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by James Balch, M.D.
The good news is that there is
clinical proof you can build
a powerful antioxidant
defense system against prostate
cancer. By incorporating
Lyc-O-Mato® standardized natural tomato
extract, selenium and natural vitamin E into
your daily nutrition program you can access
remarkable fighting power against prostate
cancer and a host of other degenerative
diseases.
Cancer of the prostate gland is the
second leading cause of cancer death
among men. It is estimated that nearly
200,000 new cases of prostate cancer are
diagnosed and some 31,500 men die from
the disease each year. It is primarily a
disease of aging. However, men in their 30s
and 40s do contract the disease. Men aged
65 and older, African American men and
men who have a parent or sibling with
prostate cancer are at a higher risk. The
American Urological Society recommends
that every man have an annual exam
including a PSA test (prostate specific
antigen, a common marker used to detect
prostate cancer) beginning at age 50 in
order to detect the cancer in its earliest and
most treatable stage.
Recently the National Cancer Institute
announced a 12-year study involving
32,400 healthy men to determine whether
individuals taking 200 micro grams of
selenium or 400 milligrams of vitamin E or
both would show a reduction in the incidence
of prostate cancer when compared with a
placebo group receiving neither substance.
I applaud this ambitious undertaking.
However there is currently significant scientific
evidence that selenium and vitamin
E are highly effective in preventing cancer.
And in combination with Lyc-O-Mato (a
standardized tomato extract rich in
lycopene), this clinically proven trio represents
the world’s most powerful antioxidant
defense system against prostate and other
cancers.
Lyc-O-Mato
standardized
tomato extract has been shown
to be effective in the prevention
or treatment of the following
conditions:
- Prostate cancer
- Mouth cancer
- Cancer of the pharynx
- Esophageal cancer
- Stomach cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Breast cancer
- Colon cancer
- Rectal cancer
- Arteriosclerotic cancer
- Sun damage
- Lung cancer
- Endometrial cancer
- Exercise induced asthma
- Mild hypertension
- Male infertility
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Lyc-O-Mato
A standardized natural tomato extract
contains several phytonutrients found in
tomatoes including lycopene, tocopherols,
vitamin E, phytofluene, phytoene, phytosterols,
beta carotene and more. Lyc-O-Mato
is extracted from non-GMO tomatoes grown
in Israel that contain four times the lycopene
content of tomatoes grown elsewhere.
A six-year Harvard Medical School study
of healthy males found that consuming
tomatoes, tomato sauce or pizza more than
twice a week, as opposed to never, was associated
with a reduced risk of prostate cancer
of 21 to 34 percent, depending on the food.
As exciting as its cancer-prevention
potential is evidence that shows lycopene
may help fight existing cancer. A recent
paper published in the Cancer Epidemiology,
Biomarkers and Prevention by Omer Kucuk,
M.D., professor of medicine and oncology,
and his colleagues at the Karmanos Cancer
Institute in Detroit, Michigan, evaluated the
effect encapsulated Lyc-O-Mato had on
patients with existing prostate cancer. In this
study, Dr. Kucuk and colleagues followed 30
men with localized prostate cancer who were
scheduled to undergo surgical removal of the
prostate. For three weeks prior to surgery the
study participants were randomly assigned
to receive either 250 milligrams Lyc-O-Mato
from LycoRed Natural Products, Beer-
Sheva, Israel (which contains 15 milligram
of lycopene) twice daily or no intervention.
Following removal of the prostates, the
glands were analyzed to determine whether
there were any differences between the two
study groups.
The investigators found that the treated
group had smaller tumors, which were more
likely to be confined to the prostate. Levels
of serum PSA were found to decline in the
patients who received Lyc-O-Mato tomato
extract. In addition, the tumors in patients
who consumed this natural lycopene showed
signs of regression and decreased malignancy.
“This was the first published report from
a randomized prospective clinical trial
showing the efficacy of a tomato extract
supplement against prostate cancer,” said
Dr. Kucuk. “Previous reports were largely
epidemiological studies showing an association
between consumption of tomato products
and decreased risk of prostate cancer.
Furthermore, our findings suggest that a
tomato extract in the form of Lyc-O-Mato
may not only help prevent prostate cancer but
also may be useful in treating prostate cancer.”
Selenium
As with lycopene, selenium has emerged as a
major player on the cancer prevention front.
Recognized as an essential trace mineral for
years, selenium is also an essential component
in our antioxidant arsenal.
In 1996 the Journal of the American
Medical Association published the results
of a landmark double-blind, randomized,
placebo-controlled trial which showed selenium
produced an astonishing 50 percent
reduction in total cancer morality. Selenium
supplementation was also found to reduce
the incidence of all cancers by better than
one-third compared to the placebo group.
The trial included 1,312 subjects aged
18–83 who were monitored every six months
for periods that went as long as 10 years.
Results also showed that the subjects
receiving 200 micrograms (mcg) of selenium
per day had a 46 percent lower incidence of
lung cancer, 58 percent lower incidence of
colorectal and 63 percent lower incidence of
prostate cancer than the placebo group.
Another recent study found that “higher
selenium levels were associated with a
reduced risk of advanced prostate cancer.“
Researchers from Harvard University, who
followed more than 33,000 men, found that
those with the highest selenium levels were
only about one-third as likely to develop
advanced prostate cancer as those with low
selenium.
These results are significant because they
confirm that having a low level of selenium is an important risk factor for prostate cancer.
Based on the positive findings, a number
of additional prevention trials are being
conducted with selenium so public health
recommendation can be made in the near
future.
In all trials, study participants will receive
either a placebo tablet (a tablet without any
selenium) or a tablet containing SelenoExcell
High Selenium yeast, a yeast-based selenium
product made by Cypress Systems Inc., headquartered
in Fresno, California. This organic
formulation was co-developed by Cypress’
director of fermentation, Lon C. Baugh,
Ph.D. and utilized in the original trial.
SelenoExcell has been selected for the
ongoing studies because it is readily absorbed
into the body and is most like the selenium
that naturally occurs in food.
Natural Vitamin E
(d-alpha mixed tocopherols)
Vitamin E is one of the most versatile
antioxidants. It has been linked to most
degenerative diseases. It is recognized as an
essential vitamin in that the body cannot
manufacture its own vitamin E and therefore
it must be provided by foods and/or
supplements.
While vitamin E is a potent antioxidant by
itself, its effects are magnified when it works
in harmony (synergy) with other antioxidants.
One source of nearly perfect combination
of antioxidants for heart health in a
whole food is vine-grown tomatoes. They
contain vitamins C and E, along with the
carotenoid beta-carotene and lycopene. Dr.
Aviram, of the Rambam Medical Center in
Israel, has shown that pure tomato extract (as
in the product Lyc-O-Mato) dramatically
increases the resistance of LDL cholesterol to
oxidation. The reason for its effectiveness is
the combination of antioxidants working in a
complementary and supportive way to
increase overall antioxidant capability.
In his book Antioxidant Against Cancer
(Equinox Press, 2000), Ralph Moss, Ph.D.,
America’s leading expert on cancer alternatives,
provides the following information
from relevant research studies.
There are now about 15,000 medical
articles on vitamin E and about 1,500 related
to cancer. Regular use of any vitamin
supplement corresponded to significantly
reduced risk of p53 (the most important
tumor suppressor gene) mutation. Vitamin E
leads to a four-fold reduction in p53
mutation.
Giving patients vitamin E for 24 weeks
led to a 46 percent reduction in premalignant
changes in the mouth (clinical leukoplakia).
Scientists in Bern, Switzerland found that
vitamin E inhibits the activity of a substance
that stimulates tumor growth. Older people
who took vitamin E supplements daily were
41 percent less likely to die of cancer and 40
percent less likely to die of heart disease, than
people who did not take vitamin E.
Another Swiss study examined almost
3,000 men over several decades. It was found
that low vitamin E levels, especially in
smokers, was related to an increased risk of
prostate cancer.
In conclusion, while this article has
focused on the role of Lyc-O-Mato, selenium
and natural vitamin E in the prevention and
treatment of prostate cancer, it should be
noted that there is significant clinical evidence
they also play an important role in the
defense against a broad spectrum of cancers.
As well as providing a host of other natural
health benefits.
Editor’s Note: A synergistic combination of
Lyc-O-Mato (lycopene), SelenoExcell (selenium)
and natural vitamin E (mixed
tocopherols) is currently available from
Healthy Origins. For the past two years I have
considered their Lyc-O-Mato products as my
personal prostate health insurance policy.
James F. Balch, M.D. is a retired urologist
and well-known writer. An early proponent
of nutritional approaches to disease prevention,
Dr. Balch has immersed himself in the
study of tomato lycopene, the powerful
antioxidant that has been the subject of
intense anti-cancer research studies. In
addition to the growing buzz about tomatoes,
Balch is an authority on most nutrients
and painstakingly describes their effects
and interactions with other medications in
his best-selling book Prescription for
Nutritional Healing. Most recently he has
written The Super Antioxidants, 10 Natural
Remedies That Can Save Your Life, and the
preface to the new book Tomato Power a
complete guide to how the popular backyard
garden crop helps humans retain their
health.
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