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Men of African descent have long been noted to be at increased risk of getting and dying of prostate cancer. While there are some biological reasons suggested to explain this, such as having lower levels of vitamin D, the much more likely explanation is systemic racism in the US health-care system. A study in 2019 found that when black and white men have equal access to medical care, their outcomes for prostate cancer are no different.
Drug and device companies continue to pay billions of dollars to physicians. Some of these payments are legitimate research grants or reflect payment for legitimate contributes physicians made in developing drugs or devices. A substantial number are basically just bribes (free dinners and trips) to prescribe or use their drugs or devices, or they are questionable payments to get doctors to write positive articles or teach positive courses about their products. You can read the details here, and search any particular doctor using the second link:
It’s a common scenario: you get a routine screening test for prostate cancer, the prostate-specific antigen or PSA test, and it comes back elevated. What to do?
IgA nephropathy is a condition that is considered to be of unknown cause (“idiopathic” in medical terminology) that causes kidney damage. Over time, this condition can get worse and the kidneys can suffer varying degrees of damage (though some people get better even without treatment). The condition is common in North America, though much more common in the Mediterranean region and Asia.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the term used to describe the gradual and progressive loss of kidney function. The underlying causes of CKD can be numerous, though unfortunately (understatement) they are often overlooked. It’s not uncommon for early to mid-stage CKD patients to be delivered a diagnosis, to then be told there’s nothing to be done but wait for the disease to progress (ie wait for their kidneys to fail). Usually in the meantime they will be put on an ACE inhibitor to control their hypertension, if that. And so begins the waiting game for dialysis, without having even considered the underlying causes.
I was recently interviewed by Lauren Noel, ND of San Diego on her radio show online, and you can listen in to the recording of it now. We discussed prostate health and problems, sexual dysfunction, and many other topics, all from a naturopathic perspective of course. Check it out here.
This is a July 30, 2007 recording of a live call-in show I was on regarding prostate health. Watch it for free any time by clicking on the link below.
Naturopathic Perspective: Prostate Health A new survey in 2017 of 217,053 American men found that fully 70% were not told about the advantages and disadvantages before undergoing PSA screening for prostate cancer. As most patients know, effective communication is the cornerstone of a successful doctor-patient relationship in any medical specialty.
Many patients have the concern that Serenoa repens (saw palmetto) extracts might interfere with the measurement of PSA and thus block a prostate cancer diagnosis. Many double-blind trials have shown no effect of saw palmetto on total PSA.
Prostate cancer cells, like many types of cancer (notably breast), have a different metabolic system than healthy cells. Healthy cells primarily use oxygen to make energy, which also requires a lot of the molecule known as citrate. Prostate cancer cells do not; instead they use a system that doesn’t require oxygen and doesn’t use citrate but instead uses choline (Johansson, et al. 2009). Avoiding foods high in choline may be important for reducing the risk of existing prostate cancer from getting worse/more aggressive.
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September 2020
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