Health Alert 106
How easy is it to cut your risk of prostate cancer by 1/3? It’s as easy as taking a vitamin. I have new evidence that vitamin E can cut your risk of prostate cancer by over 30%.
Today in your third installment of Health Alerts on protecting your prostate, I’ll show you the proof. I’ll also give you some tips on how to use this incredible find in your prevention program.
* Case for Vitamin E Gets Stronger *
We’ve known that vitamin E can help prevent heart disease for years. But research from Finland gives us with the first massive study proving that vitamin E prevents prostate cancer.
Researchers monitored over 29,000 men for up to 8 years. They took either vitamin E or a placebo daily. The men taking the vitamin E had a 32% lower rate of prostate cancer. Also, these men had a 41% fewer deaths from prostate cancer than those men not taking vitamin E.1
Another report, from the well recognized Physician’s Health Study, supports the Finnish findings. The study was a randomized, double-blinded analysis of over 22,000 men. It concluded that vitamin E was successful at inhibiting cancer.2
The researchers believed that vitamin E prevented cancer in a several ways. By:
• Neutralizing free radicals in your body
• Protecting your cells from oxidation
• Aiding in cell membrane stability
• Stopping damaged cells from multiplying
* How You Can Get This Protection *
The very best forms of vitamin E come straight from mother nature. You can find vitamin E in a wide variety of foods. The best of these includes:
• Nuts
• Nut oils
• Seeds
• Apples
• Beef
• Seafood
• Avocados
• Spinach
Sadly, the vast majority of Americans don’t consume nearly enough vitamin E. And, it would be very difficult to eat enough to get the amounts of vitamin E used in the studies. To get these amounts you’ll need to take vitamin E in supplement form.
Remember that vitamin E is really a broad term for 8 related substances. They consist of 4 types of tocopherols and 4 types of tocotrienols:
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Alpha Tocopherol
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Alpha Tocotrienol
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Beta Tocopherol
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Beta Tocotrienol
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Delta Tocopherol
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Delta Tocotrienol
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Gamma Tocopherol
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Gamma Tocotrienol
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Each of these substances has their own unique protective qualities. The most effective supplements have a mixture of these 8 substances. Some supplement manufacturers are catching onto this important aspect.
Fill your diet with foods rich in vitamin E. But in addition, I also recommend 400 IU of vitamin E daily. Try to find a blend with mixed tocotrienols and tocopherols.
Al Sears MD
1 ATBC Cancer Prevention Study Group. Incidence of cancer and mortality following a-tocopherol and B-carotene supplementation. JAMA 2003; 290: 476-485
2 Christen W., et al. Design of Physician’s Health Study II- a randomized trial of beta-carotene, vitamin E, and multivitamins, in prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and eye disease, and review of results of completed trials. Ann Epidemiol 2000 Feb; 10(2): 125-135