A natural defence against cancer

FOR the longest time, supplements have been relegated to the sidelines by the medical community because they didn't have clinical trials supporting their claims. Natural drugs and foods too. But that situation for natural drugs could be slowly changing, thanks to trailblazers such as Pomi-T, a natural supplement, scientifically proven to boost the body's defence against prostate cancer.

Pomi-T was formulated by leading British oncologist Robert Thomas originally for a study backed by the UK's National Cancer Research Network (NCRN); and his ground-breaking clinical trial could hopefully pave the way for more clinical trials done on whole food supplements - which traditionally have been crippled by the lack of funding. "We know of many studies showing that natural foods are an untapped resource and now, drug-oriented bodies such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) are recognising that proper, robust trials can show benefits," he says.

Pomi-T has four key ingredients - pomegranate, curcumin, green tea and broccoli - and each works differently to regulate cancer cells' growth and development, without significant side effects. Prof Thomas conducted a double-blind randomised clinical trial to evaluate Pomi-T's effectiveness. In the trial, 203 men with abnormal cell growth had their PSA (a protein level produced by the prostate gland which is an indicator of abnormal growth in prostate cells) levels checked and were randomised to receive twice-a-day oral capsules of either Pomi-T or placebo. At the six-month follow-up, the median increase in PSA was 63.8 per cent lower in the Pomi-T group than in the placebo group. In addition, PSA levels were stable or lower than the baseline more often in the Pomi-T group.