Secret Asian Man, Secret Asian Man…

Asian men experience a survival ‘edge’ following prostate cancer; what’s their secret?

A study comparing post-prostate cancer survival rates among Asians, South Asians, and white men found that Asians experience the best prognosis of all the groups. Led by Dr. Anthony S. Robbins, a team of researchers from Sacramento’s California Cancer Registry examined data from a group of prostate cancer survivors over a ten year period. The study, published in the online journal Cancer, was one of few which compared the death risk for Asians versus whites.
Robbins, in an interview with Reuters, stated that “The take-home message is that for five out of six Asian groups, ‘being Asian’ was a favorable prognostic factor for prostate cancer survival.” The study examined various Asian and South Asian ethnic groups including Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, South Asian, and Vietnamese men. The South Asians category included men from southern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim.

Results beg the popular question, which Robbins posed aloud in the Reuters interview: “Obviously, the main question we are still trying to explain is why these five Asian groups had better survival. What is behind the ‘Asian edge’ in prostate cancer? Diet? Lower comorbidity? Less overweight/obesity?”

Florida-based clinical nutritionist Thomas Von Ohlen, MS, NC says that the study, which examined men living in California, is another example of the way “The American diet is killing people left and right. This study takes the genetic link out and puts the focus on dietary and environmental factors.” Citing previous research which revealed that when Asians move to the U.S., they begin to suffer from cancer and other maladies at a similar rate as their American counterparts, Von Ohlen explains that “genetics play a small role, if any” when examining lifestyle versus genes in the battle against the disease.

Von Ohlen also cites other lifestyle factors which could account for the cultural discrepancy in post-cancer recovery. “The Asian way of dealing with stress is better,” he tells demo dirt. “They communicate within the family unit. They eat dinner together, and talk about the stresses of their day, while we tend to be rushed. Therefore, they experience less stress.” They also tend to eat more slowly, consuming less, he adds, which helps keep them leaner, which also helps keep cancer risk down.

Asian communities within the U.S. also tend to be close-knit, encouraging more physical activity, says Von Ohlen. Using Asian communities in San Francisco as an example, “people tend to walk to their neighbors’ houses to socialize, and walk to the store,” adding that “in big cities, the market has an abundance of whole soy foods available to them, like tofu and edamame.” Numerous studies have highlighted the role that physical activity plays in staving off obesity, a cancer risk factor.

This traditional Asian way of eating, which incorporates what Von Ohlen calls “true soy” foods such as tofu, miso, and edamame (as opposed to processed soy products), combined with an abundance of vegetables, seafood and whole green tea create a cancer fighting diet. This lies in sharp contrast to the typical Western diet, which Von Ohlen cites as a major contributor to the alarming American cancer rates. The high sugar consumption in the U.S. is responsible for promoting “every type of cancer, including prostate, which is fed by sugar. Sugar also feeds diabetes and obesity.” In addition, the American over consumption of meat, especially processed meat, is also a major culprit in the growing epidemic, especially colon cancer, which is now the number four deadliest cancer in the U.S., says Von Ohlen.

The prostate study outcome closely mirrors research findings released in July 2007 announcing that Chinese women living in Shanghai who have adapted the dairy-laden, meat-based, high-sugar Western-influenced diet have since been suffering skyrocketing breast cancer rates.