Re: Study: Statins Lower Advanced Prostate Cancer Risk


Jim Chinnis wrote:
> "elgoog" <bjdefend-newsgroups@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in part:
>
> >
> >Jim Chinnis wrote:
> >> "Juhana Harju" <shantigiri@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in part:
> >>
> >> >listener wrote:
> >> >:: "Juhana Harju" <shantigiri@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
> >> >:: news:3cl274F6imrpjU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx:
> >> >::
> >> >::: listener wrote:
> >> >::::: LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as
> >> >::::: statins may slash a man's risk of advanced prostate cancer,
> >> >::::: according to research presented Monday.
> >> >:::::
> >> >::::: A study that followed more than 34,000 men over 10 years
found
> >> >::::: that men who used statins had half the risk of advanced
> >prostate
> >> >::::: cancer and one- third the risk of fatal prostate cancer,
> >compared
> >> >::::: with men who did not use the drugs.
> >> >:::::
> >> >::::: Statins -- which include Pfizer Inc.'s $10 billion-a-year
> >Lipitor,
> >> >::::: [...]
> >> >:::
> >> >::: There are definitely healthier and cheaper means to reduce
> >prostate
> >> >::: cancer risk than the use of statins.
> >> >:::
> >> >:: OK. Please show us some studies using something other than a
> >statin
> >> >:: that show tens of thousands of men over a multi-year period
> >halving
> >> >:: their risk of advanced prostate cancer and lowering by
one-third
> >> >:: their risk of *fatal* prostate cancer. I would be curious to
read
> >> >:: any legitimate studies you can offer. Really.
> >> >
> >> >There is perhaps no singular way to reduce prostate cancer risk
as
> >much. But
> >> >it is possible to reduce the risk at least as much by combing
some
> >dietary
> >> >means: reducing animal protein intake, taking care of adequate
> >vitamin D
> >> >intake, by drinking red wine, using certain spices, fish oils
etc.
> >>
> >> I don't see the kinds of evidence of the kinds of benefits
> >> listener asked about. A nice dietary preventive would be terrific,
> >> but the evidence remains unclear. Besides, I get my veggies
> >> already, including tomatoes (lycopene) and nuts (selenium).
> >> Despite that, I figure my absolute PCa risk is quite a bit higher
> >> than my absolute risk of an MI or stroke. So I'd be quite happy to
> >> learn that statins reduce mortality from the primary lethal cancer
> >> in non-smoking men such as myself by one-third!
> >> --
> >> Jim Chinnis Warrenton, Virginia, USA
> >
> >I think statins serve a medicinal purpose. I think its up to each of
us
> >to avoid the need for drugs as best we can by making the best
choices
> >possible. As more information becomes available, we can adjust our
> >habits accordingly - always applying a healthy skepticism and
provided
> >adequate research. ;-)
> >
> >Here's another study that shows the benefits of green tea in
reducing
> >prostate cancer risk,
> >
> >Green Tea May Curb Prostate Cancer in Men at Risk
>
>http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&e=13&u=/nm/cancer_greentea_dc
> <snip>
>
> Taking 3 to 4 gallons a day of green tea isn't exactly necessarily
> any safer than taking a statin. Green tea has some potential
> risks--at least those due to its interference with folate and RNA
> transcription. Methotrexate might halt the progression to PCa as
> well....
>
> I like randomized trials, though. So much of the work that gets
> cited is based on observational studies where no amount of
> tweaking can ever clarify which variables had an effect on others.
> --
> Jim Chinnis Warrenton, Virginia, USA

16 Cups = 1 Gallon(US), so 12-15 cups would be less than one gallon,
but more green tea than I care to drink in a day.

I prefer the more moderate approach. I drink 2-3 cups of green tea per
day (decaffeinated with the do-it-yourself method). At any rate, they
were using green tea catechins as supplements and not drinking it.

If you are using green tea supplements, you may be getting very high
doses; but, I am not aware of health dangers associated to natural
green tea. Hypokalemia has been linked to regular daily consumption of
more than 14 cups of black and oolong (fermented) teas in elderly
people.** But, that makes sense because the caffeine content in
fermented teas is much higher.

Anyway, a properly prepared and decaffeinated cup of green tea is
delicious and soothing. There are many purported health benefits of
green tea, but these are secondary to the enjoyment.

ref.
** Aizaki T, Osaka M, Hara H, et al. Hypokalemia with syncope caused by
habitual drinking of oolong tea. Intern Med. 1999;38(3):252-256

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