Nutritional basics

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A 2005 study showed that an "intensive lifestyle change" had a beneficial effect on prostate cancer after one year[1]. A total of 93 men, all of whom had chosen not to undergo conventional treatment for prostate cancer, were randomly assigned to an experimental group which would be asked to make an "intensive lifestyle change" and a control group who were not required to make any changes. The control group experienced a 6% increase in PSA levels with 6 patients having to leave the study for conventional treatment due to disease progression. The experimental group was prescribed the following "intensive lifestyle changes":

  • vegan diet, supplemented with:
    • soy (1 daily serving of tofu plus 58g of a fortified soy protein powdered drink),
    • fish oil (3g daily),
    • vitamin E (400IU daily),
    • selenium (200mcg daily), and
    • vitamin C (2g daily)
  • moderate aerobic exercise (walking 30 minutes 6 days a week)
  • stress management techniques (gentle yoga based stretching, breathing, meditation, imagery and progressive relaxation for a total of 60 minutes daily
  • participate in a weekly 1-hour support group to enhance adherence to these major lifestyle changes

The experimental group which adopted these "lifestyle changes" experienced a 4% reduction in PSA levels with no patients having to leave the study for conventional treatment due to disease progression.

  1. ^ Dean Ornish, et. al. “Intensive Lifestyle Changes May Affect the Progression of Prostate Cancer” The Journal of Urology, Sept’05, pp.1065-1070