A first-of-its-kind study has found evidence that dietary calcium, including calcium from non-dairy sources, may increase the risk of prostate cancer. Results of the study, which involved Chinese men, were published in Cancer Research.

Previous studies performed in populations in North America and Europe have noted an association between a high consumption of dairy foods and an increased risk of prostate cancer. Although several studies have suggested that the calcium in milk is the trigger, the evidence is not clear. Continue Reading »

How much do you know about erectile dysfunction? Answer True or False to each of the following statements.

1. Most men who experience ED are older than 65

2. Erectile dysfunction is usually a psychological problem, not a physical one.

3. A urologist can help with treatment for ED. Continue Reading »

Men who are heavy alcohol users are at least twice as likely to be diagnosed with high-grade prostate cancer than those who engage in less heavy drinking. That’s the word from researchers at the University of California San Francisco.

In the University of California study, which was published in the journal Cancer, researchers evaluated data from more than 10,000 men who had participated in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial. They discovered that men who reported heavy alcohol use (50 grams or greater of alcohol per day) and regular heavy drinking (4 or more drinks per day on 5 or more days per week) were at least twice as likely to be diagnosed with high-grade prostate cancer. Continue Reading »

Could infertility in men be a risk factor for prostate cancer? Results of a recent study indicate that it may be wise to screen men who are infertile for the possibility of prostate cancer, as researchers found a greater risk of high-grade prostate cancer among this population of men.

A research team from the University of Washington in Seattle analyzed the risk of prostate cancer among 22,562 men who had been evaluated for infertility at 15 fertility centers in California over a 30-year period. The incidence of prostate cancer found in these men was compared with the incidence in men of similar age and geographic location from the general population. Continue Reading »

That would be Monsanto.

Chemical giant Monsanto is the king of genetically modified soybeans. Along with the fact that no one has definitively determined that genetically modified soybeans (or other GM foods) are safe (the fact that no one has definitely linked any deaths or serious illnesses to consumption of GM foods does not mean they are safe), these beans require more pesticides than conventional soybeans, yield smaller crops, and appear to be responsible for the growth of resistant weeds. Continue Reading »

BPA has the potential to be an endocrine disruptor meaning that it can influence the hormonal balance (mainly testosterone and estrogen) in humans. Scientists have known for about 80 years that BPA acts like a synthetic estrogen, but that has not stopped the food industry from using BPA in the lining of food cans. Given that prostate, breast and other cancers and disease are influenced (and some believe, caused) by a hormonal imbalance its a great policy to seek out BPA free foods and packaging whenever possible.

I recently wrote to the Customer Service section of Vital Choice to get their response to a question on whether their canned seafood contained BPA as most of the public concerns over BPA arise from its use as a liner in food cans as well as in plastics and other containers as well as paper products. Vital Choice is a provider of seafood and other foods. We eat their products at home and order them over the Internet. Its a great Company and we wanted to make sure that we were getting the highest quality foods with minimal risk of BPA exposure. Their response indicated that they were unique in certifying their cans BPA Free but that their had been some detection of BPA in their canned seafood found by the Consumers Union.

Vital Choice is one of a limited amount of companies that certify their cans BPA free so overall I think they are pretty good choice, especially considering they are trying to lead the market in being BPA free. Here is their reply: Continue Reading »

Reports this morning from consumer organizations on the dangers of Yohimbe. Here is Prostate.nets review:

Yohimbe (Pausinystalia yohimbe) is an evergreen tree that grows in various locations throughout the African continent. Traditionally yohimbe was used in Africa to treat fever and leprosy, and as an aphrodisiac. The bark of the tree contains alkaloids, the main one of which is called yohimbine, which you may recognize as a prescription drug used to treat erectile dysfunction, although it is rarely used today since Viagra and other ED prescription drugs hit the market. Continue Reading »

Good or bad prostate eating habit?

A new report by the Environmental Working Group shows that BPA (Bisphenol-A) on a paper receipt is 250 to 1,000 times greater than the amount typically found in a can of food or a can of baby formula. BPA has been linked to various forms of cancer including prostate cancer. For a summary of the report and the stores with the highest BPA levels in paper receipts click here (hint; you may want to avoid handling those Safeway receipts!)

Scientists have known for about 80 years that BPA acts like a synthetic estrogen, but that has not stopped the food industry from using this endocrine disruptor in the lining of food cans. An endocrine disruptor is a substance, like BPA, that can disrupt how hormones transport messages in the body. Because it takes very few hormone molecules to carry messages, endocrine disruptors can cause chaos at very low concentrations, even as low as a few parts per trillion of BPA. Continue Reading »

The study that led to the FDA approval for Provenge for prostate cancer treatment has been made available in the New England Journal of Medicine. In the study, men with prostate cancer that no longer responds to hormone therapy (basically, chemical castration) lived about four months longer if they took Provenge than if they got placebo treatment. The four months comes at a cost of $93,000. There are about 100,000 American men that have the kind of hormone-resistant, metastatic cancer the drug is approved to treat although Dendreon, the company that makes Provenge can only make enough at this point for 2,000 patients in the first year. More at NPR on the studies findings and more on the FDA’s questions over Provenge.