A new British research has evidenced the role played by certain foods that we eat on the tissues of the prostate.
In particular, green tea, pomegranate, broccoli and turmeric play a role in fighting malignancies of the prostate.
Two groups were split up, the control groups only using placebos, and the others being given pomegranate essence, turmeric, green tea and broccoli. The study was a double-blind study, meaning that neither doctors nor group members knew which compounds they were taking, placebo or food extract supplements.
In the group that was taking the natural food and tea supplementation the PSA levels were 63% lower that the placebo group. PSA stands for prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced by the prostate cells and it is an indicator for cancer. If the PSA is high it is usually and indication of possible prostate cancer at one stage or another, although it is not always connected with a malignancy.
Previous studies made on supplements already available on the market that contained lycopene, minerals and a certain range of vitamin showed that it negative effects, instead of reducing the risk.
The study therefore reiterates the benefits of certain food compounds in its natural state, rather than ready made non specific supplements available over the counter. All four foods, pomegranate, green tea, broccoli and turmeric have already established benefits, such as :
Pomegranate
Previous studies have demonstrated pomegranate's qualities:
Pomegranate helps stop prostate cancer from spreading - scientists from the University of California identified components in pomegranate juice that help prevent prostate cancer metastasis.
Pomegranate has benefits for dialysis patients - scientists from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, in preliminary studies, found that pomegranate juice may help ward off several complications for kidney disease patients who are on dialysis, including the high morbidity rate due to cardiovascular disease and infections.
Pomegranate compounds may help halt breast cancer growth - a study conducted at the University of California Los Angeles found that pomegranates carry six compounds which appear to stop the growth of hormone-dependent breast cancer by blocking aromatase, an enzyme that changes androgen to estrogen. The scientists warned that theirs was an in vitro study that has not been tested on animals or humans.
Broccoli
The health benefits of broccoli have also been extensively studied, particularly two components, sulforaphane and myrosinase:
Broccoli's enzyme myrosinase has powerful anti-cancer properties - in order to maintain good myrosinase levels, the broccoli needs to be lightly steamed, say researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana.
Broccoli contains sulforaphane which protects from arthritis - a team of investigators from the University of East Anglia, England, carried out a study on broccoli's ingredient, sulforaphane, which blocks the enzymes that cause joint destruction in osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis. It has yet to be determined whether broccoli contains enough sulforaphane to make any significant difference.
Broccoli component, sulforaphane, may prevent or treat breast cancer - scientists from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center injected mice with cancer with varying concentrations of sulforaphane from broccoli extract. They found that the number of cancer stem cells went down significantly. They also found the cancer cells were not able to generate new tumors.
Broccoli component, sulforaphane, may slow the progress of COPD - scientists from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore reported that sulforaphane raises the activity of a gene that protects the lungs against oxidative damage caused by COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), a disease commonly developed by regular long-term smokers.
Turmeric
Several studies have focused on the spice turmeric, particularly its primary component, curcumin:
Turmeric helps suppress head and neck cancer growth - Dr. Marilene Wang and team from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center carried out a pilot study which showed that curcumin suppresses a cell signaling pathway that promotes the growth of head and neck cancers.
Dr. Marilene Wang said "The inhibition of the cell signaling pathway also correlated with reduced expression of a number of pro-inflammatory cytokines, or signaling molecules, in the saliva that promote cancer growth. This study shows that curcumin can work in the mouths of patients with head and neck malignancies and reduce activities that promote cancer growth. And it not only affected the cancer by inhibiting a critical cell signaling pathway, it also affected the saliva itself by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines within the saliva."
Turmeric and cinnamon reduce the body's negative response to high-fat meals - Professor Sheila West and colleagues, from Pennsylvania State University, discovered that people who eat a diet rich in spices, particularly cinnamon and turmeric, have less negative responses to high-fat meals - their blood levels of triglycerides (type of fat) do not end up being as high as other people's on high-fat diets.
Turmeric may correct cystic fibrosis defect - turmeric's primary component, curcumin, was found to correct the cystic fibrosis defect in laboratory mice, scientists at the Hospital for Sick Children and Yale University School of Medicine reported.
Green tea
There have been dozens of studies on green tea, many of them reporting on the important benefits for human health of epigallocatechin-3 gallate, the tea's main component:
Green tea (and coffee) reduce stroke risk - people who drink green tea (and/or coffee) regularly have a lower risk of stroke, researchers from Japan's National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center found after carrying out a study involving 83,269 Japanese adults aged from 45 to 74 years.
Green tea can benefit spacial awareness and memory - Yun Bai, from the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China, and colleagues reported that EGCG (epigallocatechin-3 gallate), an organic chemical and main ingredient in green tea, when consumed regularly helps people's memory and spacial awareness.
Green tea reduces the risk of functional disability in old age - a team of researchers from Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan, found that long-term regular green tea drinkers were less likely to develop functional disability during old age. They added that the more green tea people drank the lower their risk.
Source: Medical News Today: 6.10.13
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