New studies highlight remarkable impact of three critical nutrients on prostate health indicators.

by Fouad I. Ghaly, M.D.

Although many men may know that prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a blood marker used as an indicator of prostate health, few men understand its life-or-death implications. One man’s story perfectly illustrates this point. Three months ago, “Mr. B’s” protein marker measured 6.0. Even though Mr. B is a fit and otherwise healthy 59-year-old, so high a score rang an alarm bell, since it meant that substantial prostate cell damage may already have occurred.

Justifiably alarmed, Mr. B urgently wanted to know what he could do to lower this protein marker. Based on some amazing success with a number of clients in my practice, I immediately advised Mr. B to begin adding potent extracts from the Brassica plant family to his supplement regimen. Within just weeks, his PSA dropped like a stone to 3.3, then 2.3, and finally to 2.0. Thanks to a specific compound derived from Brassica, called indole-3-carbinol (I3C), Mr. B was thrilled when his prostate marker moved out of the “high-sensitive” danger zone and entered the “low-normal” range with such great speed and ease.

The Truth About the Prostate Marker

The truth is that fully 90% of all men who live to be 90 will develop some cell damage in their prostate. Worse yet, the younger a man is when his blood protein marker begins to rise above normal levels, the more viciously and rapidly cell damage progresses. With the deck so clearly stacked against them, men need to know what they can do right now to improve their odds.

To begin with, all men should begin to be tested by ages 45–50 to determine their PSA level. The so-called normal level is 0.5; the upper limit of normal (often referred to as “negative”) is 4.0. However, falling into this range does not mean that no cell damage has occurred or that you are “home free.” Instead, a low score may simply mean that cells are in a dormant (nongrowth) stage.

That’s why I advise all of my clients over 40 to start taking botanical extracts that act as prostate guardians. In my view, this is like buying an insurance policy today against the more severe threats to prostate health that almost inevitably occur later.

Thanks to rocketing levels of scientific interest in the tremendous potential of certain plants to assist mature men in staying well as they age, an impressive body of evidence is emerging that highlights an association between I3C and prostate health.

Studies Provide Windfall of New Evidence

Published in prestigious medical journals, many new studies link substances derived from the Brassica plant family with a whole new level of premium support for a healthy prostate (Kristal 2002). Scientists reporting in these journals believe that men may have “hit the jackpot” with prostate protection by taking I3C extracted from Brassica and several other botanicals that provide a comprehensive nutritional approach to nourishing and protecting a man’s most delicate gland.

Until the publication of these studies, many researchers believed the prime culprit in prostate difficulties was testosterone. Now, scientists are looking beyond testosterone and expanding the scope of their investigation into the underlying causes of the most-feared types of prostate changes.

Short-Circuiting Estrogen’s Rise in Men

Most men think of estrogen as a female hormone, and therefore they believe it’s nothing for them to worry about. Researchers have found that as men get older, their testosterone increasingly converts to an undesirable form of estrogen called “estradiol” and its harmful metabolites. Simply put, metabolites are the by-products of hormones as they break down in the body. The body normally produces hormones, uses them, breaks them down, and ultimately flushes them out. It’s a continuous process that begins to falter as men age.

The good news is that I3C can help flush estrogen metabolites out of the body in urine. In a review of large population-based studies, researchers found evidence suggesting I3C plays an important role in helping to short-circuit enzymes known to trigger a cascade of toxic estrogen conversion (von Poppel 1999).

Studies Show Excess Estrogen Has Met Its Match

Over a period of 11 years, nutritional researchers have investigated the individual active compounds derived from plants in the Brassica family. Supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, researchers at Rockefeller University and the Institute for Hormone Research in New York conducted clinical studies with humans to determine I3C’s impact on estrogen metabolites. Amazingly, one study found a significant increase of about 50% in urinary estrogen metabolites among the men in the test group after just one week. This means that in that short a time, the men were literally flushing excess estrogen down the toilet with the help of I3C (Michnovicz 1991).

Why Do Japanese Men Have Fewer Prostate Challenges?
I think it is noteworthy that American Caucasian men have 10 times the average “incidence rate” of serious prostate problems compared to Japanese men living in Japan (Nomura 2000). What could account for this vast difference? It very well could be diet. Specifically, Japanese men consume a much greater volume of plants from the Brassica family on a daily basis than do Americans, who tend to shy away from vegetables like Brussels sprouts due to their pungent odor and bitter taste (Kristal 2002).

Later, researchers conducted a similarly designed study with seven men taking I3C (Michnovicz 1997). By testing their urine daily for excretion of 13 different types of estrogen metabolites, the researchers determined that I3C acted as an “anti-estrogen.”
82 Studies Indicate Protective Quality of Brassica

After a review of 82 studies concerning the guardian potential of Brassica vegetables, researchers concluded that a high intake of Brassica vegetables offers an opportunity to “intervene” in the multistage process involved in compromising the cellular blueprint, which then promotes damaged cell growth (von Poppel 1999). The source of the intervention seems to be these plants’ high content of glucosinolates, which have been shown to help maintain the healthy integrity of at-risk cells. What’s more, this positive intervention was also notable in the lungs, stomach, colon, and rectum.

Most recently, researchers in Seattle reviewed the latest scientific evidence regarding plants from the Brassica family (Kristal 2002). They found that there is “a large body of evidence that dietary patterns are associated with prostate [problems].” Furthermore, they explained that I3C, sulforaphane, and glucosinolates from Brassica are “highly

bioactive compounds” that have the capacity to play an important role in detoxifying “compounds that can bind to and damage DNA.” Moreover, laboratory tests indicate I3C can block the advancement of “bad” cell growth. “There is the potential for these compounds to have direct effects on prostate tissue,” they remarked.

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