Good morning to all,
I have bought beta-glucan supplements that have 10mg of zinc and 55ug of selenium per dose, but now I have read that zinc increases aggressive prostate cancer. Do you know what is true about this? Is zinc harmful in these doses for someone with our situations?
Thank you all!
If you already have adequate levels of selenium, there is a safety concern in supplementing selenium too.
Rilu,
In general, one must be wary of creating a mineral imbalance when taking high doses of any single mineral.
From the 2003 Giovannucci paper [1]:
"Supplemental zinc intake at doses of up to 100 mg/day was not associated with prostate cancer risk. However, compared with nonusers, men who consumed more than 100 mg/day of supplemental zinc had a relative risk of advanced prostate cancer of 2.29 ..."
In 2011, Giovannucci was part of a study of Swedish data [2]:
"High dietary zinc intake was associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality".
The healthy prostate has an enormous appetite for zinc, as it does for citrate. The zinc protects the citrate from oxidation. Citrate is a significant component of the ejaculate.
PCa cells down regulate the uptake of zinc. So it's natural to ask if zinc is relevant after diagnosis. A 2008 paper [3] convinced me that it might be worth supplementing with zinc citrate. I use 50 mg daily. See also [4].
One reason to use some zinc is that it protects against cadmium. An irony, though, is that zinc & cadmium are often found together & that some supplements have high levels of cadmium. Zinc is cheap enough that one can afford to go with a reliable brand.
-Patrick
[1] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/128...
[2] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/212...
[3] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/183...
[4] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/233...
Question:
So if I'm understanding these 4 PudMed papers, once you have PCa and have been treated for it (radiation, etc.) it's safe, and actually beneficial to take a zinc supplement, for example 30Mg daily?
Take vitamin E with selenium.
I just read about a study that says that these two can fuel prostate cancer. I just ditched my multi-vitamin because it contains selenium. Can't find a multi that doesn't have selenium, so no more multi-vitamins for me.
cancer.gov/types/prostate/r...
I never know what to trust any more. I took selenium and Vitamin E for year with no ill affects. I read a study back in the 90's that said they were looking for a different result and found the two had a beneficial affect on prostate cancer.
I hear you. It's hard to know what works for prostate cancer. Do things claimed to prevent it do anything once you have it? I take a bunch of supplements for atrial fibrillation. I can tell when those are helping -- no a-fib episodes.
Would you call what we are doing walking through a mine field 
Not so funny... though smiling is good, right...
Beta glucan should be by itself. I would send it back.
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