Prostate Cancer Diet and Nutrition Tips
Up to one-third of prostate cancer cases in Western countries could be avoided if men would make simple dietary changes according to recent research.
Experts estimate that approximately 30 per cent of all prostate cancers in Western countries are linked to diet, renewing a sensitive debate about how dietary factors affect the disease.
The following are practical and common-sense prostate cancer prevention dietary tips
1. Eat cruciferous vegetables
A study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showed that three or more servings of cruciferous vegetables a week slashes prostate cancer risk almost in half. The study, which involved more than 600 men with prostate cancer, was conducted in the Seattle area. This confirms data from a Canadian study showing that cruciferous vegetables, tomatoes, green vegetables and beans/lentils/nuts all substantially reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
Cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower contain cancer-fighting substances, including indole-3-carbinol (I3C). I3C changes the way estrogen is metabolized, and may prevent estrogen-driven cancers such as breast cancer. It’s presently unknown whether I3C is the reason cruciferous vegetables protect against prostate cancer.
The study of about 1,250 men treated for prostate cancer also showed that orange and yellow vegetables, such as squash, yams, and carrots, and cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cut the risk of recurrence by about half.
Specifically, consumption of tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, green tea, and vitamins including Vitamin E and selenium seemed to propose a decreased risk of prostate cancer. Consumption of highly processed or charcoaled meats, dairy products, and fats seemed to be correlated with prostate cancer.
2. Eat cooked tomatoes
Men who eat a daily helping of cooked tomatoes may lower their risk of prostate cancer.
Mounting evidence over the past decade suggests that the consumption of fresh and processed tomato products is associated with reduced risk of prostate cancer. The emerging hypothesis is that lycopene, the primary red carotenoid in tomatoes, may be the principle phytochemical responsible for this reduction in risk.
Tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, a chemical in some fruits and vegetables which thirty-five scientific studies have found to lower prostate cancer risk.
In men who have low lycopene levels, prostate cancer is likely to be especially aggressive.
In a study of more than 40,000 health professionals, Harvard investigators found that men who ate more than 10 servings of tomato-based foods daily (like cooked tomatoes and tomato sauce) had a 35 percent lower risk of developing prostate cancer than those who ate the least amount of these foods. The benefits of tomatoes were more pronounced in men with advanced stages of prostate cancer.
Most fruits and vegetables can be eaten uncooked to get full nutritional value. Tomatoes are probably an exception. More lycopene is released from a cooked tomato. Lycopene is nearly four times more readily available to the body from tomato paste than from fresh tomatoes.
This could be the reason why the decreased cancer risk was seen with tomato sauce and other tomato-based products, rather than raw tomatoes. In addition, lycopene is best absorbed through the intestine when eaten with fat.
Since lycopene is fat-soluble, it is better to prepare the tomatoes with a small amount of vegetable oil. Lycopene is also found in red grapefruit and watermelon, and in smaller quantities in crab and lobster.
Lycopene is found primarily in nature in tomatoes and tomato products but is also found in carrots, green peppers, apricots, watermelon, and pink grapefruit.
3. Drink Green tea
Green tea has been shown to have inhibitory effects on prostate cancer cell growth. Studies in rats suggest that compounds contained in green tea inhibit the activity of 5-alpha-reductase, the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, which has carcinogenic effects in the prostate.
Researchers have found that the most potent of these compounds is called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG).
A study in rats found that green tea has inhibitory effects on other enzymes associated with the growth of prostate cancer cells. EGCG has been found in high concentrations in the serum of green tea drinkers. EGCG and other compounds in green tea inhibit the activity of the enzyme called proteasome, a key factor in the formation of prostate cancer.
Researchers studied two groups of men with a pre-cancerous condition of the prostate. One consumed the equivalent of 12 to 15 cups of green tea a day. One did not. One year later, 30% of the men who did not consume green tea supplements developed prostate cancer. Only 3% of the men who took green tea supplements developed prostate cancer.
We think we can interrupt the process by taking a page from TCM, where consumption of green tea may be one of the factors associated with why prostate cancer is not nearly the public health threat in China that it is here in the U.S.
Population studies in Asian men have shown the protective effects of green tea. And laboratory studies have shown that green tea polyphenols can selectively kill cancer cells and in other ways slow down the progression of cancer in a number of cancer types, including lung, skin, and breast.
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