Flaxseed slowedthe growth of prostate tumors in men,while ginseng helped relieve the fatiguethat cancer patients often feel,US researchers reported on Saturday in the

first scientificallyrigorous looks at alternative medicine.

2.The studiesreflect doctors' efforts to explore the risks and benefits of foods andsupplements that are routinely taken by their patients with little scientificproof they

help.Americans spendbetween￥36 billion and￥47 billion a year on complementary and alternativetherapies,according to the National Center for Health Statistics."Patients

are taking thesecompounds but we need to know if they are doing any good or any harm,"saidDr. Bruce Cheson of Georgetown University Hospitalin Washingtonwho led

a panel onalternative therapies at a meeting of the American Society of ClinicalOncology.

3.In the flaxseedstudy,researchers at Duke University MedicalCenter in North Carolina and colleagues evaluated theseed's role as a food supplement in 161 men who were

scheduled to undergosurgery for prostate cancer."The growth rate was decreased in the men whogot flaxseed,"said Dr. Nancy Davidson,an oncologist at Johns Hopkins

University inBaltimore who is president-elect of ASCO."I think this isfascinating."Flaxseed is rich in omega-3 fatty acids-and lignins,a fiberfound on the seed coat."We

were looking atflaxseed because of its unique nutrient profile,"said WendyDemark-Wahnefried,a researcher in Duke's School of Nursing,wholed the study.

4.Half of the men inthe study added 30 grams of fiaxseed daily to their diets for about 30days.Half of the flaxseed group also went on a low-fat diet.After thesurgery,the

researchers looked atthe men's tumor cells to see how quickly the cancer had multiplied.The cancercells in both the flaxseed groups grew about 30 to 40 percent slower than

the control group.

5.ButDemark-Wahnefried is not ready to prescribe flaxseed."It's a healthyfood.It has a lot of vitamins and a lot of fiber. But we cannot definitivelysay at this point you

should take flaxseedbecause it is protective against prostate cancer,"she said,adding thatflaxseed now needed to be studied to see if it can prevent prostate cancer.

6.In the ginsengtrial,Debra Barton of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester,Minnesota,and col-leagues tested threedifferent doses of the herb on potency with a variety of cancers

who were expected tolive at least six months. Twenty-five percent of patients taking a 1,000-mgdose and twenty-seven percent of patients taking a 2,000-mg dose said their

fatigue symptomswere"moderately better" or"much better."Only 10 percent ofthose taking a 750-mg dose reported an improvement, which was about the same asthe

placebogroup.Patients in the trial took Wisconsinginseng from a single crop that was tested for uniform potency.It was powderedand given in a capsule form."I wouldn't

have predictedthis,I have to admit,"Davidson said in an interview,"we might want totest this on a large scale."

7.The flaxseed studywas funded by the National institutes of Health and the ginseng study wassupported by US Public Health Service grants.It is the uniquenutrient profile of flaxseed_________.

A.that led theresearchers in Duke's School of Nursing to study it

B.by givingdifferent doses of the herb to patients

C.whether the foodsand supplements patients took every day were good or not

D.though bothflaxseed and ginseng are all healthy alternative medicines

E.that either ofthem is beneficial to cancer patients