Health | Nutrition | Prevention | Wellness

Black Men and Prostate Cancer

Published: July 15, 2010  Leave a comment

Compared with white men, African-American men are twice as likely to develop prostate cancer in their early 50s and twice as likely to die of the disease. (American Cancer Society) They are also more likely to be in an advanced stage of the disease when diagnosed. (Winterich 2009). Recent findings released at the American Urological Association annual meeting also showed that black men also appear to be more likely to develop aggressive forms of prostate cancer.

On the other end of the spectrum, Asian-Americans and Hispanic/Latino men are less likely to develop prostate cancer than are non-Hispanic white men. (American Cancer Society)

What makes African American men so susceptible to prostate cancer? There are several possible reasons: Read More »

Share:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon

Posted in Risk factors, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Environmental Chemicals and Cancer – The Presidents Cancer Panel Report

Published: July 6, 2010  1 Comment

Prostate cancer risk has been linked to a number of environmental and other toxins and now the recently released President’s Cancer Panel Report on Environmental Cancer Risk has warned that “environmentally induced cancer has been grossly underestimated.”

The New Environmental Cancer Risk Report

The Panel’s report noted that approximately 80,000 chemicals are on the market in the United States, and many of them, which are used by millions of Americans every day, are poorly studied, have not been studied at all, or are unregulated. Such overall lack of responsible oversight and understanding of these chemicals means that “exposure to potential environmental carcinogens is widespread,” according to the Panel.

The Panel experts point out that children are at great risk for cancer due to environmental toxins and need to be protected. That protection should include stronger regulations for environmental contaminants and the use of safer alternatives to the currently used chemicals.

What You Can Do Now To Reduce Cancer Risk

Although eliminating cancer risk is far from simple, the Panel notes there are many things Americans can do right now every day to reduce their exposure to cancer-causing environmental substances. Adopting these preventive measures can help protect you and your family against the dangers of environmental carcinogens. Read More »

Share:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon

Posted in Environmental Toxins, Reports, Things to Avoid, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The New 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans – Impact on Prostate Health

Published: June 28, 2010  Leave a comment

The US Department of Agriculture has issued new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a lengthy, comprehensive, and sometimes convoluted report that most Americans do not have time to read. However, some of its main points can be boiled down, as we have attempted to do here, and particularly in their relation to prostate health.

As way of introduction, in the “Call to Action” section of the report, the authors make two “calls” to consumers: “Significantly reduce intake of foods containing added sugars and solid fats because these dietary components contribute excess calories and few, if any nutrients. In addition, reduce sodium intake and lower intake of refined grains, especially refined grains that are coupled with added sugar, solid fat, and sodium.” And: “Shift food intake patterns to a more plant-based diet that emphasizes vegetables, cooked dry beans and peas, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. In addition, increase the intake of seafood and fat-free and low-fat milk and milk products, and consume only moderate amounts of lean meats, poultry, and eggs.”

On the surface, some elements of these calls to action sound like good advice, yet when you read through the lengthy report, the details are either lacking or weak in many cases. Thus, here are some of the main points of the new recommendations and what they mean for prostate health. Read More »

Share:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon

Posted in Nutrition, Reports, The Prostate Diet, Things to Avoid, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Green Tea, Red Wine Inhibit Prostate Cancer

Published: June 23, 2010  Leave a comment

Substances in green tea and red wine called polyphenols have been shown to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer, but until now scientists were not sure how they did it. Now they believe they know.

An international team of investigators has discovered that polyphenols in green tea and red wine interrupt or “snarl the traffic” in a critical pathway that carries signals from cells. When this cell-signaling process is disrupted, it inhibits prostate cancer growth. Read More »

Share:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon

Posted in Green tea, Nutrition, The Prostate Diet | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Six Things To Do Before a PSA Test

Published: June 17, 2010  2 Comments

1. Make sure you don’t have a urinary tract infection. A bacterial infection in your urinary tract can cause PSA levels to rise temporarily, so if you suspect you may have a UTI, you should have a urine test before your PSA test just to make sure. Symptoms of a urinary tract infection include an unusually frequent need to urinate, an intense urge to urinate, pain or burning sensation during urination, and cloudy or foul-smelling urine. Symptoms associated with a UTI that has reached the kidneys include nausea and vomiting, pain or pressure in the bladder area, fever with or without chills, and pain in the side or upper back. If you do have an infection, you will be given a prescription for antibiotics. Six weeks after you have completed the course of medication, you can have your PSA test.

2. Avoid vigorous exercise and activities that stimulate or “jostle” the prostate, including bike riding, motorcycling, and riding a horse, ATV, or tractor, or prostate massage, for example, for 48 hours before your test.

3. Abstain from sexual a ctivity for 48 hours before your test. Ejaculation within this time period may affect PSA results, especially in younger men.

4. Wait at least six weeks after undergoing certain procedures including: prostate biopsy, transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), urethral catheter, cystoscopy (procedure in which tube with a camera is passed through the penis to look into the bladder), or other procedures that involve the prostate. Consult your doctor before having your PSA tested if you have had any type of prostate procedure.

5. Have the DRE test. If you have a PSA test and a prostate examination scheduled (including a digital rectal examination [DRE]), make sure you have the PSA test done first. Although a DRE or other parts of a prostate exam should not affect PSA levels, doctors generally recommend doing the PSA test first as a precaution.

6. Stop taking certain medications before your test. Talk to your doctor if you are taking statins, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, medications to control urinary problems such as finasteride or dustasteride, or other medications, natural supplements, and herbal remedies, such as saw palmetto. All of these substances have the potential to affect PSA levels.

Share:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon

Posted in Favorite Lists, PSA, Things to Avoid, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Register for The Prostate Diet

Published: June 9, 2010  8 Comments

Prostate.net will soon be publishing The Prostate.net Diet, a lifestyle, nutrition and wellness guide to maximum prostate health.  Its a book for all those wanting to live a life free of inflammation as well as those wanting the maximum protection and immunity from prostate and other disease.  The foundations of The Prostate Diet are The 6 Pillars of Prostate Health; being Nutrition (the core of The Prostate Diet), Weight Management, Lifestyle, Hormones, Natural Prevention and Sex.  Register for the Newsletter to get advance notice of its availability. A chapter list is below.  Warning! Its long!  But there is lots of great information for both men and their partners.  Any suggestions are welcome as to what else you would like included.

Prostate Overview

What is the prostate?

Main prostate disorders

BPH

Prostatitis

Prostate Cancer

Symptoms of prostate disorders

Prostate related conditions

Sex, ED and the prostate

PSA

What is PSA?

The PSA test

What causes a high PSA?

What is my PSA is high?

Digital rectal examination

Transrectal ultrasound

Prostate biopsy

High and low grade PIN

Treatment for PIN

Is a low PSA good?

Can you lower your PSA?

Problems with the PSA test

Upcoming tests for prostate cancer

EPCA-2

Read More »

Share:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon

Posted in Nutrition, Recipes, Supplements, The Prostate Diet, Uncategorized | Tagged | 8 Comments

White Tea and Prostate Cancer

Published: June 8, 2010  Leave a comment

White tea is the least processed of the tea varieties.  In fact, you may not know that black, white and green tea all come from the same leaf variety.  The difference is in the level of processing.  White being the least processed, black being the most.

With white tea, the tea leaves are picked before they even open up, and at that point they are covered with fuzzy white hairs, which gives the tea its name. The leaves are simply steamed and dried. The result is a tea that is barely processed, which allows it to hold onto high concentrations of its catechins. Read More »

Share:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon

Posted in Green tea, Nutrition, Supplements | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

46 Things to Avoid for Prostate Health

Published: May 27, 2010  2 Comments

Daily changes to lifestyle have an enormous impact on prostate health.  Here is a list of 46 changes to make today!  (Well, you don’t have to do all of them today but try and do as many as possible)

46 Things to AVOID for Prostate Health

Calcium supplements

Smoking

Overweight/obesity

Alcohol (2 drinks per week maximum)

Excess caffeine

Red and processed meats

Read More »

Share:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon

Posted in Favorite Lists, Nutrition, Things to Avoid | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Contact us

Published: May 27, 2010  Leave a comment

To advertise with Prostate.net: advertise@prostate.net

For general questions about Prostate.net: contact@prostate.net

Share:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon

Posted in Contact us, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Prostate Health, Genetics and Lifestyle

Published: May 23, 2010  Leave a comment

Recently I have been thinking more and more about the relative value of good genes versus lifestyle and what matters most in terms of living a long and healthy life and living cancer-free.

On the one side there are the arguments put forward by what I call the Gene-ists; those that believe that genes trump all and that you can lead whatever lifestyle and nothing matters as its “written in stone” as to whether you will get whatever disease you are genetically coded for.   That you can go down to CVS or the Pharmacy and get an over-the-counter genetic test and that will show your fate.  It’s no use fighting fate right!

These are the groups that point to people like Jim Fixx, author of “The Complete Book of Running”, who died at 52 after his daily run and whose Father had a heart attack at 35 and another, which eventually killed him at 42. And there are always endless stories of “Aunt Mary” who smoked until she was 95 and never got lung cancer and “Uncle John” who drank and ate what he wanted into his 90’s. And then there is the obese, unhealthy but happy person that lives way longer than the skinny, fit and depressed one who got prostate cancer. We have all heard these stories right! Why even bother when there is nothing you can do about it; enjoy the Burger King and Fries! Read More »

Share:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon

Posted in General, Nutrition | Tagged , | Leave a comment