10 Tips for a healthy prostate

Prostate cancer accounts for 40% of all cancers in men and poses a significant risk to men especially in western countries.  If you’re concerned about your risk of prostate cancer, here’s a list of 10 things you do to improve you prostate health.

  1. Reduce your weekly alcohol and fizzy drink intake. These drinks leach out zinc, a mineral essential for good prostate health.
  2. Increase your exposure to sunlight, this increases Vitamin D which in turn increases Vitamin A absorption, associated with reduced risk of prostate cancer.
  3. Increase consumption of oily fish, firstly because it is rich in Vitamin D and also omega 3 fatty acid which can help encourage apoptosis of cancer cells.
  4. Reduce saturated animal fats and red meat consumption, the oils of which cancerous cells convert into prostaglandins at a higher rate, increasing risk.
  5. Increase the amount of vegetable fibre in the diet including broccoli, legumes and whole grains
  6. Eat more which contain lycopene which benefits the prostate. Lycopene found in tomatos and saw palmetto.
  7. Consume black or green tea every day.
  8. Increase plant fats in the form of Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds or olive oil, sunflower oil, almond oil. The fatty acids in them can encourage apoptosis of cancer cells.
  9. Eat whole organic soy such as: tofu, tempeh or soy milk. Soy contains genistein which inhibits the growth of cancer cells. Soy was found to provide most protection from prostate cancer in 42 countries.
  10. Avoid sugar, fried food, and large amounts of dairy and high doses of calcium.

Lahans, T (2007) Integrating Conventional and Chinese Medicine in Cancer Care: A Clincal Guide. Churchill Livingstone Elsevier.

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