THE FOOD-PROSTATE CONNECTION: HAVE YOU CHEWED ON YOUR PLANT ESTROGENS TODAY?

Over the past 20 to 30 years, scientists have not only determined the content of many chemicals within plants, but have also evaluated the role of some of these chemicals in health and disease. One group of plant chemicals studied very closely includes the phytoestrogens, or plant estrogens. It has been proposed that the high intake of fat, meats, and sugar in Western diets, along with a lower intake of plant products, could well contribute to the higher rate of cancers in Western Europe and the USA .

The interaction of the thousands of plant chemicals daily consumed with the various tissue systems in the body is extremely complicated. However, it is known that these chemicals not only influence the metabolism of sex hormones, but also influence protein synthesis, cell growth, the health of blood vessels, and have some role to play with practically every organ, tissue, and cell.

Soy products have been very well studied as a source of phytoestrogens. The two best known phytoestrogens within soy are genistein and daidzein. Other plant estrogens include coumestrol, which is found in the highest concentration in mung bean sprouts. Flaxseed (linseed) oil is an abundant source of lignans such as secoisolariciresinol and matairesinol. The examples are indicative of the variety of plant chemicals available in food. Hence, it would be simplistic to recommend one particular plant or vegetable as a "miracle food." They all have important compounds within them that should be consumed. For practical purposes, it's not necessarily important to remember which plant has which type of chemical composition. Men are likely to be on safe ground if they ingest a wide variety of grains, beans, and legumes.

The plant estrogens, when consumed, undergo a number of metabolic conversions in the gut resulting in the formation of hormone-like compounds. These compounds are then absorbed into the bloodstream, enter the tissues, including the prostate gland, and have the ability to bind to estrogen receptors. They can also perform a number of other functions unrelated to their estrogenic effects. For instance, a chemical known as enterolactone (metabolized in the gut from compounds found in flaxseed oil) inhibits the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase. This enzyme converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, a hormone partly responsible in stimulating the growth of the prostate gland. Genistein could possibly interfere with some of the growth factors that stimulate the proliferation of prostatic tissue.

The types of foods eaten have more of an influence on the biochemistry of the body than previously imagined.

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