A glass of pomegranate juice prevents prostate cancer

A new study suggests that a drinking a glass of pomegranate juice may reduce the risk of getting prostate cancer.

Photo: A glass of pomegranate juice prevents prostate cancer

Researchers from the University of California, gave the juice to 50 men who had undergone treatment for prostate cancer, but who had shown signs of relapse.

During the process, the team would measure the mens blood levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a common indicator of the presence of prostate cancer cells, reports World Fitness.

According to Earthtimes, r esearchers led by Dr Allan Pantuck at the university of California, Los Angeles conducted a study on few patients suffering from prostate cancer who had undergone treatment of either radiation or surgery but still had shown signs of the disease returning, and found that the average doubling time of PSA in patients was 15 months, while in patients who were given pomegranate juice it was 54 months.

It was also observed that pomegranate juice helped in killing cancer cells. It was also found the levels of PSA were suppressed in those patients who were given only pomegranate juice and no other treatment. It could also be given to older men who had been previously treated for prostate cancer to outlive their risk.

Pomegranate juice have anti-inflammatory effects and also contain chemicals called isoflavones and high level of antioxidants which are found to be helpful for treating patients with prostate cancer. The research team said that polyphenols present in the juice may help to fight prostate cancer but exactly how the juice helps is not clear.

Dr. Hiley feels that pomegranate juice may be of much more use than just delaying cancer. Dr. Pantuck said in an interview that, patients with prostate cancer yet cannot be advised to drink pomegranate juice as a medicine, as there is no proper evidence and that the juice is not yet proved to be a cure for prostate cancer.

Dr. Allan Pantuck, M.D., professor of urology at UCLA, reports, "We don't know if it's one magic bullet or the combination of everything we know is in the juice. My guess is that it's probably a combination of elements, rather than a single component."

Pomegranate juice is a major source of antioxidants and is also known to have an anti-inflammatory effect. It also contains ellagic acid, poly-phenols, or natural antioxidants, and isoflavones commonly found in soy. All of these factors prevent cancer by supporting antioxidation and gene-nutrient interactions.

"Doubling time is crucial in prostate cancer, because patients who have short doubling times are more likely to die from their cancer," reports Dr. Pantuck. None of the men experienced side effects, informs Ivanhoe.