"Flaxseed vs. Prostate Cancer"
Why is there such a huge disparity in prostate cancer rates?
The incidence of clinically malignant prostate cancer is highest
in African-Americans— some 30-fold greater
than in Japanese men, and 120 times greater
than seen in Chinese men in Shanghai.
Well, in general, the Western diet is one in which animal protein and fat
consumption is high, whereas the fiber intake is low.
In contrast, the proportion of the total caloric intake from animal fat
in the more vegetarian-style Oriental diet is low,
and the fiber content is higher.
So, maybe diet is playing a role in some of these diseases.
But, these healthier diets are not just low in animal proteins and fat,
and high in starch and fiber—
they are also rich in weak plant estrogens.
This study, for example, found higher levels of phytoestrogens
in the prostate fluids of men in countries with relatively
low rates of prostate cancer.
In vitro studies have shown lignans can slow the growth of prostate cancer cells
in a petri dish.
So, a pilot study was launched on flaxseed supplementation in men,
with prostate cancer, before surgery.
Why flaxseeds?
Because, while these anti-cancer lignans are found throughout
the plant kingdom, flaxseeds have up to 800 times more than any other food.
So, they took a bunch of men with prostate cancer,
about a month before they were scheduled for surgery
to get their prostates removed, and started them on a relatively
low-fat diet, with three tablespoons of ground flaxseed,
to see what effect that might have on the growth of their tumors.
And, though they were skeptical that they would observe any difference
in tumor biology in the diet-treated patients
with such a short-term dietary intervention,
just within those few weeks, they found significantly lower
cancer proliferation rates, and significantly higher rates
of cancer cell death.
Now, this was compared to so-called historical controls,
meaning compared to the kind of cancer growth
one typically sees in their situation—
not to an actual, randomized, control group.
But, a few years later, a study was finally published
in which men could act as their own controls.
These were men that just got their prostates biopsied,
and were scheduled to get a repeat biopsy in six months’ time.
So, they did the same thing.
After the first biopsy, they reduced the fat in their diet,
and put them on ground flaxseeds to see if it made their repeat biopsy
look any different.
These were men with what’s called PIN,
which is like the prostate equivalent of ductal carcinoma in situ
in the breast— an early stage of cancer.
That’s why they were getting repeat biopsies,
to make sure it wasn’t spreading.
And, this is what they found.
Significant drop in PSA levels
(which is a biomarker of prostate cell growth);
a drop in cholesterol
(which is what we’d expect with a lower-fat diet, and all that extra fiber);
and, importantly, a significant decrease in the cellular proliferation rate.
In fact, in two of the men, their PSA levels dropped so much,
they didn’t even have to go through with the second biopsy at all.
There hasn’t been much research on this
kind of precancerous prostatic hyperplasia,
with only four epidemiological studies reported at the time.
They yielded varying findings, with increased risk associated with
higher energy, protein, and animal product intake,
and decreased risk related to the consumption of alcohol,
fruit, and green and yellow vegetables—
in sum, a low-fat, plant-based diet, high in phytoestrogens.