Diet and Cancer page 4

N-acetylcysteine (NAC)

NAC supplements are the best way to raise your glutathione levels. A daily dose between 250 mg and 1,200 mg is recommended. Toxicity has not been found even at doses that are ten times higher than those recommended here. Make sure to take supplemental zinc if you are taking NAC.

Glutamine

We recommend 1,000-2,000 mg in supplement form each day in order to raise your glutathione levels. You can obtain some glutamine from fruits and vegetables, particularly asparagus, avocados and walnuts, as well as fish and meat.

Calcium

Since calcium is an important mineral that most of us do not get enough of, you should probably take supplements. The dose of supplements you take depends on the amount of dairy products and other calcium-containing foods that you regularly consume. If you don't eat dairy products or other calcium-containing foods on a daily basis, you should take 1,000-1,500 mg each day. Otherwise, 500-1,000 mg would be a good dose depending on the amount of dairy products consumed. No edible form of calcium exists in nature without magnesium, and magnesium makes calcium easier to absorb, so make sure your calcium supplement contains magnesium. Since magnesium helps control blood sugar, you get that added benefit as well. Vitamin D also increases calcium absorption, so it is a good idea that the calcium supplement you choose includes a good dose of vitamin D.

Green tea

In terms of value versus cost, green tea ranks up there with selenium and folic acid because it is relatively inexpensive yet so potent in its anti-cancer effects. We recommend that adults drink 3-6 cups of green tea each day.

Make sure that the green tea is not decaffeinated because it might not produce the same benefits as regular green tea. Make sure you boil the tea at least 5 minutes (up to 10 minutes) to obtain the maximum antioxidant benefit. The best thing to do is to boil your tea in the morning and take it to work in a thermos. If you just take tea bags to work and put them in hot or even boiling water, you will not have boiled the tea for the minimum 5 minutes recommended and will therefore not obtain the maximum benefits. You can get around 3 cups from a 1 liter (32 FL. OZ.) thermos. If you are going to use loose tea (as opposed to bags), boil 1 teaspoon per cup.

Green tea extract is available, usually in capsule form, for those averse to tea- drinking. One cup of green tea contains 100-200 mg of EGCG. So if you are going to take a supplement, make sure that you take at least 3 capsules a day that contain at least 100mg of EGCG. Most green tea extract supplements list the amount of EGCG and other polyphenols. Ideally, the extract should have at least 90percent polyphenols by weight, of which at least 55percent should be EGCG. Green tea (and its extract) is non-toxic both in high doses and long-term usage.

Lycopene and tomatoes

This is an easy one. If you follow a diet rich in tomato sauces, you can probably get all the lycopene you probably need that way. You should really get around 40 mg of lycopene each day. Tomato juice also contains a lot of lycopene, so having one glass a day plus one dish that has cooked tomatoes or tomato sauce is probably all you need to get a protective amount of lycopene. Note that lycopene levels in the blood increase significantly after eating tomato-rich foods and that they decrease not long after, so you should probably eat tomato products on a daily basis. There are no known side-effects for lycopene even when consumed in large quantities. Just make sure that the sauces you consume have as little sugar added as possible. Sauces with sucralose (Splenda), the sugar substitute we recommend, should start appearing in the market soon.

Supplements are available if you are not interested in eating tomato-based products on a daily basis. Lycopene supplements are somewhat expensive, so do your own math to decide how to get your lycopene.

People that are undergoing pharmaceutical treatment with cholestiramine or Probucol to lower their cholesterol often have lycopene plasma levels reduced by 30- 40percent.14 If you are one of these people, you probably should eat more than your fair share of tomato products and should probably take a 40 mg per day lycopene supplement. It goes without saying that if you are allergic to tomatoes, you should not consume tomato- based products and should consult with your doctor before taking a lycopene supplement.

A special note to black males: since you face the highest prostate cancer risk, you should do your best to get even more than the recommended amount of tomato products and take a lycopene supplement.