There was a study¹ published in the September 2009 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition regarding vitamin B6 and abnormal cellular growth of the prostate. The researchers involved studied a total of 525 Swedish men with known abnormal cellular growth of the prostate. When they looked at vitamin B6 intake, it was found that those men who were in the highest 25% of intake were 29% less likely to experience mortality during this study period, which lasted up to twenty years, compared to those men in the lowest 25% of intake. The protective effect of vitamin B6 appeared to benefit only those men whose abnormal cellular growth had not spread beyond the prostate when the diagnosis was first made.

The lead researcher, Dr. Julie Kasperzyk, described the results as being "exciting preliminary support" for dietary factors in long term abnormal cellular growth of the prostate and survival. She noted that these findings will "need to be confirmed or refuted in additional larger studies before recommendations can be made to the general public and those individuals suffering with abnormal cellular growth of the prostate." There are numerous other nutrients I recommend to help promote healthy prostate and cellular function. These include selenium at 200 mcg per day, lycopene at 30 mg per day (Lyc-o-Mato®), standardized green tea, standardized pygeum, flower pollen, zinc, phytosterols and standardized saw palmetto.

There was an interesting article² published in the October 2009 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition authored by Dr. Joyce McCann and Dr. Bruce Ames. Dr. Ames is a well known leading researcher in the area of nutrition. They discussed what is known as the triage theory. This theory suggests that when there are certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies in the body, the functions of the remaining micronutrients are restricted and, in some way, bring on some health concerns related to aging. They especially focused on the effects of vitamin K. Dr. Ames analyzed data from hundreds of published studies dating back to the 1970s and it was he who first proposed the triage theory in 2006 explaining why certain health concerns associated with aging, like abnormal cellular growth, poor heart health and poor cognitive function may be unintended consequences of mechanisms developed during evolution to protect against episodic vitamin/mineral shortages in the body.

There was a study³ recently published on the benefits of green tea regarding bone health. The study appeared in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry out of China. The researchers found that one particular component of green tea, known as EGC, appeared to stimulate the action of a key enzyme that promoted bone growth up to 79%.

Finally, some interesting articles were recently published on the benefits of zinc. Studies at Oregon State University⁴ and elsewhere raised the concern that zinc deficiency could impair immune function and DNA repair. Although zinc deficiency is quite common in the developing world, even in the United States, it is estimated that 12% of the population has a zinc deficiency. It is estimated that as many as 40% of the elderly may have inadequate zinc levels in their blood because of a combination of poor intake and decreased absorption. Studies have shown that zinc is essential in protecting against oxidative stress and helping with DNA repair. In studies^{5, 6} recently published in the Journal of Nutrition and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that significant DNA damage occurred in both laboratory animals and, apparently healthy men who were known to have low zinc intake.

Although zinc may not be one of the top nutrients on your list of daily supplements, it certainly should not be ignored. Fortunately, you do not have to worry about getting adequate intake of zinc by just turning to the Synergy line of multi-vitamins from NSI® (Nutraceutical Sciences Institute®). The form of zinc that is utilized is known as L-OptiZinc®, which studies have shown is an extremely potent form of zinc. The Synergy line of products contain anywhere from 15 mg to 30 mg of this potent chelated form of zinc. Look at your multi-vitamin on the shelf. I doubt that it has L-OptiZinc.

This is just one of many examples of the tremendous benefits offered by the Synergy line of multi-nutrients. Synergy also contains excellent doses of vitamin K and B vitamins. Again, just compare your multi-vitamin, whether it is a once-a-day or a multiple capsule product. I urge you to look at the labels online and you'll see a clear difference. Our most popular Synergy product is Synergy 3000 Version 11. Out of 105 customers who reviewed this product, 94% of them said that they would recommend it to a friend. I can't think of many things that get a 94% approval rating. To review all NSI Synergy products, click here.

For those concerned about prostate health, I also recommend NSI ProstaHeart® as a perfect addition to Synergy. It contains standardized lycopene, saw palmetto, flower pollen, pygeum, phytosterols and more in softgel form. It has a 4.6 out of 5 star customer rating, which is considered excellent. NSI Prostate formula is another great option with many of the nutrients discussed in this newsletter.

Finally, I also recommend NSI Mega EFA® fish oil, our #1 selling fish oil that tens of thousands of customers purchase every month because it is two times more potent, ultra concentrated and molecularly distilled for purity at half the price of the few other comparable products.

1. Kasperzyk J, Fall K, Mucci L, et al., One-carbon metabolism–related nutrients and prostate cancer survival, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, September 2009, Pp 561-569.

2. McCann J and Ames B,Vitamin K, an example of triage theory: is micronutrient inadequacy linked to diseases of aging, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, October 2009, Pp 889-907.

3. Ko CH, Lau KM, Choy WY and Leung PC, Effects of Tea Catechins, Epigallocatechin, Gallocatechin, and Gallocatechin Gallate, on Bone Metabolism, The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, August 2009, Pp 7,293–7,297.

4. Ho E (Source), Zinc Deficiencies a Global Concern, News and Communications Services, The Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University.

5. Song Y, Leonard S, Traber M and Ho E, Zinc Deficiency Affects DNA Damage, Oxidative Stress, Antioxidant Defenses, and DNA Repair in Rats, The Journal of Nutrition, September 2009, Pp 1,626-1,631.

6. Song Y, Chung C, Bruno R, et al., Dietary zinc restriction and repletion affects DNA integrity in healthy men, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, August 2009, Pp 321-328.