What Type of Diet Can Help Prevent Prostate Cancer?
If you are a man, you should start thinking about the health of your prostate gland by the time your reach your late forties.
From the age of 45 to 50 onwards, the prostate becomes more susceptible to disease, and a number of men are sure to experience some degree of prostate enlargement, also known as benign prostate hyperplasia or hypertrophy (BPH).
Due to BPH the prostate gland may grow several times larger than its normal size.
It is now thought by some doctors that this condition is a possible precursor to the development of prostate cancer.
This is a serious problem, as prostate cancer is known to be the second leading cause of death from cancer among males, according to the American Cancer Institute.
To guard against the development of BPH or prostate cancer, you can make changes to your diet that will help reduce your own health risks.
For the most part, the type of diet that doctors will recommend to you in preventing BPH will also be helpful in preventing cancer in general.
The recommended diet should be rich in wholegrain foods like some breads and cereals, and dark-colored fruits and vegetables and legumes.
It is also important to greatly reduce your intake of saturated fat, sugar (especially processed sugar), and salt.
A diet that is high on lycopene is known to be an excellent preventative against prostate enlargement and prostate cancer.
You can take lycopene supplements, but studies in recent years have shown that it is more effective to consume tomatoes, which are rich in the lycopene that gives the tomato its red hue.
This suggests that lycopene is most effective when it is combined with other nutrients that are found in healthy food.
Lycopene can be found in whole tomatoes as well as tomato sauce, tomato juice, tomato soup, and tomato paste.
Beta-carotene has conflicting results in regards to prevention of prostate cancer.
Medical experts suggest it is only effective for people who have low beta-carotene levels.
Smokers and alcohol drinkers may actually face increased risk by increasing their consumption of beta-carotene, which is a Vitamin A precursor.
Another story showed that papaya, which is high in beta-carotene, may increase the risk of prostate cancer, but eating other beta-carotene rich foods like carrots and mangoes showed no ill effects.
The consensus so far is to avoid taking beta-carotene supplements but to ensure a moderate and healthy level of beta-carotene consumption.
From the age of 45 to 50 onwards, the prostate becomes more susceptible to disease, and a number of men are sure to experience some degree of prostate enlargement, also known as benign prostate hyperplasia or hypertrophy (BPH).
Due to BPH the prostate gland may grow several times larger than its normal size.
It is now thought by some doctors that this condition is a possible precursor to the development of prostate cancer.
This is a serious problem, as prostate cancer is known to be the second leading cause of death from cancer among males, according to the American Cancer Institute.
To guard against the development of BPH or prostate cancer, you can make changes to your diet that will help reduce your own health risks.
For the most part, the type of diet that doctors will recommend to you in preventing BPH will also be helpful in preventing cancer in general.
The recommended diet should be rich in wholegrain foods like some breads and cereals, and dark-colored fruits and vegetables and legumes.
It is also important to greatly reduce your intake of saturated fat, sugar (especially processed sugar), and salt.
A diet that is high on lycopene is known to be an excellent preventative against prostate enlargement and prostate cancer.
You can take lycopene supplements, but studies in recent years have shown that it is more effective to consume tomatoes, which are rich in the lycopene that gives the tomato its red hue.
This suggests that lycopene is most effective when it is combined with other nutrients that are found in healthy food.
Lycopene can be found in whole tomatoes as well as tomato sauce, tomato juice, tomato soup, and tomato paste.
Beta-carotene has conflicting results in regards to prevention of prostate cancer.
Medical experts suggest it is only effective for people who have low beta-carotene levels.
Smokers and alcohol drinkers may actually face increased risk by increasing their consumption of beta-carotene, which is a Vitamin A precursor.
Another story showed that papaya, which is high in beta-carotene, may increase the risk of prostate cancer, but eating other beta-carotene rich foods like carrots and mangoes showed no ill effects.
The consensus so far is to avoid taking beta-carotene supplements but to ensure a moderate and healthy level of beta-carotene consumption.
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