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Prevention of Prostate Cancer

Learn more about Nutrition and Prostate Cancer.

While you can't change your genes, changes in your lifestyle especially diet and exercise can make a difference when it comes to prostate cancer prevention. These are factors you can take control of to be proactive in preventing the disease. While it's not as simple as just taking vitamins or supplements, growing evidence shows changing your diet and behavior could lower your risk.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Diet is one prostate cancer prevention measure that is completely under your control. While it is hard to determine the impact of a single food in a complex diet; large, long-term studies are underway to confirm that consuming certain substances actually fights cancer. Remember, it is important to speak to your doctor before embarking on a diet plan that includes dramatically increasing your consumption of any one food.

Soy may be able to reduce PSA levels. Soy is a phytoestrogen, a plant substance that affects the body similarly to the estrogen found in humans. Studies show that men with prostate cancer experienced a dramatic drop in their PSA level when consuming two grams of soy per day. Prostate cancer rates are also low in cultures with high soy consumption.

Tomatoes contain an antioxidant called lycopene, which may have a big impact on prostate cancer. Some studies have shown that regular intake of lycopene supplements lowers risk by about 15 percent while other studies show that consumption of tomatoes lowers risk by as much as 26 percent.

Fish oil contains Omega-3 fatty acids, believed to have great potential for both cardiovascular disease and cancer prevention. Some scientists believe that rates of cancer in the modern world are largely tied to the drastic imbalances in our diets between Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in salmon and other fatty fish, cold-water fish such as tuna, trout, striped bass, sardines, and herring, and are available in supplement capsules.

Mushrooms are rich with selenium, believed to lower PSA levels and inhibit tumor growth. While there is a massive study in progress of measuring the impact of selenium and vitamin E on prostate cancer risk and progression, a large study in the U.K. showed men who regularly took selenium reduced prostate cancer risk by four times.

Five servings or more of fruit per day can cut the risk of prostate cancer in half. Fruit helps, in part, by containing fructose which stimulates the body's ability to create vitamin D, a nutrient believed to reduce prostate cancer risk.

Consuming about 50 milligrams (75 IU) of vitamin E may reduce risk of prostate cancer by one-third and the death rate by 41 percent. Vitamin E, found in food including pecans and sesame seeds, may also stimulate the immune system minimizing the growth and spread of cancer.

Make your tea time. Green tea in particular, is rich in polyphenols, believed to slow the growth of cancer. Studies are showing that tea reduces the levels of polyamines, a substance associated with cancer malignancy.

Pomegranates have emerged as a new super food in the fight against prostate cancer. Research shows that anti-oxidants in pomegranate juice take a "search and destroy" approach to cancerous tissue in the body. There are studies underway to determine how much pomegranate juice can lower PSA scores.

Drinking four or more glasses of red wine a week could cut the risk of prostate cancer in half, according to some studies. Red wine had the greatest impact on the most aggressive, fast-spreading prostate tumors, leading to a 60 percent reduction in such cases, researchers found.

Men who eat plenty of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli and cabbage) may be reducing their risk of prostate cancer. Three or more servings a day can reduce risk by as much as 41 percent. Consumption of 10 grams of allium vegetables, garlic, onions and chives may also reduce your risk of getting prostate cancer. The foods contain flavonoids that have demonstrated reduction in tumor growth in lab studies.

Foods to Limit

In addition to eating well and incorporating many of the above vitamins and foods into your diet, it's also important to limit certain foods and incorporate certain vitamins in moderation into your diet. This can aid in prostate cancer prevention.

The "Western or Cowboy Diet," known for being high in fats and red meat, may contribute to higher rates of prostate cancer.

• Avoid the steak and hamburgers. Eating red meat five times per week could double your risk for prostate cancer, according to studies.
• Limit sweets and desserts. Foods high in calories and sugar can lower your metabolism and create problems with obesity which is proving to be a key factor in prostate cancer severity and possibly risk.
• An excess of calcium, found in dairy products, may increase the risk of prostate cancer as the calcium reduces the body's levels of vitamin D which protects the body from prostate cancer.