Flaxseed
Wendy Demark-Wahnefried recruited 161 men recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, which they split into 4 groups.
One group ate 3 tablespoons of flaxseed each day (by mixing it with yogurt or water, for example) and maintained a low-fat diet. Of the remaining 3 groups, one maintained a low-fat diet, another ate flaxseed, and the last was a control that made no lifestyle change.
Most of the men had surgery to remove their prostates within 30 days of enrolling in the trial.
Demark-Wahnefried examined the DNA of the removed tumour cells.
The analysis revealed that 50% fewer of the tumour cells from men assigned to eat flaxseed - with or without maintaining a low-fat diet - were actively dividing compared with those of their control counterparts. Maintaining a low-fat diet alone did not appear to affect tumour growth.
Demark-Wahnefried speculates that replacing omega-6 molecules in the body with omega-3 compounds may send chemical signals that tell cells not to divide.
There are about 4 grams of omega-3 fatty acids in 3 tablespoons of flaxseed.
Demark-Wahnefried notes that flaxseed can have a laxative effect.
“Flaxseed may slow prostate tumour growth,” by Roxanne Khamsi