Studies have found that the fruits of the saw palmetto are highly enriched with fatty acids and phytosterols, leading to these extracts being the subjects of intensive research for the treatment of various urinary tract infections and other medical conditions.

Early studies found that the saw palmetto in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) yielded encouraging results, suggesting that there was good tolerability and “mild to moderate improvement in urinary symptoms and flow measures“.

Today it has been determined by further research that this extract from the berry of the parsley may also have anti-cancer properties. This latest was announced by researchers at a meeting of The American Society (ACS) for Cell Biology.

Another group of researchers at Children’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts stated that they “wanted to know if the saw palmetto had any effect on prostate cancer cells”  because already it was that the berry extract had some effect on the prostate. To that end they analyzed the effects of saw palmetto berry extract on cancer cells and found encouraging results.

The saw palmetto berry extract decreases cell growth of the prostate cancer tumors in a good number of the test subjects, and in other instances slowed the growth of generic cancer cells. Understandably researchers have seen this kind of thing before, so that they are a lot more careful about getting excited. Instead they choose to look closer at what they are dealing with so that more definitive results can be derived.

According to findings, the primary therapeutic action of the herb is to interfere with the forming of DHT (dihydrotestosterone) by compromising 5-alpha and 3-alpha reductase actions in the body, and also to block the action of DHT to receptors on prostate cells using 3-ketosteroid reductase. Based on the same research, it has now been determined that there are anti-inflammatory and antiestrogenic effects that can be gotten from the use of saw palmetto in therapy.

The purified extract of saw palmetto contains about 95% fatty acids and sterols, but what is available in the market may be different than that. However, since the saw palmetto is now known to have these beneficial effects on prostate cancer, it might help if one could maintain only small bits of it all through life as a preventive measure.

It was discovered that Italian men have lower rate of cancer of the prostate than men in the United States. One major factor responsible for this difference is that Italian men do consume Oregano, which is usually used as spices in Pizzas. The following are more details on this presentation:

Italian men have a lower incidence of prostate cancer when compared to men in the United States. And a recent study by Long Island University researchers may have discovered part of their secret in a common spice they frequently consume—oregano.

The results of the study were presented at the Experimental Biology 2012 poster session on Tuesday, April 24, 2012. Experimental Biology is an annual gathering of six scientific societies—American Association of Anatomists (AAA), American Physiological Society (APS), American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP), American Society for Nutrition (ASN) and the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men and the second leading cause of cancer death. According to the latest statistics available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control more than 29,000 men died of prostate cancer in 2007. The current treatment options for patients—surgery, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, hormone therapy and vaccine therapy—all involve significant risks and side effects.

Oregano is typically associated with Italian cuisine and a common spice added to pizza seasoning. For thousands of years oregano has been prized as a medicinal herb by holistic healers. Hippocrates, a Greek physician and the father of Western medicine, used it for stomach and respiratory ailments. Benedictine healer and herbalist Hildegard of Bingen purportedly used oregano for female and respiratory problems. The Greeks and Romans used oregano medicinally for aching muscles and spider bites.

Modern science has discovered that oregano possesses an abundance of therapeutic qualities, including antiviral, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. Oregano essential oil is used for wart removal, arthritis, respiratory infections and as a digestive aid. The primary active compound of oregano is carvacrol. Click here to read the full extract.

The link of Oregano with prostate cancer is nothing short of a breakthrough. This is an alternative medication and it can work well to prevent cancer of the prostate. It is my opinion that this herb, when included among other forms of prostate cancer treatments, could be more effective with fewer side effects. For now, as more research is being carried out on this herb, there is hope that the medicinal properties of this herb would be extracted to treat cancer in the prostate cells.

Finally, the Oregano – prostate cancer theory provides support for other theories like those linking the eating of Pizza with the prevention of cancer of the prostate.

And that is what natural treatments really are, common sense. Treating a disease like prostate cancer by natural means that can be found in the immediate environs is certainly an option when most of the other options are really not very attractive. And the fact that these natural treatments are mostly easily available and affordable only makes them that much more toothsome.

One of the most popular (and growing) natural treatments for prostate cancer at this time is lycopene. Sourced from tomatoes and several other red pigmented fruits and vegetables, lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that has been researched for a long time to determine exactly how it helps in the prevention of prostate cancer. Already it has been determined to have serious protective effects when dealing with certain forms of cancer, and at the moment its precise uses in prostate cancer prevention and treatment are being explored in vitro and in vivo.

The mineral selenium is an element that is often found alongside vitamin E, which itself has been proven to have health giving effects against several ailments. According to certain reports, factors that may increase prostate cancer risk include low intake of vitamin E and the mineral selenium because it has been found to have anticarcinogenic effects in all kinds of studies.

In studies selenium in moderate does over long-term use appears to block the progress of prostate tumors lowers risk of the cancer, though large amounts of the element are toxic. Ongoing clinical tests should confirm this in just a few years.

And speaking of vitamins, abundant in fruits and vegetables, they have been associated with lowered risk of various forms of cancer as well. Specifically with respect to prostate cancer, dietary amounts of certain vitamins have been found to contribute to prostate cancer risk.

The last paragraph mentions vitamin E, but there is also vitamin D, lower blood levels of which may increase the risk of developing prostate cancer while on the contrary, high plasma levels of it may have a protective effect that is yet being studied in clinical trials. Vitamin A, and not the synthetic vitamin A palmitate, may also lower the risk of certain cancers, so a man looking to treat prostate cancer or prevent it may as well indulge.

And that is the point here precisely – alternative medicine is every bit as potent (if not more so) as clinical medicine; and when it comes to the treatment of such ill understood maladies like prostate cancer, we certainly can use all the help that we can get.

Saw Palmetto

Take the Saw Palmetto, for instance; most people are already aware that the herb has some effective remedial value when it comes to prostate health. For age it has been used for the treatment of prostate enlargement, an aging ailment that is clinically call benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH). As it turns out, studies are now coming forth describing the basil also as helpful in the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer. It would only make sense anyway, considering that overall prostate health is a key ingredient in the prevention of such a disease.

Pomegranate Juice

Perhaps the Pomegranate Juice in Prostate Cancer was not always known as a form of medicine, but today it is. Today the juice made from the essence if the fruit is believed to be so helpful for the treatment of prostate cancer that some doctors prescribe it along with any other remedy they provide for men that have been diagnosed with prostate cancer – that is, alongside radiotherapy or radical prostatectomy. That ought to say something about what has been determined medically concerning the herb.

Green Tea

Green tea is in many ways similar to the saw palmetto, and it is in no way a secret that most cultures have always found some medicinal use for the parsley. Incidentally, researchers have determined that it does contribute in some way to prostate health and encourage that men should down a cup or two of steaming brew made from the natural substance once or twice a day, and they could actually prevent the onset of prostate cancer. Certainly that ought to be able to help also in preventing the disease from recurring after it has been cured for the first time.

Tomatoes/Lycopene

In an interestingly strange but sweet twist, one of the most common staples all across the world when it comes to food and nutrition also turns out to have health values with respect to prostate cancer. Tomatoes contain lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that interferes with the harmful oxidation of free radicals in the body. Now clinical studies have determined that helpings of tomato products or the tomato itself per day can lower prostate cancer risk by 35%. Now ain’t that just something?

Another focus of alternative therapy for prostate cancer is to slow PSA doubling times; and a third is to have effects similar to these on the secondary markers of the disease such as symptoms and illness in men that are living with localized (early stage) prostate cancer.

As a start, it has been determined through various researches that PSA levels are lowered in men with apparent localized prostate cancer when they indulge in a vegan diet that allows for some fish (apparently because of the polyunsaturated fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 that are present in fish oils), regular exercise, and stress reduction.

Interestingly, the results of tests that were carried out in this regards were proven durable after two years worth of treatment, which is impressive enough.

As an alternative therapy, pomegranate juice is also making interesting waves in the medical community. Although (most definitely) not accepted into mainstream medical use, many doctors now prescribe a mouthful of the substance daily in order to reduce PSA levels in their body, and assure prostate health.

Even genistein, an isoflavone found in various legumes, has been found to slow PSA doubling times in men that have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, which strongly suggests a therapeutic value for the substance, as well as a preventive one.

Perhaps the most popular alternative treatment for prostate cancer is the saw palmetto, known in the United States at this time to help in the treatment of enlarged prostate and other prostate disorders that may predispose prostate cancer. Making and regularly drinking a brew from the herb will most definitely help in treating the disease and lowering the risk of occurrence or recurrence. The same in fact can be said concerning green tea.

Regarding Saw Palmetto however, new Saw Palmetto and Prostate Cancer researches are beginning to say it has no effect whatsoever in treating the condition. Whether this is true or not remains to be debated.

Other natural products have been featuring strongly as potential prostate cancer cures, and may be the reason why certain people in the world have a much lower incidence of the disease. Capsaicin, found in hot peppers, and lycopene found in tomatoes are stalwartly being researched in order to determine exactly what doses are ideal for prostate cancer treatment. In the meantime, men are urged to eat as much of them as they can reasonably manage.

The primary objective in prostate cancer treatment is to cure the disease; but if that becomes impossible or improbable, at least they’ll like to extend the life of the patient, and relieve the symptoms of metastatic disease that he is suffering, slow the progression of the disease progression, postpone his symptoms, reduce his PSA levels, slow PSA doubling times, and/or have similar effects on secondary markers in men with localized cancer.

To that end, there are several alternative remedies, incidentally. Pomegranate juice is one such, and genistein is another. Pomegranate juice is certainly well known enough; genistein is an isoflavone that is found in various legumes. These substances have a health dealing effect on prostate cancer and can be used both in prevention and in treating the disease. Some doctors even recommend a daily dose, although they would hardly go so far as to actually prescribe it.

Even during conventional treatment for prostate cancer, the doctors will urge that a patient should pay attention to what he eats. The reason why is because various foods have been linked to prostate cancer risk, and a number of others had been found to reduce that risk.

Vegetables and fruit, including natural sources of fish oils are determines to be ideal for preventing and treating prostate cancer, while other foods like red meat, processed foods, vitamin A palmitate rich products, and high fat diets have all been found to contribute to prostate cancer risk. The choice here is obvious.

The saw palmetto is said to help in the treatment of prostate enlargement, and is said to posses the antioxidant properties that prostate cancer treatment needs. Whatever the real truth is though, it only makes sense that one should consume more of it while treating prostate cancer or trying to prevent it. It’s pretty much the same with green tea, a natural herb with many medicinal properties.

Capsaicin from pepper and lycopene from tomatoes are it also, and merely indulging in them might be all it takes to prevent prostate cancer. Why, a daily helping of tomato products – even ketchup – is allegedly said to be able to lower prostate cancer risk by as much as 35%!

It has been generally accepted, especially by many in the herbal remedy groups that Saw Palmetto as a herbal solution for prostate cancer works.

We have even talked about it in other herbal-remedy related articles on this website. But we just found out now that some scientists have carried out tests and concluded that Saw Palmetto is actually no different from a placebo.

Read the rest of the news article below:

Scientists investigating a popular herbal treatment for enlarged prostate, saw palmetto, have concluded it is no more effective than a placebo.

That conclusion comes from a study which included hundreds of men in their forties and older.

As men age, the prostate gland often gets larger. The prostate surrounds the urethra, which carries urine from the bladder to the penis. An enlarged prostate can impede the flow of urine, causing a variety of symptoms.

There are prescription drugs which can ease symptoms, but many men prefer the “natural” alternative: an extract from the saw palmetto tree, native to the American Southeast.

“It’s actually a very complex extract. It has quite a number of different chemicals and molecules within it, several of which are plausible agents to affect the way a man urinates, to even shrink the prostate,” says Gerald L. Andreiole of Washington University Medical School in St. Louis, who co-authored a paper on the study.

The men in the study were randomly assigned to two groups – one got progressively larger doses of saw palmetto; the other group got a placebo – a dummy pill. It was a double-blind study – neither the participants nor staff knew who was getting which.

They filled out a standard questionnaire used by urologists to assess prostate enlargement. It includes questions like, “How many times did you need to get up [to urinate] at night, how often did you experience frequency, urgency, the sense of incomplete bladder emptying. This is a standard symptom score that has been used for close to 20 years.”

By the end of the study, after about 16 months, Andriole says the symptom scores improved for both groups of men. “But there was no difference in the magnitude of symptom score improvement between placebo and saw palmetto.” Read more here.

The good thing, though, is that it’s not harmful in itself. It’s just the fact that some people might decide not to go for further treatments while taking such herbal remedies… while the condition gets worse, unknown to them. I hope you learned something from this news article on Saw Palmetto Herbal Remedy for Prostate Cancer.

Running through a short list, vitamins from various vegetable and fruit sources have been found to have healing properties against prostate cancer, and may actually prevent the disease. For one thing, they certainly contribute to a lowered incidence of prostate cancer amongst those who feed more on them than on high fat meals, red meat, and processed foods.

Lycopene, for instance, a very powerful antioxidant that is found in tomatoes, watermelons, and some other red pigmented vegetables and fruit is already confirmed to at least lower prostate cancer risk by about 35% in men who consume certain portions of it daily.

In an interesting twist, fish oils have been found to also have health values against prostate cancer. In specific, polyunsaturated fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 that are found richly in various forms of fish (especially the tuna and the salmon) are now believed to be able to contribute to a reduced incidence of the disease. For that reason, some scientists say that a vegan diet that allows for a little fish would be ideal for preventing prostate cancer, and can certainly help slow PSA doubling times in patients with the disease.

Prostate cancer is not believed to be curable after a certain stage, but it was recently found that capsaicin, an ingredient in red peppers that were harvested in South America, and that is abundant in various other species of the spice, can cause advanced prostate cancer cells to undergo programmed cell death or apoptosis. Even though this has not been concluded in findings, there is no telling the excitement about the discovery – for all that is known it may be the cure for the disease.

Various other natural treatments for prostate cancer  or disorders actually can help in the treatment of prostate cancer as well. The saw palmetto, well known for its medicinal value against BPH is one of them; the saw palmetto is another; a third is green tea; and fourth comes pomegranate – specifically pomegranate juice. Besides the fact that several doctors urge them now for patients undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, there is the reasoning that if they can aid in treating prostate disorders, they can aid in treating prostate cancer as well.

A good example, one might suppose, is the higher incidence of prostate cancer in the industrialized nations of the West as against the incidence of the melanoma in Third World countries. For some reason, South America, Africa, and Asia do not suffer from prostate cancer as much as the United States, Canada, and certain parts of Europe do. Of course it is possible that there are various other environmental factors that might contribute to these statistics, but so far studies have strongly implicated treated foods and high calorie diets as contributory to the incidence of prostate cancer.

It is thereby no error of chance that diet is listed as a primary (casual) risk factor for prostate cancer; and in that light, you might want to pay attention to what the oncologist suggests and start to work on your diet. Better still, perhaps you should not wait until then before you get at it; instead you could begin right away and start to work on helping yourself live a longer healthier life in spite of your risk of prostate cancer, or diagnosis thereof.

First of all, you want to increase your intake of vitamin E, which is critical in forming red blood cells and muscles and tissues in your body. In addition, vitamin E has antioxidant properties that inhibit the dangerous oxidation of free radicals in your body that have been implicated as cancer causing agents. You will get your vitamin E abundant in vegetable oils, wheat germ, liver, and leafy green vegetables. You might also want to look around for sources of the mineral selenium, an element found in tiny amounts in plants and yeasts and associated with lowered risk of prostate cancer.

Lycopene is another dietary supplement that you should totally pick up because of its well known healing effects for prostate cancer patients. Also rich with antioxidant qualities, you will obtain it primarily from tomatoes, and you can also get lycopene from broccoli. You will need to work on your vitamin D sources as well, if you will hope to effectively cure yourself of prostate cancer. It is a mineral that essentially protects the body from the effects of low calcium intake and also lowers the risk of prostate cancer, while also lowering your PSA levels.

And while you are taking on all these new diet supplements for prostate cancer patient, you might want to do away with dairy, low-fat milk and other dairy products that have a vitamin A palmitate constituent. The substance has been shown to contribute to the risk of prostate cancer because it reacts with zinc and protein to form an unabsorbable complex. In the same breath, you want to do away with diets rich in animal fats, red meat, and high fat dairy products; what you need really is just a vegan diet, and some fish, and you will cure faster.

DIET – diet is one of the risk factors of prostate cancer, and it also may be used manipulatively as a means to cure the syndrome if managed properly. Certain foods increase your risk of developing the mutant condition in the cells of your prostate, and certain others lower your risk of prostate cancer. For all intents and purposes, the same foods that lower your risk of prostate cancer also help you cure from the disease. You have to do away with processed foods and high calorie meals that you don’t need; you should get rid of the vitamin A palmitate and all that red meat you have been consuming, and you should start to do a lot more of vitamins D and E, with a lot of fibrous and non fibrous fruit and vegetables. As a matter of fact, if you already have a prostate cancer diagnosis, you might want to swear yourself unto a vegan diet and allow yourself only fish. Without doubt, your blood PSA levels will start to fall if you keep it up for a good while.

LIFESTYLE AND EXERCISE – it is a simple yet complex relationship between exercise and most disease under the sun, but the bottom line is simply that exercise generally keeps diseases away. If you were to exercise more, you would improve the rate at which the blood was flowing through your veins and arteries, serving to the various parts of your body that sustain your health and clean your body of cancer causing agents. This works both as a preventive and a curative technique because shortly after you begin to exercise well even after a diagnosis, your prostate specific antigen levels also drop.

CHIROPRACTIC CURES – actually, chiropractic interventions for prostate cancer only work best in a precautionary and deterrent capacity, and not so much as a cure for the melanoma. It works by manipulating and adjusting bone and tissue, particularly in the spinal column, using a variety of manual, mechanical, and electrical treatments. Because they are drug-free, non-surgical management techniques, there is zero risk of complications or side effects from a chiropractic cure to prostate cancer. Even other diseases – bladder infections, arthritis, depression – they all respond to the treatment.

CULINARY HERBS – there are a few culinary herbs and produces that may be helpful against prostate cancer, especially pomegranate juice, which is already finding use in a medical capacity. Others include flaxseed, pygeum Africanum, and a number of others.