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Food for thought (and PC) - Flaxseed
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Apr 11, 2025 | Replies (31)Comment receiving replies
Believe it or not, I email corresponded with Dr Wannafried at the University of Minnesota about this very experiment since there was much confusion over the tole in flaxseed in PCa.
It seems that there were conflicting findings between the use of the seeds vs the oil.
Another study found high levels of ALA (alanine) in the prostate biopsy samples of many men with high grade prostate cancer; ALA is present in high amounts in both flaxseed and flax oil so it was thought that perhaps the oil - being more concentrated - was causing the prostate cancer?
So then they did the experiment you reference and the findings were very encouraging - at least for flaxSEED.
So they went back to those men with high ALA in the biopsies, did further testing on them and found that they all had a metabolic flaw which did not allow them to process oils effectively, ergo the buildup of ALA - not only in the gland but other areas as well. So flax oil did NOT cause cancer.
This is one of the finest illustrations of correlation vs causation I have ever seen. That’s why all this talk of eggs causing cancer, dairy causes cancer, etc drives me nuts!
Every individual has little genetic quirks that are going to cause issues, from the buildup of arterial plaque to the flora in our gut to getting cancer. Eat the flax seed because it tastes good and keeps you regular. I ate it for 3 solid years and had wonderful bowel movements but it didn’t prevent my cancer.
Maybe if eaten for a lifetime it “might” make a difference but right now nobody knows. Throw in all the environmental toxins which are everywhere (plastics in our brains now!) and you really wonder why everyone doesn’t have one form of cancer or another.
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Wow that is amazing Phil : ))) !!! < 3
I was just about to write about oil since while reading some other studies I found that extracted oil, however healthy for other conditions, is not good to take for PC . I think that whole seed showed good results because it is not oil part that helps, but high concentration of LIGNANS that have anti-oxidant, ant-inflammatory and estrogen-like effects ! It is lignans in general that show potential in cancer prevention and cancer treatment.
It was same with soy products - Japan has much lower % of PC and breast C and everybody started consuming soybeans , soy milk , soy extracts etc when in reality those products are rarely used in Japan . What Japanese eat in abundance are FERMENTED soy products. So, yes , I agree, Flax oil is not good for PC but crushed seed showed statistically overwhelming good results in this study, unless they told you that they were cheating xp lol ?!
For us personally that "proliferation" part is the most important factor. No, it can not make cancer go away, nor it can prevent cancer for us since it is already there but if it helps with blocking cells escaping and producing mets. , than it would be amazingly wonderful thing : ) (knock the wood). At this point it might be too late even for that since perhaps some bad cells already escaped *sigh.
I also agree that by living in this toxic mush of polluted air, water, pesticide ridden food and everything else it is miracle that all of us are not having multiple cancers (god forbid). BUT, we have to do our best to help our body fight this and use anything that might help and has some scientifically proven effect.
There is a reason why no 20 year old has PC . The longer we are on this Earth the more we are exposed to all oxidative changes and stress and with accumulation of all of that DNA starts having mutations and our cells become cancerous. Now, everything that might help with preventing and repairing that damage can help in preventing or slowing cancer development. We are not so helpless, we allll know what is good for us and what not but we always manege to put "those things" on back burner since everything else is more urgent - our kids, our jobs, our mortgages, our indulgences (crappy food and drink and sweets), our "rest" (instead of hitting a gym), etc, etc. I always take full responsibility for things that could have been done better - not an easy life , let me tell you XP.
There was a period of time when my husband's PSA had downward trajectory - time when he lost 15 pounds . And did we make sure he stays that ideal weight , nope , we actually relaxed since oh well, look, PSA is going down, it was perhaps "nothing" to begin with.
So, maybe PC can not be completely prevented but it can possibly be delayed and/or slowed down and it is big difference if one has gl. 9 at 59 or gl. 7 at 89, at least that is how I see it.