- The worrying thing about hair loss
- This plant oil is really good for your prostate
- Why coffee drinkers are less at risk of this disease
There’s nothing wrong with losing your hair.
But I can’t imagine that many men wake up in the morning and think “I hope I lose some hair today.”
Believe me, I KNOW.
Mine’s been doing a slow striptease for decades now.
Shedding little bits at a time.
I’m completely reconciled to this reality, and I’m not vain.
But it does act like a kind of dandelion clock.
Little spores vanishing, one by one, ticking down the years towards my ultimate demise.
(Yes, very cheery, I know – it’s been a LONG lockdown!)
However, there can be something a little more worrying about hair loss.
The same hormone which causes your hair to fall out (dihydrotestosterone) also stimulates the growth of prostate cancer.
This is why, 16 years ago, a bunch of scientists carried out a landmark experiment.
They gave male subjects a treatment for hair loss, known as finasteride.
This inhibits the action of a substance called 5-alpha-reductase, which produces the hormone dihydrotestosterone.
Then they looked to see if this could affect the onset of prostate cancer.
The study, published in 2004, showed that men who took this drug reduced their chances of prostate cancer by 25%.
That was the good news.
Then came the bad news…
Finasteride was linked to an INCREASE in the risk of a high-grade prostate cancer IF the subject actually did get ill.
In other words, if you took finasteride and developed cancer, the condition could be worse.
Finasteride has also been linked with other problems…
For instance, in 2012, research in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, found that men who developed sexual problems while on finasteride had a high rate of depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts.
It’s a familiar story…
The expensive drug becomes a double-edged sword, helping cure while causing even more problems.
However, as always, there are natural alternatives that you can look into.
Not as a cure, you understand, but something you can add to your diet to help your prostate stay a little better protected.
This plant oil makes cancer cells self-destruct
Beta-sitosterol is an oil derived from plants. It can be used to treat benign swelling of the prostate (also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH).
It works by blocking the 5-alpha-reductase from degrading testosterone… which is exactly how finasteride works.
But Beta-sitosterol goes a little further…
Because it also triggers a self-destruct mechanism in prostate cancer cells, causing a decrease in number.
To get this stuff into your system, you can take a supplement or natural extracts rich in Beta-sitosterol, for instance:
- Saw palmetto – native to the southern USA, this plant’s berries are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and natural beta-sitosterol. In studies, saw palmetto extract has inhibited the growth of prostate cancer cells.
- Pygeium – this is an African evergreen. It works like saw palmetto, though it is slightly less potent.
- Pumpkin/Marrow seeds – these are loaded with beta-sitosterol, as well as vitamins A, C, D, E, B6 and K – and they’re really easy to add to food or munch on as a snack. (An extract of marrow seeds is one of the key ingredients in (Androlistica.)
- Avocadoes – these also contain plenty of beta-sitosterol and are pretty easy to get into your daily diet.
And – hot off the press – here is one more surprising ingredient that could help your prostate…
Why coffee drinkers have a lower chance of prostate cancer
Last month, the journal BMJ Open published a study that looked at coffee’s effect on prostate cancer.
This was not a small study…
Data came from more than one million men from across North America, Japan and Europe.
And it showed that you could reduce risk by 1% for each extra cup of coffee you drink every day.
The reason, according to the authors, was that coffee improves your glucose metabolism. It also has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
This latest good news comes after a series of positive coffee studies over the years.
In 2105, a Harvard study suggested that moderate coffee consumption reduced your risk of dying prematurely from heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and Type 2 diabetes.
The lead researcher of that report said: “Bioactive compounds in coffee reduce insulin resistance and systematic inflammation. That could explain some of our findings.”
Then in 2017 another study showed that a cup per day can cut your risk of dying by 12%, while 3 cups a day can slash this risk by 18%.
Study author Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter said: “Pro-rata, that’s as if that cup of coffee puts, on average, around nine minutes on a man’s life, and around three minutes on a woman’s.”
To be honest, I drink a cup of coffee every day, and often two cups, no matter WHAT the latest studies say.
That’s just because I love it.
But it’s nice to know that it might also be doing me good.
However, if you hate coffee, or cannot drink it for other reasons, then you can always choose tea.
Black tea not only contains antioxidants, but has been linked to better control of diabetes, reduced risk of cognitive decline and better protection against liver disease.
This one in the link below is our top recommendation – a black tea from Kenya that’s low in caffeine, low in fluoride, and packed full of antioxidants.
Click here for more details: Healthy Black Tea
