Prostate Cancer: Why Eating Well Is The Best Defense?
No other human organ is as susceptible to cancer as the
prostate. Each year, an estimated 209,900 American men are
diagnosed with the disease, making it the most prevalent form of
cancer in the United States. Although lung cancer claims more
than twice as many men's lives each year, prostate cancer is the
second most lethal male cancer, killing 41,800 men annually.
In fact, the malady is so widespread that by age 65, nearly two
out of three males may develop minute tumors producing in their
"prostates," the walnut-size gland that is wrapped around the
urethra, the tube that drains the bladder. And some doctors
believe that if men lived long enough, every man would develop
the disease.
Curiously, the vast majority of men who have the disease will
never know it. That is because prostate cancer normally
manifests a gradual growth of tumor, often taking 20 to 30 years
to become large enough to be detected by any currently available
tests or to bring about serious health problems.
By then, many older men who had these small tumors will have
long since died of other origins such as heart disease and
stroke.
According to some urologic oncology experts, many more men die
with prostate cancer than from it. They contend that if they
could just slow the growth of the tumor so that it takes 40 to
60 years to progress instead of 20 to 30, which would amount to
a cure for many men.
Doctors suspect that dietary changes may help men stall the
progress of disease and prevent it from becoming life
threatening. Here are a few prostate protectors.
1. Go lean fat
Lowering your fat intake to 20% of your total calories, that is
about 44 grams of fat if you eat 2,000 calories a day, is one of
the best things that you can do to slash your risk of developing
aggressive prostate cancer.
2. Turn away from red meat
Beef and other red meats are loaded with saturated fat, a type
of fat linked to development of several cancers including
prostate cancer.
In one study of 51, 000 American men, those who ate the most red
meat were 2.6 times more likely to cultivate complex prostate
cancer than men who avoided meat consumption.
3. Catch some fish
One reason why advanced prostate cancer is rare in china may be
the quantity of fish in the diet. One study compared cancer
rates of American men to men living in Shanghai, China, where
people consume three times as much fish in their daily diet. The
rate of prostate cancer for the American men was a dramatic 25.9
times higher than for the Chinese.
4. Discover the joy of soy
Health experts suggest that instead of meat, try substituting
tofu, miso, and other soy foods in salads, casseroles, and soups.
Men in Japan eat many soy-based foods, benefiting from
significantly high levels of genistein and genistin, two
substances found in soy that may help clamp down on the disease.
5. Learn to like lycopene
A study at the Harvard School of Public Health tracked the
eating habits of almost 50,000 health-care professionals for
more than six years. The researchers concluded that lycopene, an
antioxidant compound that gives tomatoes their distinctive red
color, helps fight cancer.
So now you know the preventive measures in order to avoid
developing prostate cancer, it is best that you start employing
these tips in order to have a healthier, cancer-free life.
As the old adage goes, you are what you eat. So eat healthy in
order to be healthy.