Cancer of the prostate is the most common cancer among U.S. men, with 223,307 new cases diagnosed and 29,093 deaths in 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A rising prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, level is one of the first symptoms of the disease. Later stages cause a range of sexual and health problems that can be embarrassing and damaging to self-esteem. Dietary changes can improve prostate health and may even help prevent prostate diseases like cancer.
Significance
The Prostate Cancer Foundation reports that excess fat, especially the fat around the middle of your body, is associated with an increased risk of many diseases, including prostate cancer and particularly aggressive prostate cancer. The excess fat causes chronic inflammation that leads to an increase in harmful free radicals, and the free radicals in turn can break down normal tissue and promote the development of cancer. Adding anti-inflammatory foods to your diet may be able to help check the inflammatory process, but the quickest way to reduce inflammation is to lose weight.
Protein
Daily meat consumption triples the risk of prostate enlargement, and regular milk consumption doubles the risk, according to Dr. Neal D. Barnard of the Cancer Project. The method of cooking meat is also a factor. Overcooking meat at high temperatures creates a type of carcinogen shown to cause prostate cancer in animals. Charbroiling meat produces a set of carcinogens that trigger mutations in prostate cell DNA. Asian men have lower levels of prostate cancer that may be due to high levels of soy and legumes in their diet, which contain plant chemicals called phytoestrogens that could help prevent prostate cancer.
Fruits and Vegetables
The antioxidants in spices and colorful fruits and vegetables may help fight inflammation. A study published in "Cancer Research" in January 2007 showed that feeding male rats tomatoes reduced tumor weight by 34 percent and broccoli decreased tumor weights by 42 percent, whereas a combination of the two caused a 52-percent tumor weight decrease. Researchers studying more than 600 men in the Seattle area who were newly diagnosed with prostate cancer published results in 2000 in the "Journal of the National Cancer Institute" showing that a high consumption of vegetables, particularly cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, and bok choy, is associated with a reduced risk of the disease.
Fats
In the January 2000 issue of "Cancer Causes Control," Canadian researchers reported the results of a study of 263 men with prostate cancer. Men who consumed the most monounsaturated fat, like that found in olive and canola oils, lived longest with a 70-percent decreased mortality rate, compared to those with the lowest intake of monounsaturates. MayoClinic.com adds that omega-3 fatty acids, a type of fat found in cold-water fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel, and in walnuts and flaxseed, may reduce the risk of certain cancers such as prostate.
References
- Prostate Cancer Foundation: Nutrition, Exercise and Prostate Cancer
- Cancer Project; Nutrition and Prostate Health; Neal D. Barnard, M.D.; December 2006
- MayoClinic.com; Prostate Cancer Prevention: What You Can Do; September 2009
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Prostate Disease
- "Cancer Research"; Combinations of Tomato and Broccoli Enhance Antitumor Activity in Dunning R3327-H Prostate Adenocarcinomas; Kirstie Canene-Adams, et al.; January 2007
- "Journal of the National Cancer Institute"; Fruit and Vegetable Intakes and Prostate Cancer Risk; J.H. Cohen; January 2000
