According to the Mayo Clinic, prostate cancer is one of the most prevalent types of cancer and has affected countless lives. The chance of developing the condition varies depending on a person's age, race, weight, and family history, to name a few. Additionally, a recent study discovered that eating a poor diet that contains a decent amount of processed meat can up your risk of developing prostate cancer.
Blood was drawn from 12,000 patients in the 1980s and 1990s for a study that was recently published in European Urology. The participants' information on many facets of their lifestyles was also gathered. The study's authors then used that data along with a 2021 genome-wide association study to determine who was leading a healthy lifestyle, that is, one that included eating well (including a diet rich in fish and tomatoes, but not processed meat), maintaining a healthy weight, getting a lot of exercise, and quitting smoking. They came to the conclusion that men who had a higher genetic risk of getting prostate cancer had a 45 percent lower probability of dying from the disease.
Given the advantages of leading a healthy lifestyle, "all males should be encouraged to do so. According to EurekAlert!, corresponding author Anna Plym, Ph.D., of Brigham's Division of Urology, "A healthy lifestyle may be particularly crucial for males at elevated genetic risk of prostate cancer." The criteria we looked at that seemed to be most crucial were not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and engaging in regular physical activity.
According to Dr. Dana Ellis Hunnes, Ph.D., MPH, RD, senior clinical dietitian UCLA Medical Center, assistant professor UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and author of Recipe For Survival, "I found the study to be quite enlightening, but given my understanding of healthy lifestyles, not overly surprising."
What most people find unexpected is how much diet affects cancer risk, particularly heritable cancer risk, and how greatly a balanced diet and lifestyle can reduce that risk.
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Hunnes says that because many foods (processed meats, processed foods, sweets, etc.) alter hormone levels (testosterone/estrogen, etc.), a "good diet can minimise the risk of deadly prostate cancer." Furthermore, "certain cancers, including prostate cancer, are affected by hormone levels, which may help to explain why men who consume more cow's milk—which naturally contains estrogen—have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer than men who consume less of it or who follow a plant-based diet."
According to Hunnes, tomatoes with their high levels of lycopene (higher/more bioavailable when cooked) are well established as helping to lower the risk of prostate cancer because it's an antioxidant and phytonutrient. This is in reference to the specific foods mentioned in the study results that may lower the risk of prostate cancer. Fish may reduce the risk of prostate cancer because they contain beneficial polyunsaturated fats, which humans can also acquire from plant sources like algae.
However, processed meats are well-known inflammatory meals that increase TMAO and IGF-1, an insulin-like growth factor that can also alter other hormones in the body because everything in the body is interrelated. In light of this, "consuming processed meats, raising inflammation, and certain hormones can further increase the risk of certain cancers."
Read Things That Ward Off "Deadly" Prostate Cancer to see how your diet may increase your risk of contracting the disease.
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