Coffee; good or bad for prostate cancer

When I was first diagnosed with cancer it was suggested by a number of people that the coffee and caffeine caused jitters, insomnia and was generally bad for health and I should consider giving it up. Having changed so much in terms of diet since my cancer diagnosis this seemed like one step too far…..especially as I have Italian great-grandparents!

Of course on the internet you can pretty well find evidence to support anything you want, but despite my bias in favour of coffee, I hope I present here a fair overview of some of the research into coffee and cancer.  And of course, like all the blogs I write, this is not a recommendation to anyone else about the path they should choose.

Firstly it seems some effects of coffee depend very much on our own metabolism; if you have a fast metabolism coffee acts as a protective against heart attack but for slow metabolism four cups a day of coffee can quadruple your risk. The suggestion being that the efficient elimination of caffeine might unmask protective effects of other chemicals in coffee (i)? Is this the same for its impact on cancer? And how to best measure your metabolism? It seems not enough research has been done yet….

Certainly there are a number of aspects of coffee to be concerned about….caffeine for example has a well known diuretic effect - it can increase your urge to go to the loo. As it is already difficult for many men with an enlarged prostate to empty bladders caffeinated drinks may add to the problem? Coffee can also worsen symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).There are also aspects of temporary "caffeine withdrawal”, usually in the form of a headache, if regular coffee drinkers don’t get their ‘fix’. These symptoms rarely last more than 48 hours or after getting a new dose of caffeine.The 2019 DeVita cancer textbook raises concerns about caffeine’s effects on stomach acid, ulcers and heart rate. And my beloved coffee was indeed classified as a possible cause of cancer in 1991.

The good news is that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of WHO, reconsidered the evidence about three years ago (ii). It reviewed the many studies and found much to my delight that coffee drinkers have no reason to worry in terms of cancer. Although there were, and are, still concerns about any drink that is too hot; for example it is thought that thermal injury from hot liquids is can lead to cancer of the oesophagus.

The research gets better still - Coffee cuts risk of prostate cancer by half

 Scientists with the IARC also found an inverse relationship between drinking coffee and certain types of cancer. Research particularly showed benefits of coffee drinking regarding colorectal, prostate, breast, liver and endometrial cancers (iii).

One Italian study I like involves 7,000 men who drank more than 3 cups of Italian style coffee a day (eg expresso or cappuchino), amazingly they had a 53 per cent lowered prostate cancer risk (iv).

Another study showed coffee may protect against the most aggressive prostate cancers; nearly 50,000 men drank six cups or more of caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee daily and this was correlated with a 60% lower risk of lethal prostate cancer compared with drinking no coffee (v). One limitation to the study was that it relied on men to recall how much coffee they had drunk over the previous year and this information was only updated every four years. There could have been errors in this?

Japanese scientists wrote last year (vi): “Coffee inhibits the progression of prostate cancer; however, the direct mechanism through which coffee acts on prostate cancer cells remains unclear.”


How does it work? Hormones and more

Well we don’t know….there are several thoughts. For example the reason for the impact on cancer in the Italian study above was put down to the intake of caffeine, as decaffeinated coffee didn’t have the same benefit. However this does not always seem to be the case as in some studies like the second one mentioned above, decaffeinated coffee seemed to also have an impact.

I recently came across a VitaJing video that helps explain some of why caffeine may be a player…

In the video, which is backed by research papers, it explains how estrogen rises under stress and with many other health issues, plus it is a driving force behind prostate cancer (vii). Caffeine has anti-estrogen effects; the caffeine tries to find the estrogen receptors in the body to bind with them and if it gets there before the estrogen it leaves the estrogen nullified.

However, the research indicated that it was also the coffee and caffeine that played a key role together. Interestingly caffeine from drinking green tea, which has lots of research to show how it can help prostate cancer, doesn’t impact on the estrogen, so must work in a different way. While caffeine in high fructose drinks was also found, perhaps unsurprisingly, not to work (blogs here on green tea and sugar sometime in future).

Another bit of research looking at caffeine and its opposite number in tea, theobromine, found that they both enhance the effects of chemotherapy against some cancer cells. Again the mechanisms aren’t clear.

In fact, coffee can contain more than 1,000 nonvolatile chemical compounds and in excess of 1,500 volatile ones! Both decaffeinated coffee and caffeinated coffee contain many phytochemicals that have demonstrated anticancer properties. For example kahweol and cafestol have particularly been considered recently and shown to prevent cancer in lab studies (viii).

Lastly in this rather confusing, and by no means complete picture, the 2019 edition of the DeVita cancer textbook suggests that beneficial effects of coffee come from it reducing the availability of blood glucose to cancer cells. 

Why Italian? How to have coffee?

Well, Italians know how to make coffee - espresso shots are 5 to 8 times as concentrated as American drip coffee and unfiltered (ix). As a result it contains more of the beneficial natural compounds that are removed from filtered brew. Again I am delighted to learn this! It is also good to read that unfiltered coffee is not worse than filtered when it comes to heart attacks. I had bought an Aero-press (which has a filter) and it makes a very nice coffee which I still occasionally have, but it is a different drink to my usual very strong espresso or cafetiere that I love.

Coffee varies so widely it is no wonder it is hard to unpick the evidence. There is some suggestion that darker roasts like Starbucks may be less good in terms of the benefits, but then Starbucks is higher in caffeine? Then again I don’t like the taste of their coffee - and much, much prefer supporting independent and artisan coffee makers.

Another interesting aspect is chlorogenic acid which is the main ingredient in coffee beans.  It has long been known as an antioxidant that slows the release of glucose into the bloodstream after a meal - and one of the reason why DeVita talks about beneficial properties of coffee. However there are a limited number of studies that have investigated its anticancer properties, but those that have been done are promising - it was also interesting piece to learn that it seems adding cow’s milk to coffee (or indeed tea) means that the chlorogenic acid benefits are lost completely (x).

On the other hand it seems soy milk doesn’t block the nutrients so is OK to add. Similarly dark chocolate is good but milk chocolate doesn’t have the same good effects.

Organic coffee wins over non-organic - the organic coffees are not made with synthetic types of fertilisers and no pesticides or herbicides. Of course some non-organic coffees are made with lots of care but you need to know more about their production.

The time of day can also be key and the advice is to limit coffee later on in the day as it takes the body over 8 hours to remove caffeine from the body.

Lastly there is lots of info about coffee and Ketogenic diets and even a Keto Coffee made with butter. I’m not going to get into that here as I am not following Keto largely because prostate cancer likes to feed on fats - that will be a blog sometime (xi).


How much coffee?

In short more research is needed but I am persuaded to continue with my espressos! We are all so different and coffees are so different that I think it would be unhelpful to suggest numbers. Goditi il tuo espresso! Ciao!

Update 10/10/19: Coffee good or bad blog by Cytoplan supplement maker: https://blog.cytoplan.co.uk/coffee-is-it-good-or-bad-for-you-can-a-cup-a-day-keep-the-doctor-away/

Update 22.5.22: Hear about Exhale coffee at: https://youtu.be/APPevwc4k9k

Update 14.11.22: Interesting study showing L-Theanine mellows out the stimulant effects of caffeine: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28044450/

Update 25.01.23: Interesting article from Exhale about mycotoxins in coffee and how you need to avoid them - see here. Plus a blog on how a cup of exhale coffee and how it has antioxidants equivalent to 12 punnets of blueberries, 55 oranges or 1.2kg of kale!! See here.

Update 4.02.23: A great blog and video from the wonderful Dr Sam Watts with his Ayurvedic take on the wonders of coffee: https://www.mind-body-medical.co.uk/news/the-medicinal-properties-of-coffee

Update 19/6/23: A look at genetics and coffee with Exhale Coffee: https://exhalecoffee.com/blogs/news/understanding-caffeine-sensitivity-exploring-genetic-factors-liver-health-stress-and-habituation?

Update 28.04.24: Last month the International Journal of Cancer published a study showing that bowel cancer patients who drank coffee were up to 32% less likely to suffer a return of the disease. Apparently experts have said that ‘if the results hold in further studies, coffee could be prescribed to cancer patients on the NHS’

To finish here is local guy Mr Jonny Fluffypunk talking coffee:

 


Notes:

(i) https://nutritionfacts.org/video/do-the-health-benefits-of-coffee-apply-to-everyone/
(ii) https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jun/15/hot-drinks-may-cause-cancer-but-coffee-does-not-says-who
(iii) https://www.coffeeandhealth.org/topic-overview/coffee-consumption-and-bladder-kidney-and-prostate-cancers/ and http://www.greenmedinfo.com/article/coffee-intake-was-associated-reduced-risk-oral-pharynx-liver-colon-prostate-en  
(iv) https://www.canceractive.com/article/italian-style-coffee-cuts-prostate-cancer-risk-in-half 
(v) Wilson 2011: https://www.lifeextension.com/Protocols/Cancer/Cancer-Adjuvant-Therapy/Page-05
(vi) https://www.mossreports.com/coffee-prevents-cancer/?fbclid=IwAR0825nvV5fGgZ4gWBmZds6Jkqy0t0YoCodilO97olBb4TyfjuXR5Sf0lbM
(vii) https://youtu.be/13WoEZHF3c4 More from VitaJing about daily coffee impact on thyroid: https://youtu.be/j3f7hD7LGCM Update 1/08/19: and great piece looking at some of the bad research about coffee:
https://youtu.be/XCdOwBmCub0
(viii) https://www.lifeextension.com/Protocols/Cancer/Cancer-Adjuvant-Therapy/Page-05 
(ix) https://www.mossreports.com/coffee-prevents-cancer/?fbclid=IwAR0825nvV5fGgZ4gWBmZds6Jkqy0t0YoCodilO97olBb4TyfjuXR5Sf0lbM 
(x) https://nutritionfacts.org/video/Does-Adding-Milk-Block-the-Benefits-of-Coffee/ 
(xi) https://lowcarbalpha.com/coffee-on-ketogenic-diet/and Keto Coffee: https://perfectketo.com/keto-coffee/ and https://ketodietapp.com/Blog/lchf/caffeine-on-a-ketogenic-diet-friend-or-foe

What now after mineral and fatty acids tests?

Cartoon by Jo

In the last two blogs I’ve covered tests I've had looking at my mineral and the Ethythrocyte Essential Fatty Acids levels. Some positive developments but still some areas of concern and what looks like poor absorption of fats. I have some of the symptoms of poor fats absorption (i). So here is some of what I have been doing in terms of supplementation. Again I note that this is only a part of my approach to tackling cancer.

Nutrition

My diet is largely plant based vegan with no sugar or gluten and reduced high Glycemic Index carbs. In coming weeks I will add a small portion of organic grass-fed beef and wild oily fish once a week (salmon is one of the fish with lower mercury levels). I’ve also continued with apple cider vinegar and/or lemon juice before eating plus sauerkraut a few times each week and a probiotic supplement. I’ve still not managed to blog re my diet/nutrition but will do one eventually - it seems a challenging on eto write as there are constant adjustments! Anyhow...

Some of the changes to my protocol already noted

Zinc;

Zinc citrate two times a day plus one food state zinc; on an empty stomach and in evening where possible.

Magnesium; 

(a) I will try a Magnesium Oil spray although in the past it has made my skin tingle and sting and I am aware that those on low blood pressure need to avoid or take care. Apparently stinging can be a sign of deficiency.

(b) A 20 minute bath once a week with Magnesium Flakes (Magnesium Chloride) or Epsom salts (Magnesium Sulphate). While both contain a similar level of elemental magnesium, the flakes are wholly soluble, so will elevate cellular magnesium levels when exposed to the skin and are said to be absorbed more readily by the body. Some suggest the flakes can also be purer.

(c) Continue with a Magnesium supplement but change brand.

B6 Vitamin (P5P form); 

Pic from Russ

B-6 is used in activating nearly 120 enzymes and 19 of our body’s 20 amino acids. All this is critical for DNA repair, healthy immune, hormone, and cognitive functions, as well as prevention of many conditions including some cancers like prostate. Research has found that men with the best survival records were those who had localized-stage prostate cancer at the start of the study and also had the highest B-6 intake (ii). It would seem that high levels of the vitamin were most effective when the cancer was newly diagnosed and had not yet spread beyond the prostate. Men who had the highest intake averaged 2.2 to 2.9 mg of B- 6 daily; this is roughly twice the recommended intake.

Additional changes

B12; 

Back in February I had my B12 measured at the GP surgery and it was 163  (normal range is 180-1000 which some commentators consider is too low for 'normal' health). However my low reading wasn’t low enough to warrant injections at the surgery so I have used a supplement. The cause of my low B12 is likely to be my switch to a largely vegan diet or possibly connected to lack of absorption for some reason? A friend with prostate cancer recently raised the question of higher levels of B12 being linked to prostate cancer. However looking more closely at the research it seems that only if you take very large doses of folate or vitamin B12 that there might be a link (iii). This is certainly not the case for the amount of supplementation I am doing.

Update 19/0819: I read that it might be better to have oral supplements rather than injections - plus Vitamin B12 is best supplemented in the form of methylcobalamin as this is a superior, activated, body-ready form of vitamin B12. See Nutri Advanced article here.

Omega-3 supplements;

Last year, Cochrane, a well-respected organisation that compiles and evaluates medical research for the general public, released a meta-analysis – a study of studies – to determine whether or not omega-3 pills, one of the world’s most popular dietary supplements, reduced the risk of coronary heart disease. After comparing 79 trials involving 112,059 people, the researchers could find “little or no difference to risk of cardiovascular events, coronary heart deaths, coronary heart disease events, stroke or heart irregularities” (iv). Update 7/04/20: I've just read BMJ article about a study of over 400,000 people - the researchers found that those who took fish oil supplements regularly had a 16% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than those who didn’t supplement with fish oil: https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m456

Fish; It is said that eating one to two meals of fatty fish weekly is considered safe, despite concerns about the high mercury levels, PCBs, and other contaminants in fish. However in cases where omega-3 is not being absorbed well (like me) it maybe necessary to supplement. It is worth noting that some supplements are supplied from areas that have much less pollution and some companies filter and purify the oils. Basically the fish get their omega-3 fats from eating the algae and krill and there is by far the most research showing health effects from these fish oils than the other oils. They are also the cheapest!

Krill; research strongly suggests that krill oil made from a small shrimp, has similar effects to fish oil in the body and because krill are at the bottom end of the ocean’s food chain, they don’t have time to accumulate high levels of mercury or other contaminants. Although some krill are exposed to the same pollutants as fish. The oils don’t repeat like fish oils which is nice if that is a problem! However I have ruled out further use of Krill as the more I discovered the more it is clear that it is not sustainable. When krill was introduced it was supposed to tackle some of the threat of overfishing resulting from the demand for docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA is some of what we are after - it makes up about about half of the fatty acids in the brain and is associated with all sorts of great health benefits established. Sadly the decline of animal populations that rely on krill has raised serious concerns, prompting conservation organisations to raise an alarm (v). On top of this I have a further concern with Krill as the brand I was using contained choline (see below).

Algae; until recently algae only contained DHA but now you can find it with the crucial Eicosatetraenoic Acid (EPA) - both DHA and EPA are also in fish oil and can both be used instead of ALA to gain omega-3 fats. Some supplement companies add antioxidants to protect the fats from rancidity. There is much less research around algae and questions about how much DHA some contain. However after much consideration I am switching to these for now.

Update 6/08/19: I thought it was worth adding that some research warns that: 'Antigenic stimulation (e.g. pathologies associated with persistence of viral, bacterial, and, perhaps, tumor antigens) may require optimal, but not excessive, dietary intake of EPA and DHA.' Plus research showing 'increased prostate cancer risk among men with high blood concentrations of LCω-3PUFA. The consistency of these findings suggests that these fatty acids are involved in prostate tumorigenesis.'

Update June 2021: Really interesting research into DHA: https://www.genengnews.com/topics/mechanism-identified-by-which-omega-3-fatty-acid-is-poison-to-tumors/

Choline dangers?

Choline is crucial for liver, brain, muscles, nervous system and overall metabolism function plus brain and nervous system function, DNA synthesis, and carrying cholesterol from your liver. So we need it! Studies have shown higher choline intake to be linked to a decreased heart disease risk, as well as a 24 percent decreased breast cancer risk among 1,508 women studied. However there are concerns about choline and prostate cancer. Choline is so concentrated in cancer cells that if you track choline concentrate in the body you can track a cancer’s progression. 

In a large study eggs and poultry led to a significant increase in prostate cancer; the later could be the cooked meat carcinogens but the eggs point to another issue. Men who consumed more than two and a half eggs per week had an 81% increased risk of getting lethal prostate cancer compared to those having only one egg a fortnight. Researchers have concluded that the choline in eggs increases the risk of getting cancer, having it spread and killing you. The Harvard researchers argue that it leads to greater inflammation and promote the progression of cancer. I’ve not had choline levels measured but it feels like I should avoid additional choline where possible (vi).

Cannabidiol (CBD); 

Research is clearly needed and many say it is too early to make any claims about CBD for cancer treatment. However there have been many indications like a 2016 study that found that cannabinoids seem to inhibit the growth of many different types of tumor cell in both test tubes and animal models. The authors did also noted that some dosages or types of cannabinoid might suppress the immune system, allowing tumors to grow unchecked. Of course there are also side-effects like low blood pressure which folk like me have to watch. This topic really needs a blog or even a book! 

It is of course also important to note that CBD is not the same as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is an active cannabinoid in cannabis that causes a "high" when a person smokes or ingests it. Having read lots on this I can’t help but think that both CBD and cannabis could be helpful re cancer. However I head Jane McLelland’s warning: "I do not include THC in the cocktail in my book despite its MMP-2 blocking effects. THC supplementation led to worse results in trials on patients using a PD-1 or PD-L1 check point inhibitors, i.e. it has negative effects on the immune system.” However there is also evidence that cannabis can impact on cancer (vii).

Anyway at the moment I have been taking a high quality CBD oil for a few weeks. It is interesting that Omega-3 has been shown to improve the effectiveness of CBD so I wonder if my lack of absorption of Omega-3 maybe impeding my uptake of the CBD (viii)?

Enzymes

Digestive enzymes act as catalysts in speeding up life-preserving reactions in the body; breaking down larger molecules into more easily absorbed particles so that the body can actually use to them (ix). There are three main types:

• Amylase breaks down starches and carbohydrates into sugars.

• Protease breaks down proteins into amino acids.

• Lipase breaks down lipids, which are fats and oils, into glycerol and fatty acids.

This topic is huge and I am only just starting to understand some of the basics. Could one of these enzymes help with my lack of absorption? One suggestion was to try Choline Bitartrate but again I was cautious because of the choline. I am first  trying the Polyzyme to see if it will have an impact.

Biocare Polyzyme forte; Blocare write that this is a "high potency combination of vegetable-derived enzymes such as bromelain, 'fat digesting' lipase, protease, amylase, cellulose, lactase and maltase with Lactobacillus acidophilus live bacteria."

It is also worth a read here to see how pancreatic enzymes are being used to treat cancer, more from Dr Gonzalez about the history of cancer and enzyme therapy here and lastly more here about enzyme use.

Mico-men

In terms of my protocol I have also made a significant change. I've introduced some serious mushrooms for 5 weeks....and at the same time I have stopped a lot of the other supplements covered in my previous blog here. It seems healthy to take a break from supplements but also I have been intrigued by the research around mushrooms.

At Trew Fields this year (see last year here) there was an excellent workshop that also raised questions about the brands selling mushrooms and the quality of many products; for example Chaga, or the "King of Medicinal Mushrooms" as some like to call it, holds many wonderful benefits if wild-harvested from birch but soem are cultivated and do not contain the key cancer-fighting ingredients. Reishi is another one that is key to know how it has been grown; apparently some mushrooms it is less important.

Mice-Men has been described as: "Mico-Men (Prostat) helps to maintain an adequate quality of life of the nutritional status. It contains a variety of bioactive ingredients which come from mushrooms that are beneficial for health: β-glucans, α-glucans, triterpenes, oligosaccharides, proteins, antioxidants, essential amino acids, trace elements, vitamins, minerals, etc….Mico-Men (Prostat) is an unique Mycotherapy formulae. It contains the highest concentration of bioactive compounds (antioxidants, β-glucans, α-glucans, triterpenes, essential amino acids, etc.) and vitamins (E, A and D) which come from Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), Royal Sun Agaricus (Agaricus blazei), Maitake (Grifola frondosa) and Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus). Mico-Men (Prostat) also contains Myrciaria dubia.”

MicoMen packaging

There is a useful blog on the Yes To Life website (xi) about these mushrooms plus a code to get 30% off! You'll need that as these are certainly not cheap. I do also question their outrageous packaging; each dose comes in a plastic squeezy thing that doesn't release all it's contents so you have to sort of wash it out. Also a warning to some as it comes in agave which may make it a no-no for those being super-strict re sugars. At some point I'd love to write more about all this! Indeed every blog leads to more!

Notes

(i) https://www.healthline.com/health/malabsorption#symptoms

(ii) https://lesliebeck.com/articles/2009/09/22/vitamin-b6-linked-with-better-prostate-cancer-survival

(iii) https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamin-b12-or-folate-deficiency-anaemia/causes/ and

http://healthbeatnews.com/b12-and-prostate-cancer-a-connection/

(iv) https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jul/25/fish-oil-hype-health-planet-supplements-study-no-benefit

(v) https://www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2012/algae-dha-healthy-as-fish-oil/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/mar/23/fishing.food

(vi) https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/07/18/choline-benefits.aspx and
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/eggs-choline-and-cancer/

(vii) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3339795/

Useful overview: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324745.php

Dr Axe video talking about CBD  oil and cancer: https://vimeo.com/312596488 

Cannabis and Prostate Cancer list from a closed group Facebook post:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12746841?dopt=Abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22594963

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15753356

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10570948

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19690545

(viii) https://highlandpharms.com/cbd-oil-effective-omega-3/

(ix) https://draxe.com/digestive-enzymes/

(x) https://www.canceractive.com/article/pancreatic-enzymes-digestive-enzymes-and-cancer
and https://thegonzalezprotocol.com/research-efforts/history-enzyme-therapy/?fbclid=IwAR260vQs3mlC0vimX80YRBlwyx8pJJyeoJ7l0A2L9nm4qdsN8ZZjfuY_ry0
and https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/systemic-proteolytic-enzymes/

(xi) https://yestolife.org.uk/blog/mushrooms-and-hifas-da-terra-how-can-they-support-you-lorna-ryan/

Another look at my Ethythrocyte Essential Fatty Acids

Before I start, I want to say again, that for me, healing isn't just supplements, but looking at nutritional aspects can support a wider protocol of healing actions. I don’t think by themselves supplements are sufficient to remove cancer in most cases. I also need to say again how complex the interactions are between nutrients, genes and our environments. We all have different requirements and those requirements change as we go through life.

In my last blog I wondered why I wasn’t absorbing minerals. In this blog I look at my my latest ‘Ethythrocyte Essential Fatty Acids’ test results. These results are four months on from the last test and also raise some questions about absorption. There are thirty plus different Fatty Acid readings and I needed the help of the doctor who has been supporting my nutritional approach to understand them. As noted before, all this stuff about fats is important as some view that prostate cancer is being fed by fats; to see more on this see my blog and film on Jane McLelland’s work around starving cancer. So lots to think about….here are a few of the more interesting outcomes from the tests:

Omega 6 and tapeworm medications

Most of the seven Omega 6 fatty acids mentioned in my latest test were lower than last time. Arachidonic Acid (AA) is low. AA is pro inflammatory which is not good for arthritis, cancer and other conditions - indeed there are specific papers showing AA stimulates prostate cancer cell growth (i). So could this be good as my AA is low? Possibly not, seems to be the answer, as my p53 gene has a common mutation (see earlier blog) which research suggests, a higher AA level could be of benefit?

In trying to unpick this I learnt that Niclosamide, a drug used to deal with tapeworm infections, has been found to attack cells with a p53 deficiency. This is a deficiency that the majority of cancer cells possess, causing cancer cell death and reducing tumour size by up to 50%. There is also some evidence that Niclosamide can attack/restrict metastasis and cancer cell migration plus inhibit cancer stem cells; it seems it attacks cancer cell mitochondria and blocks multiple signaling pathways of cancer stem cells (ii). Indeed Jane McLelland lists it in her 'Metro map’ (see my previous blog) as Niclosamide would be part of blocking the 'glutamine pathway'. Niclosamide also has minimal effects with healthy cells - in fact it has been around for more than 50 years and is deemed a safe, cheap and effective drug by the WHO. Niclosamide is also poorly absorbed from the intestinal tract, which explains its good tolerability in humans. Sadly virtually all doctors in the UK won’t prescribe it for cancer.

A Medical Express article writes of research into p53: "They examined the metabolic profile of niclosamide-treated cells and found that the p53-deficient cells had significantly more of a fatty acid known as arachidonic acid. Their investigation revealed that the mitochondrial uncoupling caused by niclosamide increases the calcium concentration in a cell, which boosts the production of arachidonic acid. The team showed that this increase is normally counteracted by p53, which switches on two genes that break down arachidonic acid, ALOX5 and ALOX12B. These genes were not activated in p53-deficient cells, allowing arachidonic acid to accumulate, and causing mitochondria to release a molecule known as cytochrome c, leading to programmed cell death” (iii).

Of course many other aspects complicate the picture. If fats feed prostate cancer is it good that levels are generally low? Should I continue to keep AA low? Green tea and other anti-cancer nutrition I’m taking will also play a part in lowering the AA (iv)? Is the mutation of my p53 the same as cells being p53 deficient? If it is, then should I perhaps seek to raise AA? Especially as things have not progressed so positively; is it worth taking a different tack?

In the short term I have added a small portion of organic grass-fed beef and wild oily fish once a week which could see AA rise. However I am wary for several reasons which need discussing more fully in another blog. Suffice to say that any causal link between organic meat and cancer is not straightforward. Zinc and Magnesium supplementation should also play a role with AA, but as we’ve seen to date that doesn’t seem to have had an impact (see my previous blog here). 

Omega 3 still low

My Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA) has come down further to being at a very low level. This is very surprising as I have increased ALA rich foods like flax seed, chia and walnut intake over the last months and supplemented with Krill Oil. The picture regarding ALA and prostate cancer was in the past somewhat confusing, as research studies have contradicted each other showing ALA intake is associated with both an increased and a reduced risk of prostate cancer. However a Harvard study last year of 50,000 men has confirmed that it doesn’t appear necessary for men to limit their intake of alpha-linolenic acid from foods (v). Furthermore there is some evidence to show flax seeds are helpful (vi) although flax seems to be a poorer source of Omega-3 than say hemp oil.

So what is going on with my ALA? ALA cannot be naturally made in the body so we must get it from diet so that it can make make the long-chain omega 3 fats – EPA and DHA. So am I converting too much ALA? If I am, I am still not converting enough into the ETA (see diagram) (vii). This is hugely complex to me and I am still struggling to see how enzymes work in converting ALA into other acids.

Another aspect to consider is the AA/EPA ratio (viii). This has improved from 1 to 35 now to 1 to 17; this is still considered much to high and could indicate high cellular inflammation. Could the inflammation be a sign of damage to cancer cells? Can I improve the ratio further by more omega-3 in the diet? Health Matters comment: "EPA is anti-inflammatory and should balance the levels of pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid. Although EPA can be produced from the essential fatty acid, ALA, dietary intakes of this fatty acid are generally poor. The conversion also requires the action of the delta-6 desaturase enzyme that may be low due to inadequate Zn, Mg, or vitamins B3, B6, and C. Such an enzyme impairment would be indicated if EPA is low and ALA is normal or high. High levels of saturated, monounsaturated, trans fatty acids, and cholesterol also slow the conversion of ALA to EPA.” 

Well my EPA is low but ALA is also low. So again is this pointing to not taking up enough Zinc and Magnesium to raise AA levels? Looking at the diagram it seems that a vitamin B complex could also support the delta-6 desaturase enzyme in converting the acids. Interestingly higher levels of the P5P form of B6 have recently been reported to be associated with a dramatically lower risk for all types of cancer (ix).

Lastly it seems sensible to continue with supplementation of omega-3 oils. So fish, krill or algae oil? A good question which I’ll cover in the next blog.

A wee bit of good news?

Oleic and Stearic acid - these readings have gone down since last time. I discussed these in a previous blog; the ratio is now 1.2 which is a shift in the right direction in terms of cancer.

Trans fats - these had been raised in the last test, now they are all in the normal range. Good stuff!

What next?

Well in this blog and the last one I have outlined some minor changes to my current regime. I will try and bring these together in the next blog along with the other next steps I’ve been taking.

Notes

(i) https://donmatesz.blogspot.com/2012/03/arachidonic-acid-and-breast-prostate.html and
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006291X97967991
(ii) Chris Woollams on CancerActive website: https://www.canceractive.com/article/repurposed-tapeworm%20drug%20can%20kill%20cancer%20cells
(iii) https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-03-tapeworm-drug-common-vulnerability-tumor.html

(iv) https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bk-2003-0851.ch004

(v) https://veganhealth.org/ala-and-prostate-cancer-update/ and
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/07/31/omega-3-fats.aspx and
https://www.nutritionw.com/omega-3-prostate-cancer-junk-science/
(vi) https://nutritionfacts.org/questions/flax-seeds-and-prostate-cancer-risk/

(vii) https://www.gdx.net/core/sample-reports/Essential-and-Metabolic-Fatty-Acids-Sample-Report.pdf
(viii) https://blog.healthmatters.io/2018/12/27/what-is-the-aa-epa-ratio/
(ix) https://lifespannutrition.com/p5p-does-your-multivitamin-provide-this-superior-form-of-vitamin-b6/