Comment by alejohausner | Hacker News Reader

Comment by alejohausner | Hacker News Reader

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This work by Gat and Gornish gives a great explanation for prostate enlargement. There's an article by Donaldson [1] that suggests a connection to vitamin K2:

A large study from 2014 by Nimptsch et al found a strong inverse correlation between intake of vitamin K2 and prostate cancer [2]. Dairy foods with K2 had the most effect (K2 is soluble in butterfat).

Vitamin K2 helps remove calcium from the elastin in artery and vein walls, reducing their stiffness. Donaldson hypothesizes that K2 improves venous flow, and hence might reduce the varicoceles that lead to too much free testosterone getting to the prostate and causing enlargement.

So eat more grass-fed butter, or take a K2 supplement. At worst, you might also improve your bone strength. At best, men might prevent prostate cancer.

1: DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2014.12.028

2: DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/87.4.985

I had my prostate removed six weeks ago due to Gleason 8 score cancer. The pathology revealed an aggressive cancer.

My prostate was not enlarged, my PSA at the end was 4.2. Only because my doctor was overly cautious about the slope of the PSA rise did he send me for an MRI starting the diagnosis. It remains to be seen if it escaped containment.

The point here is, I don’t think enlargement and cancer are that intertwined. Cancer happens for any number of reasons, pinning hope that it can be staved off by diet and vitamins seems to ignore tons of other environmental factors.

Wow, that sounds scary. I hope it doesn't come back. Weird about the 4.2 PSA; that wouldn't have raised alarms, normally. I guess acceleration is as important as absolute values.

All the best. I had a check up for prostate cancer recently, and fortunately have been told I don't have it, but until that moment I felt the stress of wondering and worrying, so you have my sympathy.

I'm also glad you found a good doctor, the first I found did no checks at all. Told me I'm too young to have any problems (I'm definitely not) and sent me away with some herbal medicine and all that stress I mentioned. The second doctor I found was thorough and reassuring, and shocked by the behaviour of the first.

I hope you'll be OK!

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