The Benefits of Prostate Nutrition

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Good nutrition is always a part of a healthy lifestyle and with it we lower our risk for almost all diseases, particularly cancers. Not only is the right diet an important preventive component, it also plays an even more important role even in the presence of a disease, since the right diet can compliment medical therapy and increase its chances for success.
Prostate Nutrition To Reduce Cancer Risk
There are currently many studies being conducted to determine if prostate nutrition can reduce the risk for prostate cancer. Experts believe that good prostate nutrition is the key to reducing the risk for prostate cancer since the gland is largely affected by the body’s hormone production, particularly of testosterone, which is in turn largely affected by the type of food in the diet.
Components Of Prostate Nutrition
Nutrition strategies to reduce the risk for prostate cancer are now being advocated by many health care practitioners. The first step in prostate nutrition typically involves switching to a low-fat, high-fiber vegetarian diet. This means getting rid of saturated fats and oils, processed meats and sugars, as wells as lowering one’s caloric intake if overweight. Lowering meat intake or getting rid of meats from the diet may also be recommended for individuals with a high prostate risk. Strong evidence suggest that a high-fat, meat-based diet can increase the production of testosterone, the androgen believed to stimulate the growth of prostate cancer cells. Doctors also recommended the consumption of vegetables rich in lycopene like tomatoes and watermelons because lycopene is a powerful antioxidant.
Prostate nutrition also involves the supplementation of essential vitamins and minerals which may be found in inadequate amounts in food sources, like selenium or Vit. E. Other supplements may also be incorporated into prostate nutrition to reduce the risk of prostate enlargement. Good examples are saw palmetto, flaxseed oil, Vitamin E at 400IU per day, and Vit. B6 at 100 mg per day. Saw palmetto has been shown to be effective in reducing prostate symptoms in clinical tests because it destroys cancerous cells. However, new research has shown that it might cause damage to healthier prostate cells, which is why it is advised that saw palmetto only be consumed by patients with prostate cancer and not by patients with benign prostatic growths. Vitamin B and E are powerful antioxidants. Animal studies have shown that flax seed consumption led to a slower progression of the disease and an even lower risk of metastasis. This is because lignans, which are phytoestrogens, bind to testroterone, reducing the number of circulating active testosterone in the body.
Changes in the diet can even have positive effects in cases of advance prostate cancer. According to one study which was composed of men who were previously operated on for prostate cancer but experienced a recurrence in the disease, a macrobiotic diet composed of whole grains, vegetables, and legumes with restricted intake of meat and dairy products increased the average survival rate to 228 months compared to the survival rate of 72 in men who were not in any kind of special prostate nutrition plan.

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