[Golden Moon Tea, December 10, 2006]

One of the forms of cancer of most concern to men is prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, after skin cancer, and is the third leading cause of cancer death in men, after colorectal cancer and lung cancer. One in six men will get prostate cancer in his lifetime and over 200,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year.

Research has shown that there are several natural ways to prevent prostate cancer. One particular study reported by the UK Tea Council outlined several ways that men can protect their prostate health by making changes to their diets. Some of the most important changes you can make to prevent prostate cancer include the following:

• Lower your fat intake - Research has shown a reduced risk in prostate cancer in men who have a low fat diet. It's particularly important to lower your saturated fat and eliminate trans fats from your diet. Saturated fat is found in red meats, butter and high fat dairy products. Trans fats are artificial fats and are actually more dangerous than any other, because the body is unable to properly process it.
  
• Increase your intake of lycopene - Lycopene, a powerful anti-oxidant found in tomatoes has been shown to be particularly effective in preventing prostate cancer. Many doctors recommend that you get your lycopene intake from tomato sauce, because it is a more concentrated form of lycopene than a simple tomato.
  
• Add a vitamin E supplement - Vitamin E also has been shown to have a cancer preventing effect in some men. A simple supplement once a day may decrease your prostate risk.
  
• Add a selenium supplement - Another mineral supplement, selenium, has also been shown to be a cancer preventative.
  
• Add a calcium and vitamin D supplement - Vitamin D has also been shown to have a cancer preventing effect, but it requires an adequate amount of calcium in order to work effectively. So, when you add one supplement, add the other.
  
• Eat soy protein - Obtaining some of your dietary protein from soy protein sources can lower your risk of prostate and other cancers. Try soy milk and tofu in place of some meat to reduce fat and increase soy protein. Soy protein has been shown to have an effect even when prostate cancer has already been diagnosed. It appears to slow or inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells.
  
• Drink green tea - Green tea has been shown in many studies to prevent several forms of cancer, including prostate cancer. Green tea is a powerful source of anti-oxidants, which can prevent free radicals from damaging our cells, leading to cancer, aging and other diseases. However, green tea has other benefits when it comes to prostate cancer. Green tea has been shown to causes apoptosis of prostate cancer cells.

Apoptosis is the systematic killing off of cells. It happens in many circumstances in the body, ensuring that only healthy, vital cells survive. However, rarely have we seen substances that can generate apoptosis in the body for the purposes of killing off abnormal cell growth like cancer cells, or abnormal cells that may grow into cancer.

Improving your diet and adding supplements is a simple way to prevent to cancer and many other diseases. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is an important key to health. Fruits and vegetables contain anti-oxidants, which are extremely important to protecting health.

Anti-oxidants combat free radicals created in our bodies as a by-product of converting food to energy. Free radicals damage our cells and DNA, causing premature aging and disease unless they are regularly neutralized by anti-oxidants. Fresh fruits and vegetables are powerful sources of anti-oxidants as is green tea, dark chocolate and red wine. So, by adding these products to your regular diet, you can help ensure that you live a long and healthy life, avoiding many types of disease like heart disease and cancer.

To date, much of the research on preventing cancer naturally has been performed on mice and in laboratory controlled studies. So, it's clear that we need to perform more tests on humans in order to truly determine the benefits of all these dietary changes and supplements in the fight against prostate cancer.

However, we do know that all the changes mentioned here are generally healthy, so we can feel good about making them even if they don't significantly lower our cancer risk.

The rates of prostate cancer have started to decline over the last 10 years. In addition, the mortality rate has declined. Today, while one in six men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime; only 1 in 34 will die from it. With emphasis on natural preventative measures, perhaps we can eradicate this form of cancer, eliminating one of the most common and significant male health problems.