Selenium
<p class="default">07:43 PM, November 25, 2007</p>
<p>
from Harvard Health Letter Oct 2007</p>
<p>
purpose of the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer trial
was to test whether taking the mineral  <b>selenium</b> might
protect people against the two most common types of
skin cancer. Taking the 200-microgram (mcg) pills daily
flopped for skin cancer prevention, but when researchers
started to poke around in the data looking for other effects,
they made a pleasant discovery: Men who had taken the
selenium pills seemed to gain some protection against
 <b>prostate cancer</b> .  <b>Compared with the placebo group, the</b>
<b>selenium takers were 63% less likely to have developed</b>
<b>the cancer.</b>
Researchers can find some intriguing associations in
any set of data if they rummage around enough.  <b> But results</b>
<b>from a variety of other studies have burnished selenium?s</b>
<b>reputation as a prostate cancer preventative.</b>
The final word on selenium will probably come from
the  <b>National Cancer Institute?s Selenium and Vitamin E</b>
<b>Cancer Prevention trial, a huge 35,000-man study that is</b>
<b>testing selenium and vitamin E as a combination</b> , as well
as each by itself. Interim results could be reported earlier,
but the study is not scheduled to be completed for several
years.</p>
<p>
Several years ago, researchers decided to take yet another
look at the data from the nutrition prevention trial. This
time, though, they zeroed in on diabetes, not cancer. The
results, reported in the Aug. 21, 2007, issue of the  <i>Annals of</i>
<i>Internal Medicine,</i> showed that the people (three-quarters
of whom were men) in the study who took selenium pills
were about 50% more likely to have developed diabetes
than those who took the placebo pills.
The absolute risk was pretty small: 39 of the 659 people
in the placebo group (6%) versus 58 of the 653 taking selenium
(9%). Increase a small risk by 50% and you still have
a relatively rare event.
Still, if the jury is still out on selenium?s prostate benefits,
why should men invite more trouble than they have to?
The American Cancer Society?s latest recommendations
for preventing prostate cancer include eating five or more
servings of vegetables and fruit a day, limiting the amount
of red meat and dairy food you eat, staying active, and
keeping off the extra pounds. They aren?t very exciting, but
they?re not going to give you diabetes, either.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
ghghg</p>