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.

The study results are not yet published. For information about study design and inclusion criteria, visit www.pmri.org.

Here is a reference for a preliminary description of the research:

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):200-1.

You can access other articles by Dr. Ornish via Medline at this address: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi

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;12:423-31.

Barnard ND, Akhtar A, Nicholson A. Factors that facilitate compliance to lower fat intake. Arch Fam Med 1995;4:153-8.

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;32:314-9.

For more information on nutritional approaches to cancer prevention and survival, visit www.CancerProject.org.

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Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a nonprofit organization that promotes preventive medicine, particularly good nutrition, and conducts clinical research trials. PCRM also promotes higher standards in research.

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