Zinc Protects Dna Integrity In The Prostate
The general functions of zinc in the maintenance of DNA integrity may be also very important for prostate health. Zinc depletion in cells including normal prostate epithelial cells increased DNA strand breaks , and dietary zinc depletion also elevated DNA damage in rat testes or monkey livers . Our lab have recently shown that dietary zinc depletion in health men significantly increased DNA damage in peripheral blood cells, and zinc repletion reversed the DNA damage back to the baseline levels . Since zinc is an essential component in numerous transcription factors, antioxidant defense enzymes and DNA repair proteins, zinc may protect DNA integrity through two different mechanisms: 1) zinc has antioxidant properties and suppresses the generation of oxidative damage; 2) zinc is essential for DNA damage responses and help repair DNA damage or remove damaged cells .
Secondly, zinc deficiency may impair DNA repair functions. Many proteins involved in DNA repair pathways are zinc-containing metalloproteins, such as tumor suppressor gene p53, Xeroderma pigmentosum A , Replication Protein A , and poly ADP ribose polymerase . These proteins are involved in DNA repair pathways of damage recognition, nuclear excision repair or base excision repair . Since zinc is essential for the function of some DNA repair proteins, zinc depletion may impair the activity of these proteins and interfere with the DNA repair functions.
Does Zinc Supplementation Increase The Risk Of Prostate Cancer
We have established that the results are mixed when it comes to whether or not zinc supplements can prevent the occurrence of prostate cancer.
On the other hand, some studies suggest using zinc supplementation could actually increase a person risk of prostate cancer.
When looking at whether zinc supplementation may cause an increased risk of prostate cancer, some factors need to be taken into consideration.
Most studies show that the maintenance of adequate zinc levels protects against the formation of cancerous tumors within the prostate gland.
On the other hand, one recent follow-up study among more than 45,000 health professionals provided quite interesting findings. Among the participants in the study, a very high intake of zinc supplementation seems to be linked to an increased risk of more advanced prostate cancer.
The risk was increased 2.9 times among those who took more than 100 mg/d of zinc supplementation daily. It should be noted, however, that this risk was linked to the long-term use of such a high dose zinc supplement.
Some people take even higher concentrations of zinc. At 150 mg/d, the supplement may cause a dysfunction of the immune system.
The circulating levels of a compound known as insulin-like growth factor I also increases with such high levels of zinc.
The increase in insulin-like growth factor I may be another element that contributes to an increased risk of prostate cancer, particularly a more advanced type of the disease.
Treating Zinc Deficiency And Low Testosterone For Prostate Health
Supplemental zinc usage for six weeks has been shown to improve the level of testosterone in men dealing with Low T. Adults should restrict their dosage of supplemental zinc to under 40 milligrams each day. The recommended daily allowance for men is between 10 and 12 mg per day.
One small, 19-person study on zinc deficiency and prostate enlargement by Dr. Irving Bush, at the Center for Study of Genitourinary Disease in West Dundee IL, found that 14 of the men experienced prostate shrinkage after taking 150 milligrams of zinc sulfate every day for two months. Their dosage was subsequently lowered to between 50 and 100 milligrams every day for maintenance. This level of treatment should be used under the supervision of a doctor.
Ultimately, the best way to raise zinc levels is through dietary changes. The following food sources are high in zinc:
- Pumpkin seeds, raw the number one option consume one to four ounces each day
- Brown rice
- Beans
- Green tea
It is crucial to monitor zinc levels because too much can depress immune system functions. Any form of enlarged prostate zinc treatment should be supervised by a specialist. Many men turn to hormone replacement therapy doctors at this time to explore the need for testosterone replacement treatment in addition to working to increase their zinc levels either through diet or supplementation.
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The Mechanism Of Zinc Accumulation
Why are these prostate epithelial cells capable of accumulating cellular levels of zinc that are several-fold higher than most other mammalian cells although they share the same interstitial fluid environment? Presently, the mechanisms responsible for the high cellular zinc level are unknown. Recent studies,, have shown that the zinc transporter, ZIP1, is important in the uptake and accumulation of zinc by prostate cells. Upregulation of ZIP1 in prostate cells increases zinc accumulation, which inhibits cell growth and increases net citrate production. This reveals that a significant component of the accumulated cellular zinc is retained as mobile reactive zinc. Correspondingly, downregulation of ZIP1 decreases zinc accumulation in prostate cells. The net accumulation of zinc would also be dependent upon the export of zinc out of the cell. Although, a number of zinc export transporters have been identified, their functional relationship in cellular zinc accumulation has not been established.
Why A Supplement Can Help Support A Healthy Prostate
Supplements are called that for a reason. In todays fast-paced world, we may try to make healthy choices, but overall, we cant get all we need from the foods we eat, as demonstrated above. And chances are your aging prostate is hungry for the nutrients our modern diet has eliminated from our daily food intake.
URINOZINC® Plus provides you with Zinc, Saw Palmetto Extract, Beta-sitosterol, and key nutrients like Vitamin B12, Folic Acid, Selenium, Vitamin E, Lycopene, Vitamin D, Calcium, and Magnesium to support healthy prostate function, promote healthy flow and frequency, normal bladder emptying, and restful sleep.
Eating well is important, and so is getting the essential nutrients our bodies need. URINOZINC® Plus helps feed your prostate in a safe and drug-free way.;
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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How Your Diet Promotes A Healthy Prostate
The Mediterranean Diet has a strong association between lowering cancer risk and preventing heart disease. This is attributed to the fact that this diet is focused on whole foods including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans while also focusing on healthy unsaturated fats from plants. With this style of eating, theres also an emphasis on decreasing processed or refined foods along with lowering intake of red meat or processed red meats. It allows alcohol in moderation and its focus on whole foods supports adequate fiber intake. It also allows for a wide range of foods, which means its more of a lifestyle rather than just a fad diet.
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Since this style of eating has a positive impact on cancer prevention, adopting healthy eating habits now could help prevent prostate problems down the road. Some nutrients and vitamins can have a very positive effect on the health of your prostate. Making sure youre getting the right nutrients as part of a balanced diet can play an important role in the health of your prostate.;
Does Vitamin D Treat Bph
Vitamin D is not a proven treatment for BPHyet.
A study in the Canadian Journal of Urology discovered that, the impact of vitamin D on prostate volume and BPH has shown promising results, thus proposing further studies on vitamin D and BPH be conducted.
Although conclusive results are still needed, vitamin D shows some significant benefits that can reduce symptoms and potential causes of BPH
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The Case Against Selenium And Vitamin E
Studies done in the 1980s and 1990s suggested that vitamin E and selenium each somehow provided protection against prostate cancer. The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial was started in 2001 to see if that was true. The 36,000 healthy, middle-aged volunteers were divided into four groups. Each man took two pills a day: 400 international units of vitamin E plus 200 micrograms of selenium; vitamin E plus a placebo; selenium plus a placebo; or two placebos. Neither the men nor their doctors knew who was taking what.
Although SELECT was supposed to last until 2011, it was stopped three years early because neither vitamin E nor selenium were showing any benefitand there were hazy warning signs they might be doing some harm.
A new report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute clarifies the picture. A team of researchers from across the U.S. looked specifically at almost 5,000 of the SELECT volunteers who sent in toenail clippings when they joined the trial. Toenail clippings are a great way to measure how much selenium is in a mans body. The new study showed that:
The new data are very troubling, and emphasize that supplements can cause real and tangible harm, says Dr. Garnick. Any claims of benefits from dietary supplements must be ignored unless large, controlled, and well-conducted investigations confirm such benefitswhich I believe will be a very rare occurrence.
Anatomy And Function Of The Prostate
The prostate is a gland located in the man’s pelvic cavity, behind the pubis. It is in front of the rectum and under the bladder. It wraps and surrounds the first segment of the urethra just below the bladder neck .
Figure 1. Schematic representation of the location of the prostate in the male urogenital system. It is an organ of fibro-muscular and glandular nature and has the shape of an inverted pyramid. Four zones can be distinguished in the prostate: The anterior zone or fibromuscular stroma, the peripheral zone, the central zone, and the transitional zone. The anterior zone is of fibromuscular nature, a thick sheet of compact connective and muscular tissue that covers the entire anterior surface of the prostate. It surrounds the proximal urethra at the level of the bladder neck, where it joins the internal sphincter and detrusor muscle in which it originates. It occupies almost a third of the total volume of the prostate and does not contain glands. It does not participate in any pathology of the prostate. The peripheral zone is of endodermal origin and is the largest anatomical region of the glandular prostate. The central zone is the smallest of the regions of the glandular prostate. It represents between 20 and 25% of its mass and is crossed by the ejaculatory ducts. The fourth zone, the transitional zone, has a mesodermal origin, formed by a small group of ducts closely related to the proximal urethra. These ducts represent 5% of the glandular prostate mass.
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Supplements To Avoid To Prevent Prostate Cancer
Vitamin pills are big business from chewable ones for children and tablets especially tailored for women going through the menopause to essential oils for dodgy joints and high dose Vitamin C to pep up your immune system, theres a supplement for everyone.
But can vitamins actually be =bad for your health?
It seems that your daily pill can do more harm than good.
Indeed, about a year ago, there was the revelation that fish oil capsules have been linked to high levels of prostate cancer a shock for the millions who take fish oils or omega-3 fatty acids everyday in the quest to ease joint pain, improve heart health and fight mental decline.
A study of more than 2,000 men found that those with the highest levels of omega-3 in their blood were 71 percent more likely to develop low-grade prostate cancer.
And its not jut omega-3 that is under scrutiny. According to Dr. Alan Kristal, who led the study at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, there is surprisingly little evidence that any vitamin or mineral pills prevent disease unless people are suffering from a nutrient deficiency.
As we do more and more of these studies, we find high doses of supplements have no effect or increase the risk of the disease you are trying to prevent, he said. Yet millions of busy hopefuls take vitamins to compensate for a poor diet.
So amid all this confusing and sometimes contradictory advise, which supplements work and,more importantly which ones are safe?
Transformation Of Normal Prostate To Bph: Bph As A Precursor Of Prostate Cancer
While the development of BPH is not yet completely understood, the etiology appears to be under endocrine control and multifactorial . Common consensus explains the volumetric increase of the prostate gland due to reduced apoptosis and cellular hyperplasia. This theory is defined as the âprimordial cellâ theory .
The development of BPH often begins around 40 years of age with a focal phenomenon of stromal origin. From the age of 50, there is then a global and rapid increase in volume due to an increase in the number of fibromuscular and glandular tissue cells, both in the periurethral and transitional areas. Thus, the increase in prostate volume is caused by excessive cell growth and a limited process of apoptosis, caused by the imbalance of growth-promoting factors and that of inhibitors, manifesting as pathology. Thereby, the leading causes of cell growth are:
Lifestyle
Besides endocrine factors such as DHT, lifestyle factors, especially those associated with metabolic abnormalities connected to cardiovascular disease, pose a risk for developing prostatic diseases such as BPH and prostate cancer. These factors lead to the so-called metabolic syndrome, which includes glucose intolerance, hypertension, and obesity .
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Picolinic Acid And Absorption
Zinc picolinate is an acid form of zinc that your human body can more easily absorb than other forms of zinc. Absorption of zinc in your body is a complex process that involves the zinc passing through your intestinal membranes, into your blood stream and into your individual cells. Your body also requires zinc as a primary component to support metabolism in your body.
Hypothesis: Low Zinc Status Is The Possible Cause Of Both Bph And Pca
Pieces of evidence have accumulated that support this hypothesis: Costello and Franklin proposed âa modified concept of the carcinogenesis process that incorporates a multistep oncogenetic transformation of normal cells to neoplastic cells, and genetic/metabolic transformation of the neoplastic cells to premalignant cells and ultimately to malignant cellsâ .
In this concept, a key role of zinc in the transformation process was proposed. A decrease in zinc levels does not necessarily trigger malignancy without an initial oncogenetic transformation from the normal state to a neoplastic state with malignancy potential. However, a decrease in zinc levels and/or downregulation of ZIP1 will facilitate the transformation from a neoplastic cell with malignant potential to a malignant cell. This ZIP1/loss of zinc transformation occurs in almost all cases of prostate cancer. The downregulation of ZIP1 may be linked to abnormal REBB-1 function. REBB-1 is a transcription factor regulating ZIP1 gene expression and its activity is controlled by RAS. Unfortunately, RREB-1 regulation via RAS signaling remains poorly understood and the involved genes/signaling pathways await identification .
The decrease in zinc, along with the corresponding decrease in citrate levels, is the most consistent and persistent existing hallmark characteristic that differentiates prostate cancer from normal and benign prostate.
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Here Are Some Of The Symptoms You Should Be On The Watch For:
- Frequent need to go to the toilet during the day at short intervals.
- Having to do so in the night without removing excess fluids from the body.
- Urinary retention and signs of intoxication.
- Delayed onset of the diuretic process an inability to start urinating immediately.
- Flow breaks, weak flow, & residual jet due to poor bladder emptying.
Like women, men also rely on male hormones present in the body to maintain normal sexual and reproductive functions. Any disturbance in the concentration of various substances and elements in the body causes serious problems. The synthesis of these chemical slows down as age progresses which leads to a natural enlargement of the prostate gland.
It is an important part of the genital tract of the stronger sex. In fact, it is predominantly for spermatogenesis and improving the odds of creating physically and mentally healthy offspring. Urologists recommend that we emphasize on the nutrients rich in substances that stimulate the production of the main male sex hormones. This applies with full force to mature men which are close to old age.
Is Zinc Good For An Enlarged Prostate
We have already noted that zinc plays a role in the immune system. We also cited a study that showed how zinc modulated certain transcription factors and, in turn, has a role in inflammatory responses.
Another study, published in the Journal of Inflammopharmacology, looked at how zinc affected inflammatory responses throughout the entire human body.
The researchers behind the study explain that the mineral zinc influences the specific immune responses that are involved in inflammation. Appropriate levels of the zinc mineral in the human body seem to exhibit an anti-inflammatory effect.
Since it has been established that zinc does play a role in the regulation of inflammatory responses, we can proceed to look at what an enlarged prostate is.
While the cause behind this condition still remains a mystery in many cases, researchers do know that an enlarged prostate means there is inflammation affecting this particular gland.
A clinical trial, published in the Indian Journal of Urology, looked at the zinc status of patients who had previously been diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia . There was also a group of patients with prostate carcinoma involved in the study the same tests were performed on participants in this group.
Levels of zinc were measured in prostate tissue. Researchers also tested the zinc/creatinine ratio in the urine of all participants who were part of the study.
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