Drug Industry Pushing New Treatment for Prostate Cancer While Ignoring Far Safer and Less Costly Pomegranate Seeds

Wednesday, February 25, 2009 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...) Tags: Prostate, Pomegranate, health news

(NaturalNews) The drug industry is pushing a new "treatment" for prostate cancer, which they claim is the first drug that's ever been proven to reduce the risk of the disease. The drug, called finasteride, costs over $1,000 per year, and it should be used by lots of men to chemically "prevent" prostate cancer, says the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Urological Association.

As usual, the benefits of the drug are being wildly hyped by its promoters. In reality, a statistical analysis of the study reveals that you would have to treat 71 men with the drug for seven years just to prevent a single case of prostate cancer. That means society would have to spend about half a million dollars while exposing 71 men to this non-natural chemical in order to prevent just one case of the disease! This startling fact is admitted by the very author of the study. (Barnett Kramer of the National Institutes of Health).

Meanwhile, the drug -- sold under brand names Proscar and Propecia -- has side effects that include low libido, breast tenderness (in men!) and impotence. And those are only the side effects they know about so far.

What the drug industry refuses to mention, of course, are all the natural remedies that can either prevent or even help reverse prostate cancer. Among those natural remedies, pomegranate is one of the best-known nutritional remedies for prostate cancer. Pomegranate seeds, it turns out, contain a wealth of anti-cancer nutrients that haven't even begun to be truly understood by western medical scientists.

When it comes to prostate cancer, the best medicine in the world comes straight from Mother Nature.

Authors' Quotes on Prostate and Pomegranate

Below, you'll find selected quotes from noted authors on the subject of Prostate and Pomegranate. Feel free to quote these in your own work provided you give proper credit to both the original author quoted here and this NaturalNews page.

Investigators are also excited about the possibility that pomegranate compounds might prevent prostate cancer or slow its growth. Other preliminary research suggests that pomegranate juice might help protect against skin and breast cancer. Even arthritis may yield to the power of pomegranates. Scientists at Case Western Reserve University have reported that tissue cultures of human cartilage cells respond to pomegranate extract. Inflammation is reduced and the enzymes that break down cartilage become less active.
- Best Choices From the People's Pharmacy by Joe Graedon, M.S. and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D.
- Available on Amazon.com

In addition to being good for your heart and blood vessels, pomegranates have been shown to inhibit breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, and leukemia and to prevent vascular changes that promote tumor growth in lab animals. Pomegranates' potent antioxidant compounds also have been shown to reduce platelet aggregation and naturally lower blood pressure, factors that prevent both heart attacks and strokes.
- Cholesterol Protection for Life, New Expanded Edition by Dr. Joel Fuhrman
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Journal Nutritional Biochemistry 16: 360-67, 2005] Numerous reports extol pomegranate for prostate, colon and skin cancer. Its one drawback is that ellagic acid, a primary antioxidant in pomegranate, is poorly absorbed. However, it still has potency against colon cancer. [Clinical Chim Acta 348: 63-68, 2004] Ellagic acid, found in pomegranate and red raspberries, inhibits an enzyme, topoisomerase, that breaks DNA strands that can produce cancer. Ellagic acid mimics the cancer drug etoposide (Etopophos, vepesid).
- You Don't Have to be Afraid of Cancer Anymore by Bill Sardi
- Available on Amazon.com

In addition to being good for your heart and blood vessels, pomegranates have been shown to inhibit breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, and leukemia and to prevent vascular changes that promote tumor growth in lab animals. Pomegranates' potent antioxidant compounds also have been shown to reduce platelet aggregation and naturally lower blood pressure, factors that prevent both heart attacks and strokes.
- Cholesterol Protection for Life, New Expanded Edition by Dr. Joel Fuhrman
- Available on Amazon.com

Preliminary research in animals suggests that pomegranate juice may help prevent prostate cancer.
Most important to this discussion, pomegranates may be valuable in combating arthritis. Scientists at Case Western Reserve University have reported in the Journal of Nutrition that tissue cultures of human cartilage cells respond to pomegranate extract.131 Inflammation is reduced and the enzymes that break down cartilage become less active.
Tariq Haqqi, PhD, is professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University and the lead investigator in this research.
- Best Choices From the People's Pharmacy by Joe Graedon, M.S. and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D.
- Available on Amazon.com

Studies have shown the anti-cancer activity on cancer cells of the breast, esophagus, skin, colon, prostate and pancreas. It can bind with cancer causing molecules, making them inactive and is chemoprotective against various chemically induced cancers. Ellagic acid helps eliminate excess nickel from the body. Plants produce ellagic acid to protect themselves from microbiological infection and pests. It's present in many red fruits and berries, including raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, cranberries, apples and pomegranate and some nuts including pecans and walnuts.
- Get Balanced-the Natural Way to Better Health with Superfoods by Jan Lovejoy
- Available on Amazon.com

Prostate problems have the same risk factors as so many other health problems, like a diet high in saturated fats and being overweight. But a number of nutrients have been shown to improve prostate health, such as green tea (because of the polyphenols) and pomegranates.
- You: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty by Mehmet C. Oz., M.D. and Michael F. Roizen, M.D.
- Available on Amazon.com

Antioxidants have been proven protective against many cancers, including lung, colon, breast, prostate, and ovarian cancer. In general, the more colorful the food you eat, the higher its antioxidant content will be. Cooking and microwaving lower the amount of antioxidants in your foods, so fresh is always best. Berries, pomegranates, sunflower seeds, and walnuts are foods with some of the highest antioxidant content. All citrus fruits, including oranges, pineapples, kiwi fruits, prunes, and dates, are also very good sources.
- The Natural Hormone Makeover: 10 Steps to Rejuvenate Your Health and Rediscover Your Inner Glow by Phuli Cohan
- Available on Amazon.com

Sources for this story:

• Drugs May Help Healthy Men Lower Prostate Cancer Risk
- US News & World Report

• Experts promote baldness drug for prostate cancer
- Reuters

• More Men Are Urged to Take Drug Against Prostate Cancer
- Washington Post

• Drug recommended to prevent prostate cancer in some older men
- LA Times