In my last blog I started to look at how daily dietary choices can influence a man's risk of developing prostate cancer. Here's more on the subject, so if you have a man in your life (husband, father, brother, friend) make sure you pass this potentially life saving information onto him.

Antipodean blokes love their meat and dairy products. A good steak on the BBQ for dinner, and a cheese sandwich for lunch is fairly standard fare. A diet high in saturated fats, dairy products, meat, and total calories  are all characteristics linked with an increased prostate cancer risk. 

There is a large and growing body of data suggesting that dairy products are especially problematic. According to the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research, eleven separate human population studies have linked dairy consumption to prostate cancer. The landmark Physicians Health Study of over 20,000 American doctors, found that men who consumed at least two and a half servings of dairy products per day were approximately 30 per cent more likely to develop prostate cancer than men who averaged less than half a serving a day.  

So what is it about dairy products that makes them troublesome for the prostate?  Certainly the saturated fat is a problem, but it seems that the calcium they contain may also have a negative effect.  

Research from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre, USA, found that men in the early stages of prostate cancer who reduced their calcium intake may significantly lower the chances of the cancer progressing to an advanced stage. This research suggests that fats and calcium in the diet may have a significant effect in advancing prostate cancers once they are formed.  

Besides the calcium finding, the Hutchinson study concluded that men with diets in which fat totaled no more than 30 per cent of their total daily calorie intake were almost half as likely to develop prostate cancer as those who consumed higher levels of fat.

When it comes to preventing prostate cancer, “five-plus a day” takes on new significance. While all vegetables and fruit cumulatively work in favour of prostate health, cruciferous vegetables are especially powerful. Choosing a generous serving of cruciferous vegetables three times a week seems to lower a man's risk of prostate cancer by a whopping 40 per cent. And that's before he makes any other dietary changes at all. It's certainly worth enduring Brussels sprouts.  

While you're buying vegetables, stock up on tomatoes too - fresh, tinned or pulverised into sauce, take your pick. The red pigment in tomatoes is an antioxidant rich substance called lycopene, which several studies suggest protects the health of the prostate. Lycopene is especially absorbed from cooked tomatoes.

Once you've got his diet sorted out, it's time to take a look at fitness levels. Harvard researchers studying 13,000 men aged 20 to 80 found a definite prostate benefit from regular exercise. Men with the highest degree of cardiovascular fitness were found to be four times less likely to develop prostate cancer than those men with the lowest cardiovascular fitness. 

Interestingly, the protective effect of exercise was only found in those men under the age of sixty. The researchers believe that high testosterone levels are involved in the development of prostate cancer and that physical activity and cardiovascular fitness tend to lower these levels.

The definitive conclusions on the correlation between diet and prostate cancer may be someway off. In the meantime there are a number of sensible dietary practices which may turn out to be literal lifesavers for men. Eat a diet low in saturated fats and high in vegetables, especially cruciferous vegetables and cooked tomatoes. Make oily fish a meal choice at least three times a week. Sprinkle flaxseeds in your breakfast cereal. And moderate consumption of dairy products. And when you’re not eating, hit the gym!  

Lynda Wharton is a registered acupuncturist and naturopath.

www.lyndawharton.com

lynda@lyndawharton.com