STUDY:

JOURNAL: The Prostate

AUTHORS: James Barnard

ABSTRACT: Research published in the journal, The Prostate, showed a remarkable effect of diet and exercise on the destruction of prostate cancer cells.

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COMMENTARY: The researchers added blood serum from three groups of middle-aged men to cultured human prostate cancer cells and observed the effects. The first group consisted of fourteen men who were overweight and sedentary, and had diets that were high in fat and sugar.

The second group of men had been following the Pritikin program (which recommends exercise and a diet that is low in fat, sugar and sodium and high in fiber) for fourteen years. The third group included twelve men who consumed typical American diets but had been part of the University of Nevada Las Vegas Adult Fitness Program for fourteen years.

Serum from both groups of exercisers was found to contain lower levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and higher levels of IGF binding protein 1, than that of the nonexercising group of men. Three days after administering the sera to the prostate cancer cell cultures, it was found that the serum of the third group destroyed one quarter of the prostate cancer cells, compared to the destruction of only 3 percent of the cells by serum from the first group. However, followers of the Pritikin program had blood serum that killed half of the prostate cancer cells when added to the culture.