Prostate cancer ranks among the most common types of cancers in men. This is why it is important for men to take the necessary steps to lower their risk of developing this form of cancer. This includes eating foods to prevent prostate cancer. But just how effective is changing your diet when it comes to preventing prostate cancer? And what foods should you eat?

Can the Right Diet Prevent Prostate Cancer?

The idea that our diet can help lower the risk of certain illnesses isn’t new. In fact, eating healthy has been found to generally lower the risk of many illnesses. But for more serious illnesses such as prostate cancer, just how effective would changing your diet be?

Based on studies done on diets and prostate cancer, men diagnosed with prostate cancer who changed to a healthier diet didn’t find any significant effect on their cancer. However, this doesn’t mean that food can’t have an effect, since eating healthy does make our bodies stronger¹.

Other studies done on prostate cancer prevention are more promising. The results of these studies² suggest that eating a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help lower prostate cancer risk. More research surely needs to be done, but the information that we have right now is promising.

And at the end of the day, there’s really nothing wrong about changing to a healthier diet. Healthy diets lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes, as well as obesity. Plus, studies done on other types of cancers have shown that healthy eating can help lower a person’s risk³. So there is indeed some truth to eating foods to prevent prostate cancer.

Foods to Prevent Prostate Cancer

The basic rule when it comes to eating healthy is to prioritize fruits and vegetables, as well as lean meats. Here are some more specific food choices that you can incorporate into a healthier diet:

Legumes

Legumes, which include soybeans, kidney beans, chickpeas, and lentils, are a great source of protein. These foods are also low in fat, which means that they are good for your health.

Try to eat a few servings of legumes everyday to help increase your protein intake and as a substitute for red meat.

Green Tea

One of the promising foods to prevent prostate cancer is green tea.

Green tea is rich in chemicals which might help lower the risk and fight off prostate cancer⁴. Aside from this, green tea is also full of antioxidants which fight inflammation in the body.

Green Leafy Vegetables

Green, leafy vegetables are a good source of fiber as well as antioxidants, phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals. All of these simply mean that these vegetables are healthy and good for you, so you should be eating more of them.

These vegetables can also help prevent inflammation, which has been linked to prostate cancer. And this makes green, leafy vegetables one of the more promising foods to prevent prostate cancer.

Berries

Berries are another kind of food that is full of antioxidants which help prevent inflammation⁵. They’re also a good alternative to sweets, and can provide you with a much-needed energy boost. Berries also contain many vitamins and minerals that your body needs.

Instead of eating chips or sweets, why not try eating a handful of berries instead? Your body will thank you for it.

Fish

Fish is a good source of protein as well as omega-3, which is a healthy type of fat. Try to lower your intake of red meat, and instead opt for oily fish such as tuna, mackerel, and salmon.

Tomatoes

Lastly, tomatoes are a great source of lycopene. Lycopene has been found to be a powerful antioxidant that gets released when tomatoes are cooked. So instead of eating your tomatoes raw, you can try cooking them first to release the lycopene before eating.

Key Takeaways

Are there foods to prevent prostate cancer? While food doesn’t directly lower the risk of prostate cancer, eating healthy food can make your body stronger and more resistant to disease. Its always a good idea to change to a healthier diet, since your body gets a lot of benefit from this type of diet.

Learn more about Prostate Cancer here.