Supplement of the Month: 5-Loxin, Part II
Supplement of the Month
5-LOXIN, Part II
Prostate Health
Note from Sandra: We have recently started carrying 5-LOXIN, manufactured by Nutraceutical Sciences Institute (NSI). The recommended dose is 2 capsules a day (each bottle contains 120 capsules or a 60-day supply). Each capsule contains 150 mg of Boswella serrata Extract (standardized for acetyl-11-B-boswellic acid (AKBA), minimum 30% (45 mg).
What is 5-LOXIN? 5-LOXIN is a special extract of the boswellia serrata plant (the plant used to make frankincense). The boswellia plant has been used for thousands of years in traditional Ayurvedic medicine in India, and recent studies have shown that it not only benefits joint comfort, knee mobility and walking distance – but also prostate health. The following article is rather complex – if you don’t care to wade through the entire article, skip to “Conclusion” to get the basics on how 5-LOXIN and dietary changes can prevent prostate cancer. Additionally, we highly recommend you read Life Extension Magazine – quite literally – in every issue – there is information that can save your life (or at least make you healthier!)
Eating Your Way to Prostate Cancer
Life Extension Magazine February 2007
By William Faloon
Reviewed and critiqued by Stephen B. Strum, MD, FACP (Life Extension Scientific Advisory Board Member)
Cancer cells lurk in the prostate glands of most aging men, yet only one in six men is ever diagnosed with prostate cancer. If one looks at what is required for a single cancer cell to develop into a detectable tumor, it becomes obvious that natural barriers exist to protect people against full-blown cancer.
Unfortunately, the dietary choices of most men living in the modern Western world circumvent the body’s natural protective barriers. The end result is that we unwittingly provide biological fuel for existing prostate cancer cells to grow and spread.
Good news: If you understand the biological roles of diet and specific nutrients, you’ll be able to achieve a considerable amount of control over whether isolated cancer cells in your prostate gland will ever show up as a clinically diagnosed disease.
So keep reading, because what you learn here can make a difference between bad news and good news in your future.
The impact of the food we ingest on cell growth and death is so pronounced that it can be identical to the effects displayed by anti-cancer drugs. Unlike synthetic drugs, however, the proper dietary components produce no side effects and add additional health benefits.
All cancers begin when genes that regulate cellular proliferation become so damaged that they can no longer control normal cell division. For example, scientists are actively engaged in clinical research using selenium because it helps protect specific genes that enable cells to divide normally. The limitation of a nutrient like selenium, however, is that it may not be able to reverse accumulated damage (mutations) to such cell-regulating genes.
Prostate cell genes are especially prone to mutations early in the course of human life. This has been demonstrated by autopsy findings of prostate cancer cells in younger men who never knew they had the disease.
Doctors continue to wonder why so many men with active cancer cells in their prostate glands do not progress to overt disease. One answer may relate to the discovery of a particular enzyme that prostate cancer cells use to create, infiltrate, and spread. A large volume of published research indicates that this enzyme functions via multiple pathological pathways to facilitate prostate cancer at various stages. The encouraging news is that this enzyme can be suppressed via dietary modification and the use of dietary supplements, many of which are already being utilized by health-conscious men today.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids: The First Line of Defense
Diets high in omega-6 fats and saturated fats are associated with greater prostate cancer risk, but increased intake of omega-3 fats from fish has been shown to reduce risk. Based on consistent epidemiological findings across a wide range of human populations, scientists have sought to understand why eating the wrong kinds of fat (saturated and omega-6 fats) provoke a stimulatory effect on prostate cancer.
To understand what happens after we eat bad fats, all one has to do is look at the metabolic breakdown pathways that these fats follow in the body, as shown in the chart below (Figure 1). For example, let us assume that for dinner, you eat a steak (a source of saturated fat) and a salad, along with a typical salad dressing of soybean and/or safflower oils (sources of omega-6 fats).
As can be seen in Figure 1, both saturated and omega-6 fats convert to arachidonic acid in the body, whereas the meat itself contains arachidonic acid. One way that the body rids itself of excess arachidonic acid is by producing a dangerous enzyme called 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX). New studies show conclusively that 5-LOX directly stimulates prostate cancer cell proliferation via several well-defined mechanisms. In addition, arachidonic acid is metabolized by 5-LOX and turned into 5-HETE, a potent survival factor that prostate cancers cells utilize to escape destruction – thereby helping the prostate cancer grow and spread.
Figure 1 clearly demonstrates how consuming a diet of foods rich in arachidonic acid directly provokes the production of the dangerous 5-LOX enzyme, which can promote the progression of prostate cancer. In addition to 5-HETE, 5-LOX also metabolizes arachidonic acid to leukotriene B4, a potent pro-inflammatory agent that causes destructive reactions throughout the body and inflicts severe damage to the arterial wall of the heart.
One reason that fish oil supplements have become so popular is that their beneficial EPA/DHA fatty acids can help reduce production of arachidonic acid in the body. As shown in Figure 1, if arachidonic acid levels are reduced, there would be a corresponding suppression of 5-LOX, 5-HETE, and leukotriene B4 – and subsequently a decreased chance that those few prostate cancer cells turn into a rampant, metastasizing disease.
Once one understands the lethal 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) cascades, it is easy to see why people who excessively consume foods rich in arachidonic acid, and those who do not reduce the production of excessive arachidonic acid metabolites, are setting themselves up for prostate cancer and a host of inflammatory diseases (including atherosclerosis).
Consumption of arachidonic acid-rich Consumption of arachidonic acid
Foods such as egg yolk, red meat precursors/stimulating foods such as poultry, dairy products and organ omega-6 fats and high-glycemic
meat carbohydrates
EXCESS ARACHIDONIC ACID IN THE BODY
Increased production of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX)
(Facilitates the propagation, infiltration,
And metastasis of cancer cells)
Increased production of Excess accumulation of
5-HETE (interferes with leukotriene B4
programmed cancer cell (proinflammatory compound
death [apoptosis]) that attacks the joints, arterial
wall, and other tissues
Figure 1. Flow chart showing how the body metabolizes common foods via the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) pathway.
(Note from Sandra – Click on above link for a much better depiction of Figure 1!)
5-LOX Is Over-expressed in Prostate Cancer
Based on studies showing that consumption of foods rich in arachidonic acid is greatest in regions with high incidences of prostate cancer, scientists sought to determine how much of the 5-LOX enzyme is present in malignant versus benign prostate tissues.
Using biopsy samples taken from living human patients, the researchers found that 5-LOX levels were an astounding six-fold greater in malignant prostate tissues compared to benign tissues. This study also found that levels of 5-HETE (a 5-LOX metabolite that prevents prostate cancer destruction) were 2.2-fold greater in malignant versus benign prostate tissues.
The scientists concluded this study by stating that selective inhibitors of 5-LOX may be useful in the prevention or treatment of patients with prostate cancer.
5-LOX Promotes Tumor Growth Factors
As the evidence mounts that ingesting “bad fats” increases prostate cancer risk, scientists are evaluating the effects of 5-LOX on various growth factors involved in the progression, angiogenesis, and metastasis of cancer cells.
One study found that 5-LOX activity is required to stimulate prostate cancer cell growth by epidermal growth factor (EGF) and other cancer cell proliferating factors produced in the body. When 5-LOX levels were reduced, the cancer cell stimulatory effect of EGF and other growth factors was diminished.
In a mouse study, an increase in 5-LOX resulted in a corresponding increase in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a key growth factor that tumor cells use to stimulate new blood vessel formation (angiogenesis) into the tumor. 5-LOX inhibitors were shown to reduce tumor angiogenesis along with a host of other growth factors. In both androgen-dependent and androgen-independent human prostate cancer cell lines, the inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) has consistently been shown to induce rapid and massive apoptosis (cancer cell destruction).
Nutrients that Suppress 5-LOX
Health-conscious people already take nutrients like fish oil that help to lower 5-LOX activity in the body. Studies show that lycopene and saw palmetto extract also help to suppress 5-LOX. The suppression of 5-LOX by these nutrients may partially account for their favorable effects on the prostate gland.
As humans age, however, chronic inflammatory processes can cause the over-expression of 5-LOX in the body. For maturing males, the result of excess 5-LOX may be the epidemic of prostate cancer observed after the age of 60.
Based on the cumulative knowledge that 5-LOX can promote the invasion and metastasis of prostate cancer cells, it would appear advantageous to take aggressive steps to suppress this lethal enzyme. The good news is that a natural 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) inhibitor is now available and has been added to a popular formula used to maintain healthy prostate function.
In addition to potentially suppressing prostate cancer, the successful inhibition of 5-LOX should also slow the progression of atherosclerosis.
Cancer-Promoting Effects of 5-LOX |
||||||||||||
Figure 2. 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) acts as biological fuel for cancer cells by stimulating EGF (epidermal growth factor), VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor), and other growth factors. Tumor growth factors that enhance cancer cell proliferation, invasiveness, and metastasis can be inhibited by a natural product called 5-LOXIN®. |
Conclusion
A plethora of research documents the role of chronic inflammatory mediators such as 5-lipooxygenase (5-LOX) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-?) in the manifestation and progression of prostate and other cancers.
The typical American diet is high in omega-6 fatty acids, saturated fats, and arachidonic acid. Over-consumption of these foods, and under-consumption of omega-3 fatty acids, contribute significantly to systemic chronic inflammatory states.
Boswellia extracts have been thoroughly studied as natural remedies for inflammatory disorders. A patented extract from boswellia called 5-LOXIN® has potent ability to inhibit the enzyme 5-LOX, preventing the formation of protein-degrading enzymes, and protecting against inflammation-induced events that can promote tumor angiogenesis.
Eating Your Way to Prostate Cancer: What You Need to Know |
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For the month of December we are again offering a 10% discount on 5-Loxin – this is in addition to the 10% off ALL supplement purchases in December! If you have any questions about 5-Loxin, please call Sandra or Tom.
Referral Incentive Program
As a nontraditional medical practice, we are very dependent on word of mouth advertising. We need your help to get the word out about our philosophy of health care and the services we provide. We pride ourselves on comprehensive assessments and personal treatment plans. If you have found working with us beneficial, we would like to offer the following incentives for you to refer your family or friends to us for a similar experience.
Luncheon referral/tour – For every 5 people you refer to us who attend one of our Thursday luncheons, you can earn:
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a microdermabrasion treatment
or
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2 bottles of omega 3 fish oil.
Microdermabrasion Series – For every referral who signs up for a 6-visit microdermabrasion series, you can earn:
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microdermabrasion treatment
or -
a 1-hour massage
or -
2 bottles of omega 3 fish oil.
Hormone Evaluation Package – For every referral who completes our hormone evaluation and enters our monitoring/mentoring program, you can earn a combination of any two of the following:
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a microdermabrasion treatment
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a 1-hour massage
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2 bottles of omega 3 fish oil.
Full Evaluation Package – For every referral who completes a full evaluation and enters our monitoring/mentoring program, you can earn all of the following:
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a microdermabrasion treatment
-
a 90-minute massage
-
2 bottles of omega 3 fish oil
GROUP WALK: the 3rd Wednesday of the month at noon. The next one will be December 16th We will meet at OHI for stretching first – feel free to bring your spouse or a friend (and don’t forget your water bottles!).
THURSDAY LUNCHEONS: Every Thursday we offer tours of Optimal Health Institute along with a healthy lunch with Tom and Sandra. We answer all health-related questions – from hormones to supplements. If you feel like you’ve benefited from our services, then please invite a friend or family member to join us for lunch. You are welcome to come and bring a friend or two, or give us the contact information and we will call and personally invite them to learn more about what we do.
HEALTHY CHANGE SUPPORT GROUP: Please join us for a forum to ask questions, provide feedback and get support from your fellow OHI members and Tom, Sandra and Jeff. The group will meet at 5:30 the 2nd Tuesday of the month (December 8th). Please RSVP, as the group will be cancelled if we don’t have at least 3 or 4 attendees.
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK
You can submit your questions (anonymously, of course) to Sandra at . Additionally, we still want you to brag about your successes – whether in the area of healthy lifestyle changes or just life in general. This can be anonymous as well.
As always, we wish you Optimal Health, and a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Jeff Sandra Tom
Lorri Collin
