The good news is that there is clinical proof that you can build a powderful antioxidant defense system against prostate cancer. By incorporating Lyc-O-Mato® standardized natural tomato extract, selenium and natural vitamin E into your daily nutrition program you can access remarkable fighting powder against prostate cancer and a host of other degenerative diseases.
Cancer of the prostate gland is the second leading cause of cancer death among men. It is estimated that nearly 200,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed and some 31,500 men die from the disease each year. It is primarily a disease of aging. However, men in their 30s and 40s do contract the disease. Men aged 65 and older, African American men and men who have a parent or sibling with prostate cancer are at higher risk. The American Urological Society recommends that every man have an annual exam including a PSA test (prostate specific antigen, a common marker used to detect prostate cancer) beginning at age 50 in order to detect the cancer in its earliest and most treatable stage.
Recently the National Cancer Institute announced a 12-year study involving 32,400 healthy men to determine whether individuals taking 200 micrograms of selenium or 400 milligrams of vitamin E or both would show a reduction in the incidence of prostate cancer when compared with a placebo group receiving neither substance.
I applaud this ambitious undertaking. However there is currently significant scientific evidence that selenium and vitamin E are are highly effective in preventing cancer. And in combination with Lyc-O-Mato (a standardized tomato extract rich in lycopene), this clinically proven trio represents the world's most powerful antioxidant defense systems against prostate and other cancers.
A standardized natural tomato extract contains several phytonutrients found in tomatoes including lycopene, tocopherols, vitamin E, phytofluene, phytoene, phytosterols, beta carotene and more. Lyc-O-Mato is extracted from non-GMO tomatoes grown in Israel that contain four times the lycopene content of tomatoes grown elsewhere.
A six-year Harvard Medical School study of healthy males found that consuming tomatoes, tomato sauce or pizza more than twice a week, as opposed to never, was associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer of 21 to 34 percent, depending on the food.
As exciting as its cancer-prevention potential is evidence that shows lycopene may help fight existing cancer. A recent paper published in the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention by Omer Kucuk, M.D., professor of medicine and oncology, and his colleagues at the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan, evaluated the effect encapsulated Lyc-O-Mato had on patients with existing prostate cancer. In this study, Dr. Kucuk and Colleagues followed 30 men with localized prostate cancer who were scheduled to undergo surgical removal of the prostate. For three weeks prior to surgery the study participants were randomly assigned to receive either 250 milligrams Lyc-O-Mato from LycoRed Natural Products, Beer-Sheva, Israel (which contains 15 milligrams of lycopene) twice daily or no intervention. Following removal of the prostates, the glands were analyzed to determine whether there were any differences between the two study groups.
The investigators found that the treated group had smaller tumors, which were more likely to be confined to the prostate. Levels of serum PSA were found to decline in patients that received Lyc-O-Mato tomato extract. In addition, the tumors in patients who consumed this natural lycopene showed signs of regression and decreased malignancy.
"This was the first published report from a randomized prospective clinical trial showing the efficacy of tomato extract supplement against prostate cancer," said Dr. Kucuk. "Previous reports were largely epidemiological studies showing an association between consumption of tomato products and decreased risk of prostate cancer. Furthermore, our findings suggest that a tomatoe extract in the form of Lyc-O-Mato may not only help prevent prostate cancer but also may be useful in treating prostate cancer."
As with lycopene, selenium has emerged as a major player on the cancer prevention front. Recognized as an essential trace mineral for years, selenium is also an essential component in our antioxidant arsenal.
In 1996 the Journal of the American Medical Association published the results of a landmark double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial which showed selenium produced an astonishing 50 percent reduction in total cancer morality. Selenium Supplementation was also found to reduce the incidence of all cancers by better than one-third compared to the placebo group.
The trial included 1,312 subjectrs aged 18-83 who were monitored every six months for periods that went as long as 10 years. Results also showed that the subjects receiving 200 micrograms (mcg) of selenium per day had a 46 percent lower incidence of lung cancer, 58 percent lower incidence of colorectal and 63 percent lower incidence of prostate cancer than the placebo group.
Another recent study found that "higher selenium levels were associated with a reduced risk of advanced prostate cancer." Researchers from Harvard University, who followed more than 33,000 men, found that those with the highest selenium levels were only about one-third as likely to develop advanced prostate cancer as those with the low selenium.
These results are significant because they confirm that having a low level of selenium is an important risk factor for prostate cancer.
Based on the positive findings, a number of additional prevention trials are being conducted with selenium so public health recommendation can be made in the near future.
In all trials, study participants will receive either a placebo tablet ( a tablet without any selenium) or a tablet containing SelenoExcell High Selenium yeast, a yeast-based selenium product made by Cypress Systems Inc., headquartered in Fresno, California. This organic formulation was co-developed by Cypress' director of fermentation, Lon C. Baugh, Ph.D. and utilized in the original trial. SelenoExcell has been selected for the ongoing studies because it is readily absorbed into the body and is most like the selenium that naturally occurs in food.
Vitamin E is one of the most versatile antioxidants. It has been linked to most degenerative diseases. It is recognized as an essential vitamin in that the body cannot manufacture its own vitamin E and therefore it must be provided by foods and/or supplements.
While vitamin E is a potent antioxidant by itself, its effects are magnified when it works in harmony (synergy) with other antioxidants. One source of nearly perfect combination of antioxidants for heart health is a whole food is vine-grown tomatoes. They contain vitamins C and E, along with the carotenoid beta-carotene and lycopene. Dr. Aviram, of the Rambam Medical Center in Israel, has shown that pure tomato extract (as in the product Lyc-O-Mato) dramatically increases the resistance of LDL cholesterol to oxidation. The reason for its effectiveness is the combination of antioxidants working in a complementary and supportive way to increase overall antioxidant capability.
In his book Antioxidant Against Cancer (Equinox Press, 2000), Ralph Moss, Ph.D., America's leading expert on cancer alternatives, provides the following information from relevant research studies.
There are now about 15,000 medical articles on vitamin E and about 1,500 related to cancer. Regular use of any vitamin supplement corresponded to significantly reduced risk of p53(the most important tumor suppressor gene) mutation. Vitamin E leads to a four-fold reduction in p53 mutation.
Giving patients vitamin E for 24 weeks led to a 46 percent reduction in premalignant changes in the mouth (clinical leukoplakia).
Scientist in Bern, Switzerland found that vitamin E inhibits the activity of a substance that stimulates tumor growth. Older people who took vitamin E supplements daily were 41 percent less likely to die of cancer and 40 percent less likely to die of heart disease, than people who did not take vitamin E.
Another Swiss study examined almost 3,000 men over several decades. It was found that low vitamin E levels, especially in smokers, was related to an increased risk of prostate cancer.
In conclusion, while this article has focused on the role of Lyc-O-Mato, selenium and natural vitamin E in the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer, it should be noted that there is significant clinical evidence they also play an important role in the defense against a broad spectrum of cancers. As well as providing a host of other natural health benefits.
Editor's Note: A synergistic combination of Lyc-O-Mato (lycopene), SelenoExcell (selenium) and natural vitamin E (mixed tocopherols) is currently available from Healthy Orgins. For the past two years I have considered their Lyc-O-Mato products as my personal prostate health insurance policy.
James F. Balch, M.D. is a retired urologist and well-known writer. An early proponent of nutritional approaches to disease prevention, Dr. Balch has immersed himself in the study of tomato lycopene, the powerful antioxidant that has been the subject of intense anti-cancer research studies. In addition to the growing buzz about tomatoes, Blach is an authority on most nutrients and painstakingly describes their effects and interactions with other medications on his best selling book Prescriptiopn for Nutritional Healing. Most recently he has written The Super Antioxidants, 10 Natural Remedies That Can Save Your Life, and the preface to the new book Tomato Power a complete guide to how the popular backyard garden crops helps humans retain their health.