High-fiber foods show promise against prostate cancer

Compound found in high-fiber foods shows promise against prostate cancer

A dietary component found in most whole grain foods, beans, nuts and other high-fiber items shows promise in animal studies as a potent weapon for preventing prostate cancer. The compound, inositol hexaphosphate (IP6), was fed to animal models of prostate cancer and resulted in up to a 66 percent reduction in tumor size in comparison to control animals that were given water instead, the researchers say. The compound, which is sold in stores as a dietary supplement, adds to a growing number of products — including lycopene, milk thistle extract, vitamin E and selenium — that also have shown promise against prostate cancer, says Rajesh Agarwal, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver.