LifeCare Chiropractic

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Selenium

Can You Prevent Pancreatic Cancer?

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Clearly, one of the scariest cancers we have is pancreatic cancer.  Not only because of its dismal 5 year survival rate and how difficult it can be to detect, but also because of how common it seems.

All this in combination makes pancreatic cancer a death sentence.  I’m sure you know at least one person close to you that has been taken from pancreatic cancer.  Least likely is that you know someone who has survived longer than 2 years after diagnosis.

While pancreatic cancer is not exactly off the radar screen, it certainly does not have the notoriety that other cancers like breast, prostate or colon cancer has.  There is no “Race for the Pancreas” or “Save the Beta Cells” fundraising events or T-shirts.  Not even any of those fancy wristbands.

Nope.  Just the silent screams of those dying around us.

Luckily, much like all the other cancers, pancreatic cancer is very preventable.  Right off the bat, the strong connection between prediabetes and pancreatic cancer jumps to mind and probably explains why we are seeing so many more cases than we have in the past.  This message, however, does not seem to be making it out.  I remember being in the room when someone close to me had been given the fateful diagnosis.  The oncologist basically said that, since there was no family history and this person was not a smoker, we really don’t know how this happened.

The most disappointing part of this exchange was that the children were given no insight into the fact that their lifestyles needed to be fixed or the risk was going to be even greater for them.

This particular study is another one looking at how much lifestyle choices can lower your risk of pancreatic cancer.  Researchers compared a group of pancreatic cancer patients to matched cancer-free controls to see how much vitamins C and E, selenium and zinc played a role in their risk of developing cancer.  Intake was determined by diet as well as having vitamin C levels measured in the blood.  Here’s what they found:

  1. Those who ate foods with the most vitamins C and E and selenium had a 67% lower risk of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
  2. Individually, those who ate foods with more selenium had a 51% lower risk.
  3. Higher intakes of vitamin E led to a 43% lower risk.
  4. For those with the highest levels of vitamin C in the blood there was a 33% lower risk.

It is likely that, while the study looked at just these 4 nutrients, those with the highest intakes also had the highest overall diet quality.  Higher diet quality has been shown to lower cancer risk in almost all types of cancer.

But the bottom line is that it is NOT a crap shoot.  The choices YOU make will determine whether or not you are going to develop pancreatic cancer.  There are always other factors you may not be able to control, but identify the ones you can and make the needed changes.  Don’t be a victim.

HEALTH EFFECTS OF ANTIOXIDANT VITAMINS AND MINERALS – (12-09-04)

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A RCT OF THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF ANTIOXIDANT VITAMINS AND MINERALS

This was a relatively simple approach to affecting long term health and at least is a little more representative of a natural approach (low doses of Vit C, E, selenium, beta carotene and zinc).

This study found a very strong protective effect in men for any cause of death. This protective effect was not found in women, however. The authors suggest a reduced levels of pre-trial antioxidant status in men to explain the difference. I might add another angle–most of the women in this study were pre-menopausal. These women would generally have less iron due to loss of blood during the menstrual cycle. Iron has the capacity to be a pro-oxidant in higher levels. This may be a factor that contributed to the differences. It would be easy to check–just stratify the group into pre- and post-menopausal women. Regardless, this is a very, very cheap and simple protective mechanism for preventing chronic disease.

Arch Intern Med — Abstract: The SU.VI.MAX Study: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial of the Health Effects of Antioxidant.

Read entire article here

SELENIUM ASSOCIATED WITH CHEMOPREVENTION – (11-21-04)

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The Link between Selenium and Chemoprevention: A Case for Selenoproteins

I know I covered this article in the last Updates, but just the other day I had a patient come in who had had Hashimoto’s thyroiditis–an autoimmune condition where the body attacks its own thyroid gland–and underwent typical medical treatment which is to get rid of the thyroid via surgery or radioactive ablation. Kind of like if you had gang members shooting little old ladies–just pack up all the old ladies and take them to south Florida. The problem here is that a large chunk of patients with autoimmune thyroiditis may have their symptoms caused by either low selenium or an allergy to gluten containing grains.

This article illustrates one of the major shortcomings of mainstream medicine’s approach to disease. Destroy or cover up the symptom while allowing the underlying process that created it to continue. So, if this patient is deficient in selenium, this current article would also suggest that she has a reduced ability to fight off cancer. Do you think this was including in the surgeon’s informed consent to the patient?

The Link between Selenium and Chemoprevention: A Case for Selenoproteins — Diwadkar-Navsariwala and Diamond 134 (11): 2899 -..

Read entire article here

BENEFITS OF BROCCOLI – (06-06-05)

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Selenium Enrichment of Broccoli: Interactions between Selenium and Secondary Plant Compounds

Most people are unaware of what genetically modified foods are and have little more than an idea of what GMO truly means.  I can guarantee that anytime we mess with Mother Nature, there will be consequences.

This article highlights yet another aspect of changing foods–raising the selenium content of broccoli artificially inhibits the production of other beneficial compounds normally found in this food.  The net effect, in a situation like this, may actually be a product that is not as good and protective as what we starting with.

Read entire article here

 

WHY SHOULD EVERYONE USE A GOOD QUALITY MULTIVITAMIN? (07-23-07)

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Low Micronutrient Levels as a Predictor of Incident Disability in Older Women

It seems almost too simple to be true, but this study finds that better micronutrient status (in this case Vit B6, B12 and selenium) leads to better functioning as women get older.

While this study did not evaluate multivitamin use, a good quality multi would supply adequate levels of these 3 nutrients, in addition to many more needed for healthy function. Of course, a nutrient dense, low calorie diet would also supply many of these same nutrients. Just another reason why a good quality multi needs to be on everyone’s list.

Read entire article here