Is
there something else I can do to ward off prostate cancer?
Dear John,
I am worried about developing prostate cancer.
I am an older man, and understand that eating a whole foods plant-based
diet and avoiding dairy products will lower my risk, but is there
anything else I can do to avoid this disease?
Harvey
Dear Harvey,
Yes, there is. A study published in the Journal of Urology in 2001
found that men with high blood levels of the mineral selenium had
a four- to five-fold decrease in the risk of prostate cancer. "This
study showed that there was a direct connection between selenium
and prostate cancer," said Stanford's Dr. James Brooks, lead author
of the study. "Older men with higher levels of selenium were at
lower risk, while, conversely, individuals with the lowest range
of plasma selenium represent a population at risk for the development
of prostate cancer."
The study's authors suggest taking selenium supplements to ward
off this most common form of cancer in men. If you are going to
take supplements, though, don't fall into the trap of believing
that if some is good, then more is automatically better. Too much
selenium can be dangerous. More than 400 mcg a day is probably not
helpful. 2,500 mcg per day is almost certainly toxic to most people.
200 - 250 mcg a day is quite enough.
If you derive your selenium from foods rather than supplements,
there is little chance of overdosing. Brazil nuts are the best food
source of selenium. Garlic, whole grains, sunflower seeds, broccoli
sprouts, and other nuts and seeds are all good sources of selenium,
if they are grown on selenium-rich soil.
Tables that show how much selenium can be found in specific quantities
of individual foods are of little use, because selenium levels in
foods vary depending on the amount of selenium available in the
soil. Selenium levels in most U.S. and Canadian soils are generally
adequate, but U.K. and European soils are often deficient. If I
were living in these parts of the world, I would definitely either
take selenium supplements, or be sure I ate two or three Brazil
nuts every day.
