Hello everyone,
As many of us are aware, prostate health is a significant concern for men, especially as we age: 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. With such high prevalence, it’s crucial to discuss and share effective preventive strategies. I’ve been particularly focused on preventive interventions for prostate health in the context of a genetic predisposition to prostate cancer:
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One topic of interest is the use of finasteride. Known primarily for treating hair loss, finasteride also shows promise in reducing the risk of prostate cancer. I’m curious about your opinions or experiences regarding its use for prostate health (as part of preventative intervention).
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Folate (not folic acid!!): a 10-year study showed that the risk of prostate cancer was lower in men who had enough folate in their diets (https://www.cancer.gov/types/prostate/patient/prostate-prevention-pdq)
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Additionally, I recently found a study on Moringa oleifera and its potential benefits for prostate health (PubMed Study). The study’s results were quite compelling, showing that M. oleifera significantly mitigated testosterone-induced increases in prostate weight and other related markers. It also appeared to have a positive effect on oxidative stress markers in the prostate. Besides that, it is well known NRF-2 activator - and is meaningful complementation of longevity stack.
With these insights, I’m considering integrating M. oleifera into my health regimen. I would love to hear from this community about your experiences with M. oleifera, finasteride, or any other preventive strategies, especially for those with a higher risk of prostate issues.
Your experiences, insights, and any scientific references you can share would be invaluable. I look forward to a rich and informative discussion on this vital topic.
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Ludovic
#2
Hello,
I tried 0,3mg / day finasteride for 1 and a half month but stopped it because I felt like it reduced my S-drive. I now only use it topical for hair loss. I take 2,5 mg tadalafil every evening for prostate and blood vessel health and check my PSA every 4 months.
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I also had negative side effects with finasteride (0.5 mg daily). It wasn’t as terrible as some other medications, but it was significant enough. I stopped using it.
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Ray1
#4
You have just given me another reason to eat fresh (not frozen) vegetables.
Chris Masterjohn stresses how important it is to eat liver or fresh vegetables to get folate. Most people do not eat much liver or fresh vegetables and are therefore folate deficient.
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It appears that quercetin is one of or may be the most active ingredient in moringa.
A search of “quercetin cancer” in Google Scholar indicates that quercetin may help in the prevention and treatment of many cancers. I have taken a moringa supplement in the past and noticed no subjective effects. Maybe it is better to just take the bioflavonoids like quercetin.
Myricetin, quercetin, and kaempferol are the main flavonoids found in M. oleifera leaves, respectively
“https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332221003334”
“Potential of Moringa oleifera in the Treatment of Benign Prostate Hyperplasia: Role of Antioxidant Defence Systems - PMC”
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tfl.phd
#6
Most urologists will tell you that there are better/more effective treatments for BPH than Finasteride as it is outdated and not used as much for the treatment of BPH anymore. Since '94 there has been way more effective drugs and treatments for prostate cancer.
(Although I’m not a fan, Peter Attia spoke about this issue on the More Plates More Dates interview and so did Andrew Huberman on an interview with a urologist. )
To be taking a 5-AR blocker, in which the figure of 98% safe comes from most of the early studies in which the “safety” of the drug was tested on men above the age of 50 with BPH and not on the current hair loss patients of 20-40 year olds, I would not jump on that drug. Long term side effects are not yet known, besides, for the Post finasteride syndrome and sexual side effects while on the drug.
Personally, I had bad side effects on finasteride , to the point that I was asking myself how stupid I am to be taking this for hair loss while causing serious side effects. Ended up getting a hair transplant instead. Prophylactically for prostate cancer I wouldn’t even come near this drug or dutasteride for that matter.
https://x.com/hubermanlab/status/1723823069377200427?s=20
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@ desertshores, that’s an interesting perspective you’ve shared about quercetin being one of the active ingredients in Moringa oleifera. The role of bioflavonoids like quercetin, myricetin, and kaempferol in cancer prevention and treatment is indeed a significant area of research.
Building on your point, I’d like to bring attention to another possible mechanism through which Moringa might exert its effects, particularly concerning its impact on the Nuclear factor erythroid 2 (Nrf2) pathway. Research has highlighted the role of natural products in cancer prevention associated with the Nrf2–ARE pathway (“Natural products for cancer prevention associated with Nrf2–ARE pathway” ScienceDirect Article).
For instance, sulforaphane, known for its protective role in prostate cancer, functions by upregulating the transcription of carcinogen-detoxifying enzymes (Phase 2 enzymes). Sulforaphane disrupts Keap1 in the cytoplasm, releasing Nrf2 which then travels to the nucleus to bind to the antioxidant response element (ARE), leading to increased transcription of detoxifying enzymes (“Sulforaphane and Its Protective Role in Prostate Cancer: A Mechanistic Approach” MDPI Article).
Interestingly, Moringa is also thought to act along a similar axis, mainly through Moringa Isothiocyanate. This compound has shown potential in activating the Nrf2 pathway and other mechanisms in cancer prevention (“Anti-Cancer and Medicinal Potentials of Moringa Isothiocyanate” MDPI Article).
Given this, I’m curious about the availability and efficacy of Moringa products in the market, especially concerning their Moringa Isothiocyanate content. Since this compound is primarily found in Moringa seeds, do anyone in the forum have insights on whether the powders or other Moringa products available commercially contain a relevant amount of Moringa Isothiocyanate?
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I know quercetin and kaempferol are HDAC inhibitors as is DiHydroMyricetin. I would not be surprised if myricetin is also an HDACi.
What is relevant is because I think this impacts on aberrant splicing which is clearly behind a number of cancers.
This is all the interesting question as to what happens when RNA Polymerase II is stalled on transcribing mRNA and the same site is hit by an HDAC.
Does it fall off and create a splicing variant (if the necessary splicing factors are present).
It does look to me that this is a factor in Prostate cancer. The role of aberrant splicing is clear.
My own PSA is 0.56 ng/ml and Free PSA 0.29 mcg/l. Whether those relatively low values for someone aged 63 result from my protocol is unclear because I don’t have any baseline values.
This is potentially an interesting area of experimentation.
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I believe the best two medications for enlarged prostate are finasteride (5mg) and tadalafil (5mg).
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Another ITP longevity chemical that activates NRF-2 is Astaxanthin. It is also specifically used to prevent prostate cancer.
Thus, we concluded that astaxanthin inhibits DU145 tumor cells by reducing the level of STAT3. It may be a prospective drug that can effectively suppress aggressive tumor cells.
DU145 xenografts are mouse models of human prostate cancer that are created by implanting DU145 cells into immunodeficient mice.
Dr. Miller was very enthusiastic about Astaxanthin when I spoke with him. He pretty much said that it increased the lifespan of mice. I am surprised the results haven’t been released yet. Hopefully, it’s because the mice are refusing to die!
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I recently did an interview with Dr Jed Fahey (of sulforaphane fame) and Lisa Curtis of Kuli Kuli about Moringa. I use that product (it’s the leaves I believe). Fahey endorses Kuli Kuli.
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Great interview, thank you!
Indeed, Jed Fahey uses leaf powder in a cold-brewed tea: adding moringa to room temperature water and leaving to stand for at least 10 minutes (suggesting a ratio of 1:100, powder to water). But I should admit: mixing even 10 grams of moringa powder into water creates a challenging beverage to consume (overpowering taste of the moringa is quite pronounced, the texture of the drink is gritty and uneven). 
Coming back to the fact, that isothicocyanate primarly found in seeds: Swanson is offering 1:20 Leaf&Seed extract - but without explicitly quantifying amount of Isothiocyanate. No other products found.
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Agetron
#13
One topic of interest is the use of finasteride . Known primarily for treating hair loss, finasteride also shows promise in reducing the risk of prostate cancer.
I have been on daily finasteride 5 mg blue pill since I was 32 years old… initially for hair loss.
Now, I am almost 66 years. Using it for 34 years total - no breaks. And, I still have a pretty thick crop of hair. My phenotype doesn’t have issues with sexual performance. My son, an RN, was getting thin hair…also, has been on finasteride for about 3 years takes a 5mg pill every 3 day… his hair is back and thick.
My urologist says my prostate is the size of a 28 year old… has too look for it during my annual check up. Totally impressed… as he sees guys my age with urine flow issues due to enlarged prostate in a majority of patients. He put me on tadalafil 3 years ago for urinary health… and I am rocking morning wood and all night too… eat your heart out Bryan Johnson and your erection measuring device.
So although finasteride might not be for everyone… for me and my son it is working… PSA under 1. No fear of prostate cancer.
Daily 5 mg tadalafil might counter any ED issues with finestride.
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Really interesting stuff being discussed here. On one hand, we’ve got finasteride, the only prescription med that’s often mentioned for its protective role against prostate cancer (https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2019/prostate-cancer-prevention-finasteride-parnes). I see some of you, like @Virilius and @Agetron, have had positive experiences with it, which is great to hear.
But then there’s the other side of the coin. Quite a few folks, along with @Ludovic, @DeStrider, and @tfl.phd, have shared not-so-great experiences with finasteride. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, like always.
With the discussion around Finasteride and its alternatives, I’m wondering if anyone knows of any newer prescription medications that are on the radar for preventative treating prostate issues. I’m interested in staying updated on the latest preventative treatments and their developments.
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Even if you’re part of the 1-3% of people who get side effects from finasteride, adding tadalafil (another great product for prostate health) will mitigate most of them, as @Agetron said.
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@DeStrider, Thanks for bringing up Astaxanthin (Marine Drugs | Free Full-Text | Inhibitory Effect of Astaxanthin on Testosterone-Induced Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in Rats) . I’ll be sure to add it to my watchlist and do some more research on it. Really appreciate you sharing this info!
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Ulf
#17
I use Prazosin.
The sheer beauty of the retrospective study linked below is the vast
superiority in Recurrence Free Survival from prostate cancer for Prazosin users over a ten-year period not
only against controls, which could be selection bias, but against a similar drug ,
Tamsulosin, which IMHO means that selection bias is less likely. Prazosin and Tamsuolosin
are both used for LUTS, lower urinary tract symptoms, But they are of different subtypes with some different characteristics
which could account for their spectacularly different outcomes. See the startling diagram with blue and red color for each drug.
nature.com/articles/s41598-
…https://healthunlocked.com/redirect?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farti
cles%2Fs41598-020-65238-z
There’re several long discussions on Astaxanthin on this forum.
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Another new paper regarding Prostate Cancer:
Prostate cancer (PCa) remains a significant global health concern, being a major cause of cancer morbidity and mortality worldwide. Furthermore, profound understanding of the disease is needed. Prostate inflammation caused by external or genetic factors is a central player in prostate carcinogenesis. However, the mechanisms underlying inflammation-driven PCa remain poorly understood. This review dissects the diagnosis methods for PCa and the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the disease, clarifying the dynamic interplay between inflammation and leukocytes in promoting tumour development and spread. It provides updates on recent advances in elucidating and treating prostate carcinogenesis, and opens new insights for the use of bioactive compounds in PCa. Polyphenols, with their noteworthy antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, along with their synergistic potential when combined with conventional treatments, offer promising prospects for innovative therapeutic strategies. Evidence from the use of polyphenols and polyphenol-based nanoparticles in PCa revealed their positive effects in controlling tumour growth, proliferation, and metastasis. By consolidating the diverse features of PCa research, this review aims to contribute to increased understanding of the disease and stimulate further research into the role of polyphenols and polyphenol-based nanoparticles in its management.
Open access paper:
Inflammation in Prostate Cancer: Exploring the Promising Role of Phenolic Compounds as an Innovative Therapeutic Approach
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