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Vegan Diet Puts Brakes on Prostate Cancer
posted 04/15/02
A combination of a vegan diet, regular exercise, and stress management caused prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels to retreat in a group of prostate cancer patients, according to new data presented by Dean Ornish, M.D., at the Scientific Conference on Complementary, Alternative and Integrative Therapies at Harvard University on April 13, 2002. In the 42 men assigned to an untreated control group, PSA levels rose over the three-month study period, and seven required additional treatment. But, in the 42 men assigned to the diet and lifestyle intervention, the average PSA level dropped from 6.3 to 5.8, and none required further treatment.
References
- Ornish DM, Lee KL, Fair WR, Pettengill EB, Carroll PR. Dietary trial in prostate cancer: early experience and implications for clinical trial design. Urology. 2001;57(4 Suppl 1):200-201.
- The acceptability of vegetarian and vegan dietary regimens is addressed by these references:
- Barnard ND, Scherwitz LW, Ornish D. Adherence and acceptability of a low-fat, vegetarian diet among patients with cardiac disease. J Cardiopulm Rehab. 1992;12:423-431.
- Barnard ND, Akhtar A, Nicholson A. Factors that facilitate compliance to lower fat intake. Arch Fam Med. 1995;4:153-158.
- Barnard ND, Scialli AR, Bertron P, Hurlock D, Edmonds K. Acceptability of a therapeutic low-fat, vegan diet in premenopausal women. J Nutr Educ. 2000;32:314-319.
