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Pomegranate May Help Fight Prostate Cancer

Posting Date: 07/18/2005

Q. I have prostate cancer. I heard on the local news that pomegranate juice might lower PSA. Is there any scientific research to back this up?

A. A group of scientists in Marburg, Germany, has been investigating the effects of pomegranate juice and its components on prostate cancer cells. Because this is laboratory research (?in vitro? or cell culture research), it has no bearing on PSA (prostate-specific antigen), a marker for prostate cancer.

Their studies show that pomegranate juice inhibits the growth and discourages the migration of prostate cancer cells. They concluded: ?Overall, this study demonstrates significant antitumor activity of pomegranate-derived materials against human prostate cancer.? (Journal of Medicinal Food, Fall 2004). Follow-up studies have confirmed this.

Recent research shows that PSA is not a fool-proof indicator of prostate cancer (JAMA, July 6, 2005). There are no clinical studies to show that drinking pomegranate juice will help you overcome prostate cancer, but the existing science suggests it won?t hurt and might help.

Q. Several months ago I went to my neurologist for my yearly physical and told

him about a problem I had with my legs "jumping" at night and waking me up. He gave me the technical name for it and wrote me a prescription for Mirapex.

I then told him I had read in your column about putting a bar of soap in the bed, so he told me to try the soap and fill the prescription if it didn't work. I still have the unfilled prescription sitting on my bathroom vanity. When we went on a trip to Yellowstone, I took my soap along and slept fine every night we were gone.

A. This home remedy mystifies us, but we have heard from many readers like you. The risk of unwrapping a fresh bar of soap and putting it under the bottom sheet where the legs will be is almost zero. The cost is far less than a prescription.