Spices Spike Prostate Cancer

Scientific studies have established that several common culinary herbs and spices can protect against prostate cancer.

This information is highly significant given that this scourge accounts for the annual deaths of over 25,000 men in the USA alone.

Adenocarcinoma is the commonest type of prostate cancer and develops when normal prostate cells change from pre-cancerous to fully fledged cancer cells. The reason they do so is that the aging process makes the cells prone to damage by toxins that either damage or inactivate an important anti-cancer gene present in all prostate cells.

Spices that help prevent prostate cancer

Mustard and other brassicas

Although mustard and other spices such as wasabi and horseradish (and vegetables such as broccoli and Brussel's sprouts) contain several beneficial compounds, sulforaphane is the phytonutrient with the most potent anti-cancer activity.

Sulforaphane works its therapeutic magic on pre-malignant and malignant prostate tissue by stimulating the activation of alternative gene splicing mechanisms so that normal, fully functional cancer fighting genes can be created during cell division.

Moreover, this amazing compound actually "switches on" the anti-cancer genes that, for various reasons, have been inactivated and were unable to express their anti-cancer activities.

Mustard, wasabi, horseradish and other brassicas also protect against prostate cancer in other ways:

They are powerful eliminators of heterocyclic amines -tumorigenic compounds produced when meat is cooked at high temperatures - such those reached during grilling or frying.

Heterocyclic amines are thought to be one of the main reasons why the incidence of prostate cancer is so high in countries where large quantities of meat (especially beef) are consumed. Although it does not neutralize these compounds directly, sulforaphane mitigates their effects by accelerating their elimination from the body.

Not only do these spices contain a number of antioxidant compounds, they also stimulate the production of the body's own antioxidants such as glutathione. Adequate quantities of antioxidants are vital in the fight against cancer as they mop up excess DNA-damaging free radical molecules.

Chilies and Red Peppers

These capsicum spices contain the compound capsaicin that has shown to have protective effects against cancer of the prostate and other malignancies.

Capsaicin's anticancer effects are primarily due to its remarkable ability to use normally toxic free radical molecules to induce the cancer cells to "commit suicide". Normal cells have a fixed lifetime and are programmed to die after a certain period of time. However cancer cells do not have this characteristic (called apoptosis) programmed into their DNA and can, theoretically, live forever.

However capsaicin acts as a catalyst that actually induces the body's waste products (free radicals) to switch on the genes that, in turn, induce programmed cell death in prostate cancer cells.

Other spices, other phytonutrients

Coriander, licorice, marjoram, parsley, oregano, rosemary and tarragon are rich sources of compounds such as apigenin that have shown strong anti-tumorigenic activity in many types of malignancy including cancer of the prostate gland.

Apigenin works primarily by inhibiting angiogenesis - the growth of new blood vessels that supply the tumor cells.

Antioxidant protection

Culinary herbs and spices are also the richest source of antioxidants and a continuous intake of dietary antioxidants is vital in the fight against malignancies such as prostate cancer.

Prevent prostate cancer - eat more spices

Of all food groups, spices have been shown to have the most effective cancer-fighting properties therefore it is important for all men, both young and old, to ensure that they eat enough of these important foods on a daily basis.