Changes in Diet and Lifestyle to Reverse Cancer by Dean Ornish
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Changes in Diet and
Lifestyle to Reverse Cancer by Dean Ornish, MD Not everyone agrees that younger patients with prostate cancer should always pursue aggressive treatment such as surgery or radiation therapy, however. Dean Ornish, who demonstrated for the first time that intensive changes in diet and lifestyle can reverse the progression of heart disease, has embarked on a randomized, controlled trial to see if a similar regimen can do the same for men with prostate cancer. He's leading a study of 125 men over two years, in which half take no special measures while the other half eat a strict low-fat vegetarian diet, follow a daily exercise plan, and reduce stress through yoga or meditation. Men in both groups are closely monitored. It's too soon to know whether this approach will prove effective, but a lot of men who hope to avoid the side effects that go with surgery and radiation are hoping it will. "The fact is we don't know. We're trying to find out whether diet and lifestyle interventions can make an important difference. Whatever we find, these data will be very helpful to many people," Ornish told Dateline NBC News in April. All of our experts agree that there's no easy answer for someone in Mayor Giuliani's position. Choices are difficult because of the limitations of current scientific evidence -- no one can say definitively which treatment is best. Most physicians tend to recommend the treatment that they offer: Surgeons recommend surgery, radiation therapists recommend radiation, brachytherapists recommend brachytherapy, and so on. Until there's more research, Ornish advises, there's enough epidemiological evidence to suggest that diet and lifestyle changes are advisable in combination with whatever treatment a man chooses. "In particular, a very low-fat, whole foods, plant-based diet rich in soy products should be considered," he says.
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