supplements can slow cancer growth.

It amazes Jeanne how this critically important topic is underemphasized when treating prostate cancer, despite overwhelming evidence that diet affects cancer growth. And even knowing what I know, I have been paying scant attention recently to my diet. Clearly now is the time to change that.

Extensive studies have proved that while certain foods are helpful in reducing PSA levels and cancer growth, other foods are not. First among the “not helpful” foods is animal protein that, particularly in the form of red meat, has been associated with an increasing incidence of prostate cancer. Other animal proteins—milk, cheese and eggs—also fuel the pace of cancer cell growth. As do all sugars, fats, and processed foods. In other words my basic food groups! But I can’t ignore the evidence. Dr. Dean Ornish, of cardiac diet fame, has achieved significant reduction of PSA levels in men with prostate cancer who went on his program consisting of a vegan diet (vegetarian, non-dairy) supplemented with antioxidants such as lycopene and selenium.

So given I intend to up my intake of “cruciferous vegetables”—in other words, broccoli, brussel sprouts and cabbage--that have been associated with a 50% reduction in prostate cancer risk, which supplements should I add to my diet?

Well, eating tomato sauce, which is high in lycopene would be a good start. A compilation of multiple studies measuring the amount of tomatoes in the diet, particularly cooked tomatoes, showed a 20% reduction in prostate cancer risk with increased consumption. (Lycopene can also be taken as a supplement.) And along with lycopene, selenium has strong antioxidant properties. Higher levels of selenium in the blood are associated with a 50% reduction in the incidence of prostate cancer. But as I am not a big consumer of Brazil nuts, clams, turkey or mushrooms, I am pleased to note that selenium can also be bought as a supplement in any good health food store.

There is increasing evidence that vitamin D inhibits prostate cancer growth. In studies using pharmacologic doses of synthetic vitamin D in men with relapsed prostate cancer, PSA levels stabilized and even declined in some men. Mark suggests a supplement of 2000 IU daily. He also advises against taking multivitamin or multimineral supplements as in some cases they may accelerate cancer growth.

It is much easier to swallow a pill than to change the dietary habits of a lifetime, but I intend to cut out red meat and eat more leafy greens and cooked tomatoes. And then there is pomegranate juice. According to Erik P Castle M.D., a urologist at the Mayo Clinic, early research suggests that drinking 8 oz of pomegranate juice daily may slow the progression of prostate cancer. And if you’re concerned about all that sugar, there is, of course, a pomegranate pill!

By the way, from everything I have read, dark chocolate is packed with flavonoids, a group of phytochemicals that act as antioxidants. I will take a closer look at chocolate in my next blog.