A daily diet that contains excess omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids compared to omega-3 fatty acid may put us at risk for certain inflammatory diseases. New research shows it may also put people at risk for depression.

The current typical American diet contains 20 times more omega-6 than omega-3, a ratio that researchers say should be lowered to 4-to-1, or even 2-to-1.

Dr. Gary Stoner, a researcher in chemoprevention, is currently conducting several trials evaluating black raspberry supplements as a way to prevent or slow the growth of colon and other cancers. He and other scientists at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center have been researching the anticancer properties of berries for nearly 20 years.

The largest study so far of how the traditional soy-rich Japanese diet impacts development of prostate cancer in Japanese men has come to a seemingly contradictory conclusion: intake of isoflavone chemicals, derived largely from soy foods, decreased the risk of localized prostate cancer but increased the risk of advanced prostate cancer.

The prospective study of 43,509 men, published in the March issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, suggests that the effects of isoflavones on prostate cancer development may differ according to disease stage, say researchers at the National Cancer Center in Japan.

Isoflavones may delay the progression of latent prostate cancer only, the researchers suggest. Once tumors lose estrogen-receptor beta expression and become aggressive, isoflavones may

Turmeric, also called curcumin, has been used in Asian cookery for thousands of years. Powder ground from the dried root is an ingredient in curry. Turmeric is one of the cheaper spices and makes a vivid splash of color, so it gets heaped into low-market curry blends as fill. Not such a bad idea. In ongoing research on curcumin, biochemists in China report this month that curcumin downregulates homeobox gene NKX3.1 in prostate cancer cell LNCaP and could also dampen the androgen receptor’s sensitivity to this gene.

Independent studies have found that the Nkx3.1 homeobox gene has a key role in the prostate and may be implicated in start up of prostate cancer. Two M. D. Anderson researchers who are interested in curcumin’s anti-inflammatory effects and immune system enhancing activity suggest that “curcumin’s reported beneficial effects in arthritis, allergy, asthma, atherosclerosis, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and cancer might be due in part to its ability to modulate the immune system. Together, these findings warrant further consideration of curcumin as a therapy for immune disorders.”

Read more about Turmeric (Curcumin) as a cancer-fighting spice.

Zinc is high in the healthy prostate. And low levels of AZGP1 in the prostate at the time of surgery predicts for increased risk of developing metastatic cancer. But a recent study has found that high dietary zinc intake raises the risk of prostate cancer about one and a half times and raises the risk of advanced prostate cancer with a high Gleason score twofold and up to a factor of 3.59:

Compared with the lowest quintile, the OR [odds ratio] for the highest quintile was 1.56 (95% CI, 1.07-2.26), with a significant trend in risk. The trend in risk was significant for advanced cancers only, the OR being 2.02 (95% CI, 1.14-3.59) for prostate cancers with a high Gleason score. CONCLUSIONS: In this large study we found a direct association between high zinc intake and prostate cancer risk, particularly for advanced cancers. Our findings allowed us to exclude a favourable effect of zinc on prostate carcinogenesis. Dietary Zinc and Prostate Cancer Risk: A Case-Control Study from Italy. Eur Urol. 2007 Feb 5

If the above sounds confusing, it is. Studies of dietary zinc effects on prostate cancer “have been conflicting and confusing,” according to Professor Leslie Costello, who has studied zinc and prostate cancer for several years. But Costello is pro-zinc.

Quercetin, a natural antioxidant derived from plants is able to reduce illness and maintain mental performance in physically stressed test subjects, according to researchers at Appalachian State University. Found in red grapes, red wine, red apples, green tea and broccoli, quercetin now becomes as a result of the Appalachian research the first plant compound proven in a controlled clinical trial to reduce susceptibility to viral illnesses.