Prostate and cancer part one

As this article develops it may not be suitable for young readers, therefore parental discretion is advised.

Statistical data examined by the United States National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health indicates that cancer of the prostate is one of the most common forms of cancer affecting men. In fact, 240,000 American men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year. It is the third most common cause of death from cancer for those over 75. It is rarely found in men younger than 40. Even though this is true, the earlier the cancer is detected the greater the chances of success in treating it.

Men who are at the highest risk include African-American men, who are also liable to develop cancer at any age, men who are older than 60, and men who have a father or brother who were diagnosed with prostate cancer.

According to the National Library of Medicine other people at risk include men who were exposed to Agent Orange, who abuse alcohol, farmers, males eating a high fat diet, especially animal fat, men working in the tire plants, painters, and those men who have been exposed to cadmium.
There is a great deal of science behind what is believed to cause cancer and this may be interesting to some but this instance will not be followed up here in this article. Suffice it to say uncontrolled cellular growth, be it benign or cancerous growth is the bottom line. The benign cells are rarely life threatening, whereas cancerous growth certainly can be, unless caught in the early stages.

The symptoms of prostate cancer

Most of the time the causes of the following symptoms are the results of something other than prostate cancer but they also appear with regularity in those with prostate cancer.

• Slowed start or delayed urinary stream
• Dribbling or leakage of urine generally after urinating
• A slow urinary stream
• An inability to empty all of the bladder
• Straining when urinating
• Blood in the urine or semen
• Bone pain or tenderness is most often felt in the lower back and pelvic bones, generally occurring when the cancer has spread.

Next up, the cause of prostate cancer.

Stay strong, and remain passionately committed to your hearts chosen path.

By Danny M. O’Dell, MA. CSCS*D

his may come as a shock to some of the athletes out there but yes, it is possible to get too much protein. The recommendations for an athlete in intense training vary from 1.4-1.7 grams per kilograms of bodyweight (g/kg/bwt). Some of the magazines would have you believe that more is better, but then they are trying to sell their particular brand of the product.

Eating four to six nutritionally balanced meals a day will provide enough protein for nearly everyone. For most individuals, including the recreational athlete, the daily protein recommendations are 1.0 g/kg/bwt and for those who sit and do nothing physical it is 0.8 g/kg/bwt.

Getting back to the original thought that too much protein is not advantageous gets to the root of the discussion. Granted, protein is the building block of muscle tissue, however too much of it can be harmful. In fact, it is well known that a high protein diet is one of the risk factors for the bone disease osteoporosis.

For individuals with kidney disease the above protein recommendations must be discussed with your doctor. In these instances, their diet would likely include some stringent protein restrictions.

A diseased kidney’s functions, fail quicker with high protein intake on a long-term basis. This is particularly so when compared to that of a normal kidney.

The kidneys remove urea, which is a waste product of protein breakdown. Once filtered, it is then excreted out by way of the urine tract. When the kidneys get overloaded due to their diseased state this process of urea elimination begins to backup. This causes urea to build up in the body, which then may cause conditions such as tiredness and fatigue. These may be symptoms of kidney failure and with the diabetic or someone with an identified chronic kidney disease, these are more pronounced.

Overall, even if you do not have kidney disease it is in your best interests to stay within the nutritional protein guidelines stated previously i.e. 0.8 -1.7 g/kg/bwt.

Be conscious of what goes into your body by looking at the labels on your food, determine the serving size and then look at the amount of nutrients in one serving.

Stay strong mentally and physically, and remain passionately committed to your hearts chosen path.

Questions or comments? Send an email to Danny@explosivelyfit.com