What are you taking?

BlindedByScience

I agree with Saluki that beta carotene is better than taking Vitamin A. With beta carotene,our bodies will use what they need to make enough Vitamin A without making too much.

For your husband, if he doesn't have serious health issues, a multivitamin may be a good thing. If he drinks alcohol, and especially if he's a meat & potatoes kind of eater, extra folate may do him some good. If he eats veggies and green leafy salads alot, then the multivitamin is probably sufficient for folate.

So if folate raises his risk of developing colon cancer, curcurmin may lower it back down. Curcumin was shown to significantly reduce the number of colon polyps (by about 60%) in a group of people who are genetically prone to making many, many polyps. I believe the dose was 480 mg a day for 3 months. Supplements are not a substitute for colonoscopies, though, and colon cancer is very preventable if polyps are caught early.

But more than folate and curcumin, he is very much at risk if he's deficient in vitamin D. His chances of colon or prostate cancer are higher if he's lacking in this one. Men, more than ever before, are suffering from osteoporosis. We spend too much time indoors. Just like all of us, he should be tested for a D deficiency and, if he's low, well, you know the drill.

As for resveratrol and grapeseed extract--they both can come from grapes (but don't have to). GSE has proanthocyanidins, a kind of polyphenol, which inhibit angiogenesis (the formation of blood vessels). Angiogenesis is what a growing tumor needs to help ensure it gets lots of nutrients. The tumors that are bad at stimulating angiogenesis don't grow big. GSE can also be helpful in those who suffer from the wet form of macular degeneration. One trademarked brand of proanthocyanidins is called Pycgnogenol.

The wikipedia page is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grape_seed_extract

Resveratrol on the other hand is found in the skin of grapes and has anticancer properties, too. While the wikipedia page includes a pitch for a new biotech company, the writeup is a good place to start if you want more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resveratrol

Anonymous

Thank you, Susie and BBS. You have been most helpful. BBS, I will read your links after posting this.

My husband does eat more meat and potatoes. Of course he will eat veggies along with it. But I don't think he gets enough.

How about calcium and magnesium for men? I suppose I could google that. I know he doesn't get enough of those minerals.

He just had another colonoscopy and had a couple of small polyps removed. I had one a couple of months ago and I had one small precancerous poly and one that wasn't. The doc said to come back in five years. I wasn't happy with that having my history of bc. I talked to my pcp about it and he agreed I should go back no less than three years. Of course I'm not looking forward to that.

One more question. How many mgs of mag can we take at one time?
Shirley