For decades, prostate cancer prevention studies have looked at diet as a means of lowering the risk of developing and dying from prostate cancer. Although there are no clear answers, experts at Harvard Medical School and other top health research facilities agree that a diet that includes mostly seafood and vegetable protein in place of meat and dairy, a variety of fruits and vegetables, and high-fiber foods such as grains and beans shows promise. This diet contains foods that appear to help fight prostate cancer and eliminates foods that may aggravate the condition.
Meat Substitutes
In general, health experts recommend cutting back on meat and most other animal products because of the type and amount of fat they contain. At the same time, there appears to be a direct link between higher-fat foods and the development of prostate cancer. Cancer specialists at the Louis Warschaw Prostate Cancer Center of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center recommend a diet that eliminates or reduces red meat, butter and cheese and includes ocean-caught (wild) fish such as salmon, halibut, tuna and white fish, and shellfish such as shrimp, lobsters and scallops. These experts also recommend getting high-quality protein from soy foods such as soybeans (edamame), tempeh, tofu, soy milk, soy cheese and meat substitutes such as soy burgers.
Fruits and Vegetables
Antioxidants are substances found only in plant foods that protect body cells from damage and therefore may help prevent tumor growth and the development of cancer. Most fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants and other substances called phytochemicals, which may also protect cells from becoming cancerous. Canned and bottled (cooked) tomato products, fresh tomatoes, watermelon and pink grapefruit, which contain the phytochemical lycopene, appear to be especially helpful in protecting against prostate cancer.
Grains and Beans
In addition to the nutrients they provide, whole grains and whole-grain products are high in fiber, and fiber helps remove fat from the body before it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the intestinal wall. For this reason, high-fiber, whole-grain foods can help fight prostate cancer.
Of all the legumes, soybeans have gotten the most attention for providing vegetable protein and other substances that may help fight prostate cancer. A study performed at the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii and published in a 2008 issue of the "International Journal of Cancer" found, however, that all legumes are equally associated with a lower risk of developing prostate cancer.
References
- Harvard Medical School: Preventing Prostate Cancer and Diet
- Cedars Sinai Medical Center: Louis Warschaw Prostate Cancer Center: Dietary Fat and Fatty Acids
- University of Minnesota: Masonic Cancer Center: Prostate Cancer Prevention
- Stanford Medicine Cancer Center: Nutrition to Reduce Cancer Risk
- PubMed: International Journal of Cancer: Legume and isoflavone intake and prostate cancer
