The following is a portion of a newsletter I get...
Capsaicin Clobbers High PSA Counts
The Cedars-Sinai/UCLA researchers found capsaicin also reduced cancer cell production of prostate specific antigen (PSA). This protein is often abundant in prostate tumors.
Doctors commonly diagnose prostate cancer by checking blood levels of PSA content. Most middle-aged and older men know about the PSA test — I sure do.
Although it's not a very reliable test for prostate cancer, the new research shows this much: you should test lower for PSA if you eat capsaicin. So if your doctor is bugging you about having a high PSA level, you might want to try capsaicin rather than let him do something more drastic.
There might be much bigger benefits. Since the test detects a substance produced by prostate cancer cells, it seems likely that the capsaicin is actually killing the cancer cells, and that's how it's reducing the PSA counts. The research I cited at the beginning of this article suggests that's exactly what happens.
In a manner of speaking, this spicy nutrient turns up the heat and fries the abnormal cells—which causes PSA levels to drop!
More about that lousy test. . .
Even the National Cancer Institute (NCI) admits the PSA test has limitations4.
In fact, the PSA test has been such a dismal failure in detecting prostate cancer, its inventor, Richard J. Ablin, has been speaking out against his own discovery for more than a decade! Most recently, in a March 2010 edition of The New York Times, Ablin wrote, "The [PSA] test is hardly more effective than a coin toss. As I've been trying to make clear for many years now, P.S.A. testing can't detect prostate cancer. . .The test's popularity has led to a hugely expensive public health disaster. . ."
A higher PSA reading can be caused by an inflamed or swollen prostate—neither of which is cancerous. But if the test shows false positive results — and it often does -- imagine the extra tests and needless anxiety you'll suffer in the meantime! I hate to think of men undergoing prostate biopsies because of faulty PSA tests.
What's more, PSA tests can also produce false negative results. What I mean is that the test can show normal PSA levels even though prostate cancer is actually present. The test indicates "no problem" when you've got a BIG problem!
For this reason, many doctors use PSA tests along with a digital rectal exam to help detect prostate cancer in men aged 50 and older. But despite these efforts—about 90 percent of prostate cancer cells still may go unnoticed.
A Safer Solution For Protecting Your Prostate
The NCI acknowledges there's no foolproof way to detect prostate cancer early. So by the time doctors do find the deadly cells—they've often spread throughout your body! In fact, your previous cancer tests may have HELPED THE CANCER SPREAD!
Let me explain. Another standard diagnostic tool among mainstream doctors is the needle biopsy — the removal of a small amount of tissue from the prostate, which the doctor sends to a lab to determine if any cancer cells are present.
I have a low opinion of this test and I wouldn't permit it to be done on myself. It damages the prostate and can easily miss small cancers anyway. Plus if the needle DOES happen to penetrate some cancer cells, there's reason to believe the cells can spill into your blood stream and spread throughout your body. |
